Epic Portions

Tag: chicken

  • What I’m Cooking Tonight

    Not sure if I’m feeling fancy or something, but I just found out what I’m cooking tonight.  Lemon Chicken with Rice. This recipe is pretty simple, but it has a gravy-and-bechamel hybrid sauce over the top of everything that sounds amazing.  If you’re looking for something that looks delicious and is rather easy to make, I think you found your dish right here.

    Ingredients

    4 chicken breasts
    2 tablespoons butter
    4 tablespoons flour
    4 cups chicken broth
    1 cup milk or half-and-half
    1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
    pinch cayenne pepper
    3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
    1 cup rice

    Procedure

    1. Rinse the rice and combine with 2 cups of the chicken stock in a medium pot. Bring to a boil then simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, adding water if necessary. Add peas, if using, towards the end of cooking.

    2. In the meantime, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until the foam subsides. Add the flour and whisk into the butter, breaking up any clumps. Add the chicken stock, whisking. Bring to a boil, then simmer about 10 minutes.

    3. Add the milk, nutmeg, cayenne, 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer an additional 5 minutes.

    4. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and saute over medium heat until cooked through (alternatively, they can gently poach until cooked).

    5. Add the final tablespoon of lemon juice to the rice and taste for seasoning. Slice the chicken and serve on the rice smothered in the sauce.

    From Serious Eats

  • Kentucky Grilled Chicken

    kentucky-grilled-chicken

    This is really stupid.

    Ok now that I got that out of the way, KFC will begin selling grilled chicken today.  You can even stop in and they will give you a free piece on April 27th.  

    This  rollout is KFC’s most ambitious attempt to win over health-crazed customers as the chain known worldwide for fried chicken tries to boost sales.  Like its predecessor, Kentucky Grilled Chicken has its own secret recipe. The original copy of the recipe, a blend of six herbs and spices, will be kept in an electronic safe at company headquarters. 

    KFC says each piece of its grilled chicken has 70 to 180 calories and four to nine grams of fat. By contrast, the Original Recipe items have between 110 and 370 calories and 7 to 21 grams of fat, depending on the piece. The grilled chicken contains from 160 to 440 milligrams of sodium per piece, as opposed to 290 to 1,050 milligrams of sodium per piece of Original Recipe chicken.

    KFC has launched non-fried chicken before, but each prior initiative flopped. In the early 1990s, it introduced a rotisserie-style chicken that fell by the wayside due to equipment problems and long cooking times. A tender roast product followed but lasted only a couple of years.

    It would be tough for me to visit Kentucky FRIED Chicken and order grilled chicken rather than the usual.  I understand the whole “We have to cater to the healthy people” concept, but do people looking for healthy options really flock to KFC?  Does this mean that people will stop at KFC on the way home from the gym for a healthier alternative to fast food?

    I think this requires me to go over there and try some out.  I’ll let you know what I think.

  • Hey Look, I Actually Do Cook

    Amidst all this fast food and competitive eating information I’m putting up here, I thought I would post documentation of ME actually cooking!   Yes, I do cook.  Just the other day I threw together this beautiful dish:

    Breaded chicken topped with pancetta and cheese
    Red pepper and cream pasta
    Garlic Bread

    This is the first time I’ve ever made a pasta sauce using red bell peppers.  Here’s the recipe I used..

    Ingredients

    • 3 red bell peppers
    • 1/2 onion – diced
    • 4 cloves garlic (more if you’re like me and love garlic)
    • 1/2 cup heavy cream
    • 1/2 – 1lb heavy pasta

    Directions

    • Roast your red peppers until the skins are black.  When you’re done, they should look like this:

    • Place red peppers in a sealed zip lock bag and allow them to sweat for 10-15 mins.
    • Take peppers out of bag, remove skins, stem and seeds.
    • In a blender, puree the red peppers.
    • In a pan, saute onions and garlic in olive oil.  After slightly browned, add pepper puree.
    • Add cream and stir together.  Let it sit and cook for a few minutes.  Add salt to taste.
    • Add pasta and stir together.  Top with shaved Parmesan cheese