Dinner! 2007

[demiglace]

can you tell me how you do this? sounds scary..

Yes!  Broasted chicken is so delicious.  I'm so glad to find someone else who does fried chicken this way.  I guess we can call ourselfs 'The Broaster Society.' 

A few years back I went on a fried chicken quest to determine which method of frying chicken was my favorite. I had to search long and hard to find a pressure cooker that would also allow for deep-frying with hot oil.  Most of today's pressure cookers aren't rated as safe for deep-frying with oil when the pressure lid is on the pot.  The cooker I found is made by 'Fagor' of Germany and I think it was around $100.00.  It was worth the cost because I don't find any other fried chicken techniques give such wonderful results.

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Using the broaster method for chicken sounds scary-deep-frying under pressure, but it is really safe and easy.

Make sure that you buy a pressure cooker that is built for deep-frying. Most pressure cookers only allow you to cook with water or other liquids while under pressure. The pressure cooker I use is designed to allow you to deep-fry while the pressure lid is on. I don't know about the mechanics of pressure cookers but the one I use has never caused me any problems.

You basically deep-fry the chicken for about 2 minutes in hot oil in the pot of the pressure cooker. Then you put the lid on and tighten it down really hard. There is a seal around the bottom edges of the lid to keep it sealed onto the pot. There are alos two clamps on the outside of the pot to hold the lid down under pressure.

The only odd sound you'll hear is steam escaping through the pressure valve which is normal. So don't worry that the lid will come off during frying/cooking.

The pressure that builds up in the cooker is what cooks the meat of the chicken so quickly, and the steam that builds up inside is what makes the chicken moist.

After about 15 minutes you lift up the pressure valve to release the pressure inside the cooker. After about a minute then you unscrew the lid and let the chicken cook another 30 seconds or so before you take it out of the oil.

I let the chicken rest on a rack over a cookie sheet to drain the oil. You can't re-use the oil because it has been watered down from the cooking juices and steam.

The home pressure-cooker/deep-fryer method is the same technique that KFC and some grocery stores use for chicken, just on a smaller scale.

The term 'broasted chicken' actually comes from the 'Broaster' company of Beloit, Wisconsin. The company has sold the equipment for broasted chicked since the early 1950's. So it wasn't just Colonel Sanders who discovered the great results of deep-frying and cooking chicken under pressure.

You should do some investigating and try it at home, the results are delicious.

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Well I appreciate the explanation David Ross...it was just the thought of oil, chicken, steam and childhood stories of exploding pressure cookers that was a little worrisome! I'm sure the chicken is fabulously tasty and tender. I had never heard the term broaster before either..thanks much.

Edited July 28, 2007 by demiglace (log)

[David Ross]

I know, I think we have all visualized exploding pinto beans splattering the kitchen walls when the pressure cooker blew. I worried about that too when I first started to cook chicken this way about 5 years ago. But it really is safe. In fact, I had the broasted chicken Thursday night and it was so good, I'm making more tonight. Sinful isn't it, fried chicken 2 nights out of three.

[Bigfoot]

Pork and Chinese spinach gyoza with dipping sauce, purple kale with garlic and red wine vinegar, curly leaf lettuce, black Corinth Champagne grapes, and a peeled fresh lychee. Morning prep time: 12 minutes. Kale recipe, preschooler and husband dinners, and detailed packing notes are at my speedy packed lunch blog.

[Prawncrackers]

As an antidote to Biggies 12min prep; Crab Fritters, Roast Duck, Stir Fried Lobster & Veggies. Total prep time 6hrs-ish...

[nonblonde007]

Wow! i just had to sit and stare at that for a few..........

Yum!

[percyn]

Prawncracker, how did you make the lobster?

[SobaAddict70]

Fusilli carbonara, using Ruth Reichl's recipe. I substituted no-nitrate bacon from Citarella's for the guanciale.

[nonblonde007]

Dinner and a Movie.........Greek night!

We do this at least once a month, I love theme nights! Tonight it was My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Gyros deconstructed, (forgot the bread) and calamari w/butter, lemon and capers.

SobaAddict70, I can smell that bacon from here!

[little ms foodie]

Brenda that looks wonderful! Did you cut up the squid yourself?? It's still something I haven't tackeled.

Tonight's cocktail was made using Clement Creole Shrub which we picked up in New Orleans during Tales of the Cocktail

Creole Love Call recipe by bostonapothecary

then in honor of TallDrinkOfWater's bday week I made his favorite ribs- tuscan style with grilled summer squash and carrot cabbage slaw

[nonblonde007]

Wendy, that drink sounds so good right now! Yes, I did cut up the squid, it realy is easy and so much better fresh that way.

[Jamie Lee]

I've been on a massive thai binge lately (thanks to the Thai Cooking at Home thread!)

Tonight, I really wanted yet ANOTHER Larb (!), but was out of everything - some sauces, ground meat, lettuce, every green and herb one would want. I got to be too lazy to do the shopping - I needed to hit the Asian Market (for thai basil, lemongrass, reasonably priced limes, mint, cilantro, fish sauce, dark soy, tamarind, palm sugar - you get it - on and on!)

