Friday, 11 September 2009

• Crispy Chicken with Garlic Mushroom Sauce Pasta

  Crispy Chicken with Garlic Mushroom Sauce
  with Sauteed Mushrooms, on Pasta with Parmigiano Reggiano
  

  
   

  
  One of my most common requests is for a Weeknight Dish that is Easy, Quick, Cheap, Delicious, and Uses Ingredients readily available in a typical home kitchen.
  
  
  This one is for Lacey, who would be my BFF if I were young enough to use that term.
  
  Lacey loves Chicken.  Lacey loves Mushrooms.  Lacey loves Pasta.  Lacey loves Butter and Garlic too.  I think this is a fairly common combination of likes, and one that's easy to satisfy all in one dish.
  
  The ingredients are simple and cheap.  We use our standard FBCT's (Frozen Boneless Chicken Thighs) and White Mushrooms, both available from Costco in bulk.  We use canned/ boxed Chicken Broth.  We use Garlic.  And we serve that on a bed of Pasta, garnished with Parmesan and Italian Parsley.  Per person, without breaking out the calculator, I'm guessing about $1.50 a head in cost.
  
  From the point the water comes to a boil and the pan is heated, this dish can be served in 15 minutes, made with simple techniques that anyone can learn here. 
  
  Before we begin though, let's learn about Pasta and how to cook it properly.
  
  
  
  
  

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  THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT COOKING PASTA:
  If you don't listen to me here and end up with crap Pasta, it's your own damned fault.
  

  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  Like Rice, Dried Pasta is a pantry staple that most people kind-of know how to make, but don't know how to make well.  While I won't go in-depth like I did with Rice, I wanted to sum up a few key points about Dried Pasta here.
  
  
  KEY POINTS TO MAKING PASTA:
  
  

  • Go with a reputable brand.  Try out the different brands.  You'll eventually find your favorite and will tend to stick to it.  I like using Garofalo, which is imported from Naples, Italy; and is available for a good price at Costco.  When Garofalo does not have the appropriate Pasta type, I use Barilla.
  
  
  • ALWAYS use enough water for the any given amount of Pasta.  This is the single most important thing in determining whether you get good Pasta or a mess of uncooked, sticky crap. 
  
  
  • A good rule of thumb is 1 Gallon per 1 Pound of Pasta.  This is because starch is released as Pasta cooks, and Water only has a certain capacity for holding starch.  After that, the Water is saturated and the starch has nowhere to go, the pasta sticks together, and does not cook thoroughly.
  
  
  • A good rule of thumb is about 250g of Pasta per person for a dish designed to be a stand-alone meal.  If eating other dishes, 125g of Pasta per person is good.
  
  
  • Do not break your Pasta.  It will soften and fill the pot anyway.  If you break your Pasta, you just create short strands of Pasta, which is just... wrong, nevermind difficult to wrap up with a fork.
  
  
  • Do not use oil in your water.  This does not prevent sticking.  Adequate Water prevents sticking.  Oil just coats your pasta and prevents sauce from sticking to it, making for oily, crappy Pasta.
    
  
  
  • Salt your water.  I like using Sea Salt, but its not necessary.  This is not to raise the boiling temperature.  Unless you are saturating your water with so much salt that you'd DFO from drinking it, the amount of salt added does not raise the boiling point of the water.  We add salt to season the Pasta itself.
  
  
  • Only add your Pasta to water that is at a FULL, ROLLING BOIL.  Stir your pasta to separate the strands, then immediately cover the pot and let it return to a full boil again before cracking the lid aside to allow for steam to escape as the Pasta continues to cook.  For reasons stated above having to do with starch, we want our Pasta to cook as quickly as possible, hence, we want the maximum amount of heat applied at all times.
  
  
  • Stir your Pasta a few times while it cooks.
  
  
  • Cook your Pasta until it's Al Dente.  This means that when you remove a strand from the pot and test it by biting it, it's tender to the tooth but it has a slight firmness to it.  Overcooked pasta is mushy.  Undercooked pasta is tough.  You want it just-right.  Sometimes the box directions are correct, sometimes they are not, just go for Al Dente by testing it.
    
  
  
  • When you drain your Pasta, reserve some of the cooking water.  This is so that you can add it into your sauce, and is one of the secrets to having a very silky sauce.  Doing this acts as a thickener for your sauce, and the mixture of starch and fat creates an emulsion that adds to the enhanced mouthfeel of your dish.
  
