Chicken Soup For The Soul

Grandma always said, "Chicken soup is good for you!"

It's winter time, the weather is dreary and dark... and it's cold outside, but it makes for a nice setting to make a large batch of chicken broth.

Cooking up a batch of broth always warms the entire house with a very nice aroma that lasts all day long as I slowly cook the broth on the stove for hours on end. Chicken broth is nice to have around - it's used in a wide variety of recipes for soups and sauces that we make.

I like to make a big batch of broth and freeze it in small containers and jars to have on hand whenever a recipe calls for it. Sure I can (and do) use the packaged broth and the cubes to make broth, but to me, having home made broth is the absolute best, and for me its fun to make.

Chicken broth is good to make when you have left over chicken or turkey bones and parts from a prior dinner - why waste them? Make a good batch of chicken broth and you can get more bang for your buck out of your poultry and you'll have some home made chicken broth on hand when you need it.

I found that occasionally the supermarkets have chicken on sale and you can get a whole chicken or parts (thighs etc 4-5lbs) for around $5 or $6 dollars, which will make about 5 quarts of broth.

My favorite, and what I consider a good basic recipe, is the one by Alton Brown. It's got a good foundation and I like his ideas for techniques to get the most out of all the flavors.

Grab a very large pot that can hold 2 gallons of water, and a steamer basket (see photo)

Here's the recipe which can be found on the Food Network website

Ingredients

4 pounds chicken carcasses, including necks and backs

1 large onion, quartered

4 carrots, peeled and cut in 1/2

4 ribs celery, cut in 1/2

1 leek, white part only, cut in 1/2 lengthwise

10 sprigs fresh thyme

10 sprigs fresh parsley with stems

2 bay leaves

8 to 10 peppercorns

2 whole cloves garlic, peeled

2 gallons cold water

Directions

Place chicken, vegetables, and herbs and spices in 12-quart stockpot. Set opened steamer basket directly on ingredients in pot and pour over water. Cook on high heat until you begin to see bubbles break through the surface of the liquid. Turn heat down to medium low so that stock maintains low, gentle simmer. Skim the scum from the stock with a spoon or fine mesh strainer every 10 to 15 minutes for the first hour of cooking and twice each hour for the next 2 hours. Add hot water as needed to keep bones and vegetables submerged. Simmer uncovered for 6 to 8 hours.

Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer into another large stockpot or heatproof container discarding the solids. Cool immediately in large cooler of ice or a sink full of ice water to below 40 degrees. Place in refrigerator overnight. Remove solidified fat from surface of liquid and store in container with lid in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in freezer for up to 3 months. Prior to use, bring to boil for 2 minutes. Use as a base for soups and sauces.

Party-Que

BBQ'ing for a Party

I was asked to serve as chef at a friend's 60th birthday party on Saturday, so being the wanna-be-chef that I am, I said heck yes! It was a party for about 50-70 people, the hostess I think planned for more because she prep'd a lot of stuff - I cooked enough food for an army (we could have easily served 100).

I cooked up a dozen kielbasa and a variety of other sausages on one grill that I had going (see photo above), and on the main grill I cooked over 100 skewers that had; chicken, pineapple, zucchini and mushrooms that I basted with Mr. Yoshida's teriyaki marinade (which is very good). Ideally the chicken should have been marinated the night before and some seasoning's added but I didn't know what I was cooking until I got there, otherwise I would have brought some good seasonings to add.

That was the first time I've cooked for that many people and I found it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to cook in quantity, the most important part was just making sure everything was done properly (especially the chicken), but not over done (can't stand burnt, hard, over cooked meats or soggy vegetables).

We also put together a bunch of side dishes, desert and more, there was food of all kinds and lots of it.

I must have done something right because everyone kept thanking me for the good food and at the end of the night the hostess informed me that 75 out of 100 skewers had been consumed, that was pretty good considering all the other kinds of food that was also available.

That was the best kind of payment I could have ever wanted.

Happy 60th Birthday Chris!