Instead I had a favorite pantry meal that I hadn't had in a while... PASTA PUTTANESCA!

How wonderful and easy is this to make? Even if I don't have fresh onion, I always have chopped onion (chopped and frozen before they go "off"), garlic, canned San Marzano toms, bits of basil and fresh parsley, capers, anchovies and pasta (although, of course not in that order!)... sliced parm on top, and fresh mozz saved for leftover "reheats"!

I hit it with plenty of red pepper flakes (guess I can't get the "spicy" out of my system) and it rocked!

Pics will come shortly (for future meals, leftovers from this one will become B'Fast!)... I promise!

[demiglace]

I know, I think we have all visualized exploding pinto beans splattering the kitchen walls when the pressure cooker blew.  I worried about that too when I first started to cook chicken this way about 5 years ago.  But it really is safe.  In fact, I had the broasted chicken Thursday night and it was so good, I'm making more tonight.  Sinful isn't it, fried chicken 2 nights out of three.

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Not in my world!

[Prawncrackers]

Prawncracker, how did you make the lobster?

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Hi Percyn, the Lobster was done Cantonese style (natch)! The gist of it goes something like this:

The lobsters were poked (see the Lobster Newbie thread for morbid details), chopped into pieces (saving the black tomale), the pieces coated in a little cornflour & plainflour then deep fried for a moment in a wok. Drain and set the undercooked pieces aside, tip away the oil from the wok and using fresh oil gently fry some sliced ginger (1/2 inch), garlic (4 cloves) & shallot (4 small ones). Then on the highest heat possible add the pieces of lobster back into the wok along with some light soy, a shot of brandy, green onion and a slug of ketchup (yup?!?). Mash the saved tomale up and add that in along with some water (or chick stock preferably). The sauce should thicken automatically due to the coating on the lobster and when the tomale has turned bright red it’s time to dish up and get your fingers messy.

[GordonCooks]

It's a rare occasion that I take an entire saturday off. Being a part time landlord keeps me very busy. But a visit from a old friend and his future bride proved to be a worthy occasion. The task at hand would be a day of golf with dinner to be determined somewhere. After many, many, many drinks and a sunny, raucous afternoon - going out to dinner was out and I was put to the cooking challenge. The challenge was dinner for the five of us with whatever was in the house. Being my mother's son, there is always enough food for an army but is it still frozen? With the pork butt from the day before, 15 scallops and 3 steaks, i was not one to back down.

A slice of Prosciutto di Parma and melon to hold them off for a little while.

My Spicy Asian Gazpacho with a Sherry, Soy and Balsamic syrup and pickled cucumber

Seared Scallops over Hoisin and Garlic BBQ pulled pork and horseradish creme fraiche.

Zucchini Napoleon stuffed with sweet corn, sauteed mushroom, and edamame. Sirloin prepared Bulgogi style and Soy Truffle demi glace with pickled cucumber on the side and a stripe of hot chili sauce.

Now the curveball that was to be thrown was the fact that my bud's new girl is a vegetarian. Wanting to make a good impression, I did the zucchini "chop" for a hearty entree. Turns out, when she's a little tipsy, she eats chicken wings and now, Bulgogi

Finish if off with a little fresh peach whatever you call it

Not a crumble, maybe a clafoutis? How about perfectly ripe Peaches in cooked batter with Redi whip from a can.

[Shelby]

Wow Gordon, I'm impressed! If that's something you just threw together, I'd hate to see what you do when you plan!!

[Shelby]

Well, I canned pickles yesterday (see the pickling thread for pics) so Mr Shelby was in charge of the main part of dinner--smoked turkey!

We had homemade mac and cheese (no picture), deviled eggs and 'maters from the garden

Saturday I had a massive ham bone, so I made ham and beans. No picture of the finished product--not a very photogenic dish lol

[wattacetti]

I've been having a lot of fun with this down-time from chain restaurant wasteland and have used the time to read Fat Guy's adventures with sushi and zip through the Dinner! posts. GordonCook's "make a meal out of what's already here" is amazing.

I am feeling better about creativity. My best pal sent me photos of two things I had made and served (and forgotten about) earlier this year so I now have this:

and this to remind me of things I can come up with:

In addition to this find, I have another friend who's feeling a bit off at the moment, so I made them dinner over the week-end. Ingredients were primarily dictated by having been outvoted on the cut of beef (filet mignon is not my favorite) and from it being too hot/humid here in the Big Croissant to want to do anything overly complicated (that and my working in an unfamiliar kitchen):

Wild salmon ceviche

Okay, a less than imaginative start but you try and sell the merits of squid yaki.

Red cabbage slaw

Self-explanatory, though the corn was originally intended for the ceviche.

Creativity? Realizing that I only brought one set of plates to shoot with and coming to terms with having to plate everything else on fluo-lime green plates.

The slaw looked okay on them though.

