A Little Late But. . . Mouth Surgery Recovery Days Four and Five - Too Much Chicken and Not Enough Stock

Perhaps I promised this write-up too soon. Yesterday (Thursday) the internet connection at the office was completely frazzled, and as I told Steve, one of my attorneys, heavens to Betsy I actually had to work all day. My original plan was to squeeze out an update on two ways to use excess chicken in a mouth-friendly sort of way. And now that we are humming and busy as usual this drizzly and chilly Friday morning, I now have the opportunity to even further update my dedicated readers (all four of you, God love you all) on my healing process.

This morning, after taking one train and three busses (2 of them to absolutely no where) only to arrive 30 minutes late for my post-operation appointment, it makes one curse and appreciate the CTA; however, this morning I do believe I cursed the CTA more than I appreciated it. The wonderful receptionists and assistants and my doctor himself were more than understanding when I arrived a little more jangled than I would have liked. Within 30 minutes, my doctor snipped a few stitches, left the remainder in to dissolve by themselves, and declared that I am healing well and to look forward to my deep cleaning in about three weeks. I hope deep cleaning is something akin to a deep tissue massage complete with warm, moist towels and paraffin wax on my hands.

Doubting that my next deep-cleaning appointment at the periodontist’s will involve cucumber slices donning my eyes oddly enough makes me lament a bit that it is no longer crunchy cucumber and juicy tomato season. Alas, it is now the season of bubbling pots of comfort foods that heat the kitchen and cause me to cook in nothing but a t-shirt and running shorts -- the season of winter vegetables waxing.

Oh, woe is me, this past week as I wanted meals that were substantial, comforting and easy to chew. And sometime this week I mentioned that I was heavy on the chicken scraps and low on the stock. Monday morning, a day I took off from work to complete my recovery, I sacrificed my weak, pathetic self to the cold and slight wind only to purchase yet another whole chicken strictly for the delicious stock it would soon give up to my stock pot. While I am partial to the kosher chicken (read: brined chicken) at Trader Joe’s, a Monday morning stroll of almost a mile did not appeal as Jewel is a five minute trip to the end of my block. While I meandered around Jewel, I picked up a small butternut squash, a few sweet potatoes, two red skinned boiling potatoes, a bunch of carrots still with their tops (they make for such a lovely grocery bag as they poke out the top – so French countryside) and a handful of parsley. Oh yes, I also picked up a whole, natural but not kosher, chicken. And one container of Texas-grown, brown Basmati rice and one can of light coconut milk nudged their way into my cart amongst the produce and poultry. Coconut rice pudding anyone?

Humph, no dessert until after the creamy chicken and rice soup I concocted for Monday evening’s supper. Once I started the brown rice on the back burner, I formed the base of my soup by sautéing a mirepoix of hearty carrots, celery, and onion in about two tablespoons of butter. After the vegetables softened a bit, I added two tablespoons of flour and stirred the mixture for a constant three minutes to allow the flour to lightly brown and take on the flavors of the mirepoix. Once the flour was toasted and things were starting to stick a bit to the bottom of the pan, I added roughly two precious cups of chicken stock, scraping the bits that clung to the pan. And from here, oh, let me just type this in recipe form because I know it will be easier on all eyes.

Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

I used brown rice because it does have more to offer than white rice. If white rice is used, it will, admittedly, cut back on the cooking time of the meal. For convenience sake, the rice can be cooked ahead, refrigerated, and gently reheated in the soup. If this method is so chosen, skip the first step and proceed to the second paragraph.

Makes 2 main dish servings or 4 side dish servings

1/3 cup (raw) rice, brown or white – Basmati does add more flavor
or about 2/3 – 3/4 cup cooked rice (more or less as you please)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 large carrot, diced
1 large celery stalk, diced
1 medium (thought I was going to say large, eh?) onion, diced
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups milk – 2% or whole for creamiest texture
8 ounces cooked chicken, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, chopped

If starting from raw rice, cook rice until al dente, remembering that brown rice will take up to 45 minutes to get to the al dente stage and white rice will take about 15 or 20 minutes. If using already cooked rice, skip this step.