  
  • DO NOT RINSE YOUR PASTA.  This rinses off all the starch on the Pasta, and you end up with lame, slippery noodles that sauce will not cling to.  You also water down your sauce, which is not sticking to your pasta in the first place, making for the sudden ruin of an otherwise good Pasta dish.
  
  
  • Thanks Cakalusa for reminding me:  If you are planning on holding your pasta for any period of time while not saucing it, you can use butter or olive oil to mix with it to keep it from becoming a big clump of pasta crap.  Plus, butter omnomonom.
    
  
  

  These points are important to remember when cooking Pasta.  Soon they become second nature when you cook Pasta.  Until then, if you need to, use this list as a checklist as you go along to make sure you've done everything you need to -- you could make the best sauce and accompaniments, but if your Pasta is a mass of crap, the dish is FAIL.
  
  Alright, let's get this bastard on.
  
  
  
  
  

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  I N G R E D I E N T S:
  
  

  Serving for Two:  Main Course dish to be served alongside other dishes.
  
  250g Spaghetti Pasta (Garofalo or Barilla Preferred)
  4 Tbsp Butter
  2 Frozen Boneless Chicken Thighs (or Fresh, sure)
  1 Flour to Dredge Chicken
  2 Cloves Garlic, minced
  1 14oz Can Low Sodium Chicken Broth or Equivalent
  1 Cup sliced White Mushrooms about 1/8" thick
  Italian Parsley, minced, for garnish
  Parmigiano Reggiano, grated, for garnish
  Salt and Pepper
  

  
  
  P R O C E D U R E:
  
  

  First, Boil Water.  Use about 1 Gallon of Water per 1 Pound of Pasta.  Because we are using 250g of Pasta for 2 people here, we will be using about 1/2 Gallon of Water.  Using the lid keeps the heat in better, and brings the water to a boil faster.
  
  
  
  
  When the Water is at a FULL ROLLING BOIL (and not before), add the Pasta and stir.  I find that about 250g of Pasta per person is about right for a stand-alone meal portion.  If eating other dishes, 125g of Pasta per person is good.
  
  Follow the Pasta cooking directions in the entry above.
  
  
  
  
  Pound your Chicken Thighs out to even thickness.  Use Saran Wrap to cover the meat and use a mallet.  Or just use your fist.  Salt and Pepper liberally.
  
  Add flour to your dusting pan, and coat the Chicken.  Heat your Skillet.
  
  
  
  
  When coated, the Chicken will look like this.
  
  Set aside your Chicken to rest for about 5 minutes.  This is so that the flour and the moisture on the Chicken can come together to form a crust instead of being wet meat with loose flour particles on it.  If you do not rest your Chicken, and cook it right away, you will end up with burned flour dust in your fat, which is not good.
  
  This is a technique to remember for any application using flour dusting on a meat before cooking.
  
  Reserve some of the flour left over in a separate bowl.
  
  Note:  If you have used the same pan to flour the Chicken as you are going to use to cook it in, wash the pan out so it is clean before you heat it.
  
  
  
  
  When your Skillet is hot enough so that water steams off of it in a few seconds, add 2 Tbsp Butter to the Skillet.  Stir it around to coat the bottom of the pan.  We are using a Medium-hot Pan here because Butter has a low smoke point and will burn easily.  We also do not want to burn the flour under high heat.
  
  Use medium heat.  If your butter is burning, it's too hot.  If the food is just sitting there doing nothing, it's too low.
  
  Add your Chicken to the Skillet and leave it alone.  Make sure the pieces are spaced well.  DO NOT OVERCROWD THE PAN.  If you do, the Chicken will steam, and not crisp, and you'll have gross soggy flour Chicken.
  
  
  
  
  When the Chicken looks like this on the side contacting the Pan, flip it.
  
  When the other side looks like this too, remove the Chicken and set aside.
  
  
  
  
  Add 2 Tbsp of Butter to the SAME Pan you cooked the Chicken in, the Garlic, and about 2 Tbsp of the leftover flour from earlier, and stir.  This is the base of a thin roux to be the base of our sauce.  It will cook quickly.
  
  Add the Mushrooms.  Continue cooking on Medium Heat.
  
  
  
  
  Omnomnom Mushrooms Sauteed in Garlic Butter.  Try to eat as little bit of these as possible at this point because you need them for the sauce.  Avoid touching the Pan surface with your fingers or your mouth while snacking out of the pan.  It will hurt you.
  
