kellan_the_tabby: My face, reflected in a round mirror I'm holding up; the rest of the image is the side of my head, hair shorn short. (food)
[personal profile] kellan_the_tabby
1) Read the recipe. No, again. Again. Make sure you have the entire clue, not just half of it.

2) Check to see if you have the ingredients. Not just 'parsley', but 'fresh parsley'.

3) If it calls for 'chicken cutlets' but talks about said cutlets, read what it says, too. If they're supposed to be an eve quarter-inch thick? The ones from the grocery store might just not cut it.

4) Prep the ingredients first. A good chef might have the brain cells to remember to make chicken broth while dealing with chicken cutlets that are too thick, but that doesn't mean I will. Also? Juicing lemons causes lemon juice. Everywhere.

5) It says 'softened butter' for a reason. Reread #4. Twice.

6) When it works out anyway? Have a glass of wine, and enjoy.

What did you make?

Date: 2006-05-04 08:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] maziemaus.livejournal.com
With parsley, chicken, and lemon juice?

Re: What did you make?

Date: 2006-05-05 04:23 am (UTC)
montuos: cartoon portrait of myself (Default)
From: [personal profile] montuos
...and "softened butter"; don't forget that... I wondered about Chicken Kiev, but... *shrug*

Re: What did you make?

Date: 2006-05-05 07:07 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] maziemaus.livejournal.com
Yeah! Neener neener :)

I have this soup recipe that is burning a hole in my stock pot. It's called red and green soup and it has beans but is a cream tomato soup. Next week I think I'll have to knuckle under and try it.

Date: 2006-05-05 06:54 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] goldsquare.livejournal.com
There are ways to juice a lemon so that the juice doesn't spray. :-)

(The "cells" of the lemon are bags full of juice. If you squeeze them hard enough to burst them, juice goes everywhere. Cut the lemon in half so that you have two domes, with a tip on each dome. Use a small paring knife, cut a circle like an archery target once around the lemon. Now, instead of just squeezing over a bowl or measuring cup, curl your forefinger like it was a fist, and use that to ream out the lemon. Only when it is mostly done, do you just squeeze. Or, purchase a lemon reamer...)

Date: 2006-05-05 07:42 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] goldsquare.livejournal.com
Even with a lemon reamer, the knife circle thing helps a great deal.

(For piccata, I find that lemon zest in the breading works far better for flavor than any amount of juice. Panko or matzoh meal are better than bread crumbs...)

Date: 2006-05-09 09:33 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] goldsquare.livejournal.com
Recipe? My girlfriend, R, refers to what I do as "freelancing". Recipes? Hmmm.

For chicken piccata, I season white flour with salt, pepper, oregano and lemon zest. Lots of lemon zest. A quick egg bath for the chicken, roll in flour. If I wanted breaded on top of that (which I have not done - I'm not sure why I thought you were breading the thing), I would do a quick dredge in plain flour, egg wash, and use seasoned panko with the salt, pepper, oregano and lemon zest. If I was in a mood, I'd either add thyme and marjoram, or substitute those for oregano. My spicing is haphazard sometimes. Now I'm thinking tarragon, just a little. Hmmm. But I haven't done that.

Since I don't eat chicken, I'd be making this for someone else. I'd saute in a half extra-virgin olive oil (for flavor and higher smoke-point) and half butter (for sheer yummy). If feeling fancy, I'd saute some shallots in that cooking fat first - to a dark brown, and remove. After cooking, I'd deglaze the pan with marsala wine or a good quality sherry - with more lemon zest and the remaining flour/mixture to thicken, adding the lemon juice at the last minute. If you don't have marsala or sherry, a decent vermouth is good with lemon sauces.

Top with the very brown shallots, and a good spoonful of the reduced sauce.

That's how I recall making it. Except I rarely have shallots, so it's always onion. :-)

Date: 2006-05-09 10:40 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] goldsquare.livejournal.com
Food geekery. Delete if you hate it.

Spicing the flour mixture has two advantages. It is easier, and it allows you to premix, so there is a more even layer of spicing. Chicken stock is good - but I like the wine flavors even more.

The shallots/onions would be pre-cooked, just to flavor the oil. They have to come out so they won't burn.

Slicing and putting in the lemon is good - either way you want the lemon oil in the zest to come out. Putting the rounds in will do that, although not as much. The juice's flavor evaporates and can diminish. That's why I suggested adding the juice at the last minute.

An egg layer makes the covering stick, and is a bit crunchier. The classic forms are either egg-wash plus flour, or for a bread crumb crust (which is not really piccata) flour, then egg wash, then bread crumbs.

Yes, I hack in the kitchen. Things get strange. :-)

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