Heat the butter in a medium stock pot. Add carrots, celery and onion, and sauté until onion starts to wilt. Sprinkle the flour and stir constantly for 3 minutes or until flour starts to lightly brown. Slowly pour in the chicken stock taking care to stir enough so that lumps are not created. Bring mixture to a boil, add the cooked rice, cover and lower heat and let simmer until thickened a bit, about 8 minutes. After the 8 minutes or so, turn heat to low. Salt the chopped chicken. Add the chicken and milk to the soup and gently heat so as not to curdle the milk, but to warm the chicken and milk. Salt and pepper to taste, add parsley, and ladle into bowls.

Oh, the butternut squash and sweet potatoes I bought? They both went into a luscious and silky chicken and vegetable cobbler. I suppose you, my darling reader, want a peek at the deliciousness? I suppose I can accommodate, but for heaven’s sake, do not be afraid to make a comment after all my hard work of posting. I post for you, YOU and partially for me. In fact, perhaps I will start commenting on all posts. Mmmm.. yes me, I really enjoyed the soup me, I wish I would make it more often, hmmm?

Chicken and Vegetable Cobbler

Save some time on cooking day and do this in steps. The vegetables can be pre-roasted and refrigerated up to, you know, three or four days. Have some cooked chicken and stock handy. Really, this can be thrown together in about an hour.

Serves 4, unless you are mighty hungry

1 very small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
1 medium sweet potato, diced (peeling optional)
2 large carrots, cut on the bias, about ½ inch thick
1 large Yukon gold or red-skin potato, diced (peeling optional)
Olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
3 -4 tablespoons butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
3 tablespoons flour, a little more as needed
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine (doesn’t have to overly dry, just steer away from using a Riesling or other super-sweet wine)
8 ounces cooked chicken, chopped and salted
One recipe for biscuits (follows)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss butternut squash, sweet potato, carrots, and while potato with olive oil, salt and pepper. In a large, greased casserole dish or on a greased baking sheet spread the vegetables. Roast vegetables until they just start browning and they’re easily pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes. Check after 20 minutes though. Any vegetables that are cooking faster than others go ahead and remove from the oven and set aside. Once vegetables are finished, remove from the oven into a large casserole dish or Dutch oven and turn the oven to 450 degrees.

Meanwhile, over medium heat the butter in a saucepan. Sauté onion until it wilts, about 5 minutes. Add the mustard and flour, and constantly stir until flour starts to lightly brown, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and wine and scrape any bits that clung to the bottom of the pan. Let mixture come to a boil, lower heat, and let it thicken a bit, stirring frequently. The sauce should not be as thick as gravy, and when it just barely coats the back of a spoon, turn off the heat. The sauce will thicken more when it bakes in the oven. While the sauce thickens, prepare the biscuit dough (recipe will follow).

Add the chicken to the vegetables that are patiently waiting in the casserole dish. Stir to mix things up a bit, and pour over the sauce that was so lovingly made. Stir things up a bit more. Cut biscuit dough and place enough pieces to cover the top of the sauce and vegetables. There will be some area exposed – that is okay. There will be leftover biscuit dough; just pop the remaining cut dough pieces into a ceramic dish (or try a cast iron skillet and let me know how it works) and bake alongside the cobbler. The biscuits will be done in about 7-9 minutes (maybe a smidge longer). Pop the cobbler into the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the biscuits are baked through. Do not be afraid to lift a biscuit to check its doneness. Once baked, remove cobbler from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

And the biscuits:

Yogurt or Buttermilk Biscuits
Courtesy of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

2 cups all-purpose or cake flour, plus more as needed (cake flour makes softer crumb)(I actually used 50% whole wheat for heartier biscuits)
1 scant teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 to 5 tablespoons cold butter (more is better)
7/8 cup yogurt or buttermilk (I used a mixture of sour cream and 2% milk vigorously shaken)

Preheat the oven to 450. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl or food processor. Cut the butter into bits and either pulse it in the food processor (easier) or pick up a bit of the dry ingredients, rub them with the butter between your fingers, and drop them again (I chose the finger-rubbing method). Make sure all the butter is thoroughly blended into the flour mixture before proceeding.Use a large spoon to stir in the yogurt just until the mixture forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it 10 times; no more. If it is very sticky, add a little flour, but very little; it should still stick to your hands a little.Press the dough into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle and cut into 2-inch rounds with a biscuit cutter or glass. Put the rounds on an un-greased baking sheet. Gently reshape the leftover dough and cut again.

Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until the biscuits are a beautiful golden brown. Serve within 15 minutes for them to be at their best.

Why not serve the remaining biscuits for dessert? Butter and honey are a must.