  
  
  
  Add in the Chicken Broth.  It should sizzle.  Stir with a wooden spoon and try and scrape up all the browned bits of Chicken and Mushroom on the bottom of the pan.  This, the "Fond", adds to the flavor of the sauce. 
  
  Add some of the reserved cooking water from boiling the Pasta.  Just a little is fine, but add as much as you want until you get the consistency you like.
  
  After stirring, let it thicken up.  It will look like this.
  
  Feel free to add liquor or wine to this if you like. 
  
  
  
  
  Grate up your Parmigiano Reggiano.
  
  This is the best Parmesan you can get.  Just buy it.  It lasts near forever in block form, and stores well in the refrigerator.  Yes I know it's expensive; but I swear, I buy a block of this stuff and use it over the course of a whole year, and it just gets better.
  
  Go get a Microplane Grater too.  These things are wonderful.  Look at the grind on that thing.  It grinds so fine that the shreds just melt into anything they touch.
  
  
  
  
  PLATING TIPS:
  
  Lay the Pasta down first.  Lay the Chicken down on top of the mound of Pasta, letting it drape naturally.  Dress the top of the Chicken with some Mushroom.  Then ladle the sauce PERPENDICULAR to the axis of the Chicken.  Let the "ends" of the saucing spread out like an hourglass.  Let the mushrooms run off to one side.  Garnish with Parmigiano Reggiano and Italian Parsley.  I used Basil here because I felt like it.  Finely minced Rosemary would taste good here too.
  

  
  
  

  

  
  

  Plate and Serve.
  

  
  
  
  
  

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  Variations and Suggestions:
  
  

  • To add another layer of depth to this sauce, add about 2tsp of Rosemary in with the mushrooms, then 1/4 to 1/2 cup of a decent red wine before adding the chicken stock, and let it simmer for a bit before adding 1/4 cup of cream or half-and-half (and then adding the chicken stock and continuing as above). 
    
    
  • Change up the mushroom flavor by going a little more exotic with Criminis or a Wild Mushroom Blend, or Shiitake.  If using Shitake, try Sake instead of red wine in the note above.
    
    
  • Instead of using a Chicken Thigh, try Chicken Breast for a slightly healthier alternative (or if you prefer breast meat).  Be advised, this is not a healthy dish to begin with, but it tastes good.
    
    
  • To make this Vegetarian, instead of Chicken, use Eggplant Slices.  To do this, coat the eggplant in flour first, then egg, then flour again before frying as above.  Also, use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

  
  If you have any questions about the variations, please ask and I will elaborate to you.
  
  
  
  
  

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  There you have it:  Quick, Cheap, Easy, Delicious, and Uses Ingredients readily available in a home kitchen.
  
  The nice thing about a dish like this is that it's just about Fail-proof as long as you follow the instructions, so almost anyone can make it.  This is also a very good way for someone to learn how to make their own Pasta Sauce that isn't Tomato based, for the first time -- and even more, this is a simple introduction to making Pan sauces from a Fond, Roux Base and a De-Glazing liquid too.  And it tastes good enough for someone to want to eat it all the time.
  
  It seems simple, but if you make this dish, you've actually learned a lot of technique that you can apply to many other dishes by changing ingredients slightly, to create entire new dishes. 
  
  This is what I mean by learning how to cook.
  
  As we continue on, we'll make other dishes with similar techniques, and hopefully you will recognize them and realize that your experience in cooking one dish directly translates into functional knowledge and technique in making another one.
  
  For now though, please enjoy; whether making this for yourself on an night spent at home, or making this for loved ones as a shared meal.  As always, my Love and Aloha to you.
  
  -MC
  

  
  
  

  EDIT:  Added additional instruction of "Use the Same Pan you cooked the Chicken in" -- I realized after Carolyn pointed it out that I hadn't made that clear, my apologies!  The reason we use the same pan is because the Browned bits of Chicken provide the base flavorings for the Pan sauce that we make.  Also added note to add reserved pasta water in the sauce making part.  Missed that, sorry guys.
  
  Also, removed a confusing random photo of mushrooms to further clarify the transition between Chicken and Mushrooms in the pan.
  
  This is the reason why your feedback is so helpful -- I don't catch these things, and with your feedback I can make edits so that other people are not confused by my instructions.  Thank you :)
  

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