Butter-Roasted Chicken and Stock

So it's been pretty quiet around these parts this week, huh? I guess I fell off the blogging wagon. But here I am, clambering back on. With or without a post to share, things are chugging right along in the kitchen and in our bellies.

Last Sunday we roasted our first whole chicken, and Steve had the idea to try our hand at a basic chicken stock with the carcass. Both were a relative success, I think. The only downside is that we barely set foot outside of the kitchen all afternoon/evening, but to be fair, I also decided to make some homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream with the leftover mint leaves that we bought for the chicken. You might be thinking: "Woah, overkill." but in that case you probably have never tasted ice cream made with real mint, because it melted all that hard work away with one bite. Well, almost.

Four cups of chicken stock, now hanging out in our freezer.

Butter-Roasted Chicken with Cilantro and Mint on Food & Wine

Used From Our CSA
whole heritage chicken

I had a pretty personal encounter rubbing our bird down with the flavored butter. First time for everything!

Thoughts on the Recipe
Really this was pretty straightforward. Of course we halved the recipe since we were only working with one bird. The flavor was great, really unique, and even more pronounced in the next few days (I wonder if our stock will take any of that on). We ate it for dinner with a green salad on the side. Very satisfying and made for some great leftovers.

The only thing I am coming to loathe about all these non-breast chicken parts we've been working with is the crazy amounts of splatter in our oven, and the resulting smoke-filled kitchen and fire alarms that go off every 90 seconds. I think I am going to try tenting the pan with foil next time we make legs, wings, or a whole chicken in the oven. Do you guys have any other suggestions?

After dinner Steve started work on Phase II of the marathon chicken-cooking day, a basic stock recipe. It felt like a pretty low-risk, marginal-reward experiment, so why the heck not give it a try?

The Gateway Stock on the paupered chef

Used from Our CSA
chicken carcass, uncooked wing-tips, neck, etc. (everything that came with it, minus the liver)
scallions

Thoughts on the Recipe
- In addition to the scallions, Steve also threw in a bunch of other non-CSA stuff that we already had on hand, loosely following the guidelines of the recipe: more onion, bay leaves, ginger, and cilantro (we did just get cilantro in yesterday's box, though, so go figure).
- I totally agree with the one commenter on the recipe site who submitted that it's ridiculous to go out and buy new produce just to make it into a stock - in that case isn't it easier to just buy a can of stock? But there was a great follow-up comment from someone who accumulates their veggie scraps in a bag in the freezer and uses them when the time comes to make a stock, and I think that is so smart.
- I think our finished liquid went straight into the freezer, so we may have missed the "let it refrigerate for a day" step, to let the flavors meld. Ooops - next time.
- As he says in his recipe, this may not make the most highly refined stock, but it will suit great in a lot of the one pot dishes that Steve and I tend to gravitate towards.

In the end we got four cups of stock out of this experiment, which equates to two cans from the store. I'll take it. Have you ever made a stock from scratch before? If so, I'd love to hear your tips and tricks in the comments!

Chopped Kale Salad

The first recipe I made using some of our Week 1 ingredients was a total hit. We have actually already made it twice for two different dinner gatherings with friends. It seems to have been a hit with them, too! I will definitely return to this recipe in the future.

Chopped Kale Salad on What's Cooking Good Looking

Kale is not something we cook with regularly at all. But when I spotted this recipe online a few months ago, I thought it looked so delicious that I pinned it right away, knowing we would probably get some kale in our CSA. I mean, just look at the photos on her site - they make this dish look a heck of a lot more appetizing than mine do. The sweet in the chickpeas, mixed with the crunch of the almonds, creaminess of the avocado, and the awesome dressing (I loved the taste of ginger in there) all came together to make this a fast favorite. And the kale makes a perfect backdrop to the flavor/texture party that's going on here.

Used From Our CSA
kale (used half the bunch each time, so it's all been used now: wahoo!)
Egyptian walking onion/red scallions (used in place of green onion the first and second times respectively; both were fine substitutions)

Thoughts on the Recipe
- I think you can easily get away with 1/4 c. or less of sesame seeds. But I always feel like recipes call for more sesame seeds than are really needed. They are not cheap! We have had luck in the past getting a bigger, less-expensive bottle of them found with the Asian food, rather than the tiny bottles that are shelved with the other spices.
- I know it's not a CSA item, but avocado is never an "optional" ingredient in my book. It elevates everything!
- I loved that ginger flavor in the dressing so much, and will probably add more next time I make this. Why not?
- This was the perfect dish to make and take. We tossed the dressing in right before leaving home and it held up great.
- Leftovers are really important in our home, so I also think it's worth mentioning that this was still great on day two. I probably wouldn't hang on to it much beyond that.

Still great on day two!

I now have one kale recipe in my pocket that I feel confident about. What's your favorite thing to make with fresh kale?