Over the last few years, chicken breasts have made culinary history, showing up in all guises in homes, restaurants, at fast-food chains, in picnic baskets, and on barbecue grills. Not that many years ago, it was up to us to skin and de-bone a chicken breast. Nowadays, most every supermarket sells them boneless, skinless chicken breast-whole, halves, and as chicken tenders.
We love them and keep a steady supply of them in our freezer for fast, nutritious, and delicious meals. In our first cookbook in the Joslin Diabetes series, we seven fast and easy toppings for grilled, poached, or sautéed chicken breasts. For you, we've developed four fast and easy meals, centered on boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
But first, some pointers on handling chicken properly. At the market, check the expiration date and buy the freshest. A tip: when the meat personnel rotate stock, they put the about to expire meat and poultry within easy reach of shoppers, usually in front and on top. It pays to do a little digging-don't worry they'll readily sell the older stock, but we want you, our faithful readers, to get the best available.
Once home, remove the chicken from its wrapping; rinse it thoroughly with cold water. Fresh chicken will have a fresh smell. Remove and discard any visible fat. Wrap securely in plastic wrap and refrigerate to cook within one day. Or, prepare the chicken for the freezer.
Place a breast half between two sheet of plastic wrap and using the flat side of a meat mallet, pound the chicken until it's evenly thin and flat. Wrap each breast half (you can separate them within a package by a small sheet of parchment paper) airtight in freezer butcher wrap or freezer plastic wrap. You could also slip them into a freezer self-sealing plastic bag. Mark the date on the package and freeze for up to 3 months. There's no need to defrost these pounded chicken breasts before grilling or broiling, cook them still frozen, adding a minute or two to complete the cooking. Of course, with some of these recipes where we've stuffed the breasts, you'll need to defrost them overnight in the refrigerator or in the microwave, following your microwave manufacturer's instructions.
Now, to the first menu.
I've always loved the way the Greeks cook chicken. Tart with lemon and highly seasoned with Greek oregano, we have enjoyed it most often in Greece, and here in the States at Greek diners-particularly memorable was a dish at a Greek diner in Little Neck on Long Island where the chicken came with a slice of cooked lemon. Here I've done a boneless chicken breast, stuffed with one of our favorite vegetables-artichokes, in a light lemon sauce. Tell your family that's all right to eat the lemon slice; it's quite delicious. If your market has water-packed artichoke bottoms (not the ones packed in oil), by all means use them as they are actually the "heart" of the artichokes. Canned water-paced artichoke hearts will also work just fine. Did you think only Italians eat bruschetta? Actually, bruschetta is popular in other Mediterranean countries, including Greece. There they grate the tomato on top of their distinctive rusks they sell at Greek bakeries. Since we don't have them here except at scattered ethnic markets, I used a good-quality peasant bread with tasty results. Again, the recipe calls for Green oregano which I grow during the herb-growing months and can sometimes buy at the store. Common oregano can also be used, but not dried. It won't have them same flavor, we don't think. For dessert, there's a recipe that I developed twenty years ago for Knudsen Dairy (a Los Angeles major dairy), but had quite forgotten when it resurfaced recently in a copy of a memo that was sent to their advertising department. I changed the original recipe from whole milk to skim to lower the fat. It has a softer texture, but the taste is still there. You could make it before dinner to let it refreeze while you eating the rest of the meal. Berries from South America are plentiful and good quality. It's your choice as to strawberry, raspberry, or blackberry.
(for the recipes, click on the individual recipe above)
Our next meal uses the oven for a short period (boneless chicken breasts cook very quickly) over a bed of savory onions. The dish is finished with a quick sauté of golden raisins and roasted sunflower seeds. With it, I'm serving rice that's been cooked with a bit of onion and pimiento (called Rice Lyonnaise in France); a salad with oranges and orange/raspberry vinaigrette; and for dessert, sautéed fresh apricots (they're now also in good supply from South America) that are sprinkled with a bit of crumbled gingersnaps. Supper couldn't be easier or more delicious!
(for the recipes, click on the individual recipe above)
The third meal features a spicy linguine dish, using fresh pasta from the supermarket with bits of chicken and a slew of other ingredients to give crunch and a depth of flavor that you're most discriminating family member is sure to love. Once the chopped and shredding is done, the dish assembles together in minutes. Since the shredder is out, I've also shredded some salad vegetables for an unusual rendition that reminds me of Gado Gado, minus the customary peanut dressing. Instead, there's a gutsy vinaigrette. For dessert, I sautéed some fresh pineapple and topped it with a smidgeon of vanilla frozen yogurt to replace the customary whipped cream. Another meal that's sure to please.
(for the recipes, click on the individual recipe above)
Bonnie was busy testing a Thai recipe for our fourth Joslin cookbook that won't be published until 2002 (more on this much later). Left with a lot of lemongrass she'd purchased from an Asian market, she called to tell me how wonderful the Thai dish was, then asked, "What shall I do with all of this extra lemongrass?" While still on the phone, she decided to develop a recipe for this article, to root some to grow in her penthouse apartment (lemongrass makes a very attractive and useful household plant), and to give the rest away to her friends. Lemongrass is readily available at Asian markets, many natural food stores, organic markets, and it's a lovely plant to grow in a pot on your terrace during the warmer months. It adds a distinctive flavor for marinating pork, fish, or shellfish. If you've dined recently at an Asian-influenced restaurant, most likely that elusive flavor that you can't identify can be attributed to lemongrass. It's the rage now with chefs worldwide. While you're at the market for the lemongrass, check to see if they also have Thai basil. I find it more intensely flavored than our domestic green basil. The closest to it is opal basil, but that, too, is not always readily available unless you're growing it in your herb garden as we do. Otherwise just use the common green leaf basil that's available everywhere.
(for the recipes, click on the individual recipe above)
FG and BP