Grilled filet and tartar duo

With girolles and pied bleu mushrooms and grilled zucchini.

Hot and cold texture, spicy and meaty… Looked great, executed well, tasted good. Unfortunately my friend had never eaten tartar prior to this and had difficulty with it (oops).

[KatieLoeb]

Tonight's dinner was using up a lot of stuff that was lying about. I'd had a packet of halibut portioned out and frozen and defrosted it yesterday. I'd been to the local farmer's market yesterday also and picked up some gorgeous heirloom tomatoes and some lemon cucumbers. So I seasoned the halibut with Penzey's Bangkok seasoning and then crusted it in ground almonds, ground corn flakes and flour mixed together. Put it into the trusty George Foreman grill two pieces at a time until nicely browned and cooked through. I made a chopped salad of cubed heirloom tomatoes (one green, one yellow and one red), cubed lemon cucumber and slivered Vidalia onions and then dressed it heavily with sherry vinegar and pumpkin seed oil, salt and pepper. I served the salad and vinaigrette atop the halibut filet with a side of leftover brown jasmine rice. Very tasty and a refreshing summer meal for a warm night.

Apologies for the blurry pic.

[Octaveman]

Made Larb tonight...it was excellent.

[blixt]

Roast rack of lamb, sauteed potatoes with rosemary, white asparagus, and some part of a garlic plant I'd never seen before. Had a lovely '04 Vincent Girardin Chambolle-Musigny from with that.

[Shelby]

I've been having a lot of fun with this down-time from chain restaurant wasteland and have used the time to read Fat Guy's adventures with sushi and zip through the Dinner! posts. GordonCook's "make a meal out of what's already here" is amazing.

I am feeling better about creativity. My best pal sent me photos of two things I had made and served (and forgotten about) earlier this year so I now have this:

and this to remind me of things I can come up with:

In addition to this find, I have another friend who's feeling a bit off at the moment, so I made them dinner over the week-end. Ingredients were primarily dictated by having been outvoted on the cut of beef (filet mignon is not my favorite) and from it being too hot/humid here in the Big Croissant to want to do anything overly complicated (that and my working in an unfamiliar kitchen):

Wild salmon ceviche

Okay, a less than imaginative start but you try and sell the merits of squid yaki.

Red cabbage slaw

Self-explanatory, though the corn was originally intended for the ceviche.

Creativity? Realizing that I only brought one set of plates to shoot with and coming to terms with having to plate everything else on fluo-lime green plates. 

The slaw looked okay on them though.

Grilled filet and tartar duo

With girolles and pied bleu mushrooms and grilled zucchini.

Hot and cold texture, spicy and meaty… Looked great, executed well, tasted good. Unfortunately my friend had never eaten tartar prior to this and had difficulty with it (oops).

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All of this looks so good!

I love the lime green plates

[nonblonde007]

Wattacetti................Just Beautiful! That Salmon hits my melt spot!

Blixt.........Love the lamb.

[TongoRad]

We made lamb, too. I was supposed to do this on Sunday but we were out at my folks' house longer than expected so I broke up the project into two nights. Yesterday I butterflied it and tied it up with a generous schmear of gremolata (with marjoram and rosemary as well) on the inside, and allowed it to marinate with a splash of sweet vermouth overnight. Tonight it was roasted as soon as I got in from work:

It was served alongside of my parents' string beans from their garden, sauteed with garlic (extremely green beans are so overrated ) and couscous. It was really good, although I originally also wanted to subject it to some grapevine smoke treatment (not enough time for that tonight.)

[nonblonde007]

Michael, how did the vermouth affect the gamey flavor of the lamb? Did it counter or enhance? Beautiful, btw.

[SiseFromm]

Here's our dinner from the weekend:

Butter-Poached Local Spot Prawns

Crème Fraîche Risotto & Spot Prawn Bisque

(2004 Varner Home Vineyard Spring Ridge Chardonnay)

The spot prawns were purchased live and boy were they absolutely stunning. What a treat to have found an actual local fisherman with a great selection of fresh catches.

Pan-Roasted Duck Breast

Gnocchi Parisienne & Red Currant-Duck Jus

Roasted Red Currants, Tat-Soi

(2001 Domaine Robert Arnoux Nuits-Saint-Georges Burgundy)

Seared Wagyu Tri-Tip

Pureed “Butterball” Potatoes & McGrath Purple Carrots

“Sauce Bernaise”

(2003 Paraduxx 10th Anniversary)

Bernaise is in quotations because it wasn't really a traditional hollandaise with a reduce tarragon/shallot vinegar, but rather a straight mayonnaise doctored up with a reduction of tarragon and shallot vinegar. A sort of Bernaise meets Aioli.

Brillat Savarin

Blueberry & Lemon Compote

These blueberries were from the farmer's market around 5 weeks ago and have been resting in our freezer. They were this season's absolute best batch.

Santa Monica Farmer’s Market Sorbets:

Red Raspberry

"Purple Reign” Plum

“Ice Princess” Peach