But What of the Carcass? Close a Door and Open a Window.
Readers of this blog,
A hearty hoo-yeah to you. In the last few weeks, y'all have commented up a storm. Whether via personal emails to me, or comments on the site, you've stepped up your level of involement and I like it. I think the final tally shows 50% stop blathering on about romance, and 50% the romance is the only part worth reading. What's a girl to do? Whatever the hell she wants; keep reading.
This week, I found myself in a kitchen with a large group of people picking at a chicken carcass. I'd just roasted a 5-pounder for a mixed audience; some had roasted before, but many hadn't. The room was popping with pride at having conquered trussing, oiling and roasting, and fighting over what was indeed the moistest breast meat this side of Brittany Murphy.
So there we were, licking fingers and dipping chicken meat in pan drippings. The carcass looked so sad, and as I went to drop it in the trash, a round-the-block pal asked me what exactly I thought I was doing, and promptly told me to drop it in a pot and make a soup. It was a 40 degree windy day, and this would cure what ailed us, whether or not we ailed.
I plopped the chicken carcass into a pot with a few root vegetables and herbs; in about an hour we had a couple of pints of golden tasty love.
The point is this. Amidst all my romance bitching, some good is bound to come. Darkest hour before the dawn and all that. I mean look, a close friend of mine just found out the man she's been falling in love with for the better part of a year has decided to return to his ex-lover. You know, the one he said wasn't that good looking, smart or stable. Lemons. Another had a quick little fling with a work colleague, only to find him oddly aggressive in the workplace. A carcass. Another friend so eager for a family but unhappy with her romance options has finally decided to go the Single Mothers By Choice route.
The first friend won a shopping spree at a local mall days later, and the latter friend got a better job. My SMBC pal is three months pregnant. Bad news can become good news; it all depends on that state of mind. That terrible snowstorm plaguing the city is quite beautiful when you're warm inside watching it.
Chicken Carcass Soup
Makes a pint plus
Carcass of a chicken (use one 5-pounder for this recipe and leave the back fat on; if you'd been roasting chickens for a while, keep the bones frozen and make a big pot of soup once you've got enough to make it worthwhile, adjust recipe quantities as necessary)
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
3 medium parsnips, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
2 stalks celery, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
3 medium shallots, chopped
a few sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf (optional)
handful of frozen peas (if desired)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1. Put chicken carcass in a medium pot, and cover by 1-inch with water. Bring to a simmer, and skim off any shmutz that comes to the top of the pot. Simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Add carrots, parsnips, celery, shallots, thyme, and bay leaf (if desired). Simmer for one hour. Taste, and season as needed (the flavor should pop as you add salt). Throw in a handful of peas (if desired), and simmer until they are bright green, about 3 minutes. Discard the carcass and serve warm.
A hearty hoo-yeah to you. In the last few weeks, y'all have commented up a storm. Whether via personal emails to me, or comments on the site, you've stepped up your level of involement and I like it. I think the final tally shows 50% stop blathering on about romance, and 50% the romance is the only part worth reading. What's a girl to do? Whatever the hell she wants; keep reading.
This week, I found myself in a kitchen with a large group of people picking at a chicken carcass. I'd just roasted a 5-pounder for a mixed audience; some had roasted before, but many hadn't. The room was popping with pride at having conquered trussing, oiling and roasting, and fighting over what was indeed the moistest breast meat this side of Brittany Murphy.
So there we were, licking fingers and dipping chicken meat in pan drippings. The carcass looked so sad, and as I went to drop it in the trash, a round-the-block pal asked me what exactly I thought I was doing, and promptly told me to drop it in a pot and make a soup. It was a 40 degree windy day, and this would cure what ailed us, whether or not we ailed.
I plopped the chicken carcass into a pot with a few root vegetables and herbs; in about an hour we had a couple of pints of golden tasty love.
The point is this. Amidst all my romance bitching, some good is bound to come. Darkest hour before the dawn and all that. I mean look, a close friend of mine just found out the man she's been falling in love with for the better part of a year has decided to return to his ex-lover. You know, the one he said wasn't that good looking, smart or stable. Lemons. Another had a quick little fling with a work colleague, only to find him oddly aggressive in the workplace. A carcass. Another friend so eager for a family but unhappy with her romance options has finally decided to go the Single Mothers By Choice route.
The first friend won a shopping spree at a local mall days later, and the latter friend got a better job. My SMBC pal is three months pregnant. Bad news can become good news; it all depends on that state of mind. That terrible snowstorm plaguing the city is quite beautiful when you're warm inside watching it.
Chicken Carcass Soup
Makes a pint plus
Carcass of a chicken (use one 5-pounder for this recipe and leave the back fat on; if you'd been roasting chickens for a while, keep the bones frozen and make a big pot of soup once you've got enough to make it worthwhile, adjust recipe quantities as necessary)
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
3 medium parsnips, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
2 stalks celery, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
3 medium shallots, chopped
a few sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf (optional)
handful of frozen peas (if desired)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1. Put chicken carcass in a medium pot, and cover by 1-inch with water. Bring to a simmer, and skim off any shmutz that comes to the top of the pot. Simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Add carrots, parsnips, celery, shallots, thyme, and bay leaf (if desired). Simmer for one hour. Taste, and season as needed (the flavor should pop as you add salt). Throw in a handful of peas (if desired), and simmer until they are bright green, about 3 minutes. Discard the carcass and serve warm.
posted by Allison Fishman Task at 6:28 PM
1 Comments:
Ahh, chicken soup is one of the few things I can cook with confidence and there is nothing like a little homeade chicken soup to cure all ills. Never thought to use the carcass and not just the bones though. Yum.
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