King Tom's Kingdom

I’m a fan of finding new and interesting ways of cooking things.  That’s why a recent posting from Popular Science is setting the idea wheels in motion.  The PopSci Web site answers the question: If You Dropped a Corn Kernel From Space, Would it Pop During Re-Entry?

Unfortunately, the answer is mostly inconclusive:

If an astronaut were to throw a watertight kernel out of that space shuttle moving at 17,000 mph, would the kernel reach hot enough temperatures to pop as it flew through the atmosphere? It’s possible, says Kenneth Libbrecht, a physics professor at the California Institute of Technology, but he can’t run the numbers to say for sure, because no one has measured how much friction a kernel generates when it moves through the air. 

We need to get the boys (and girls) in the lab working on this one right away.  If possible, this sets the stage for a revolution in meal preparation.  All cooking is is the addition of heat to food, and one could harness this for a profit.  

Don’t go stealing this, but here’s the idea:  When the Space Shuttles have outlived their usefulness, send them up to space as orbital kitchens.  You want a pizza?  Chinese Food?  Roasted chicken?  Just call and the chefs in the shuttle will put the ingredients together and just drop it into orbit so your meal lands on your roof.  And probably crashes through, destroying your house.

On second thought, maybe they should just stick to finding out whether ants can sort tiny screws in space.

In the past week, I’ve gotten many hits on the Kingdom from people googling Christmas Chicken Dinner.  I haven’t seen this kind of traffic since Jean Smart was in the cast of 24.  The only problem, the post involving those key words doesn’t really contain any information about chicken for Christmas dinner.  In the interest of serving the public, I share some of my favorite chicken recipes.  Depending on what floats your boat, they could go well with the whole Christmas thing.

Chicken and Bean Soup

• 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
• 1 cup dried white beans
• 5 leeks (quartered lengthwise, sliced crosswise, washed and trained).
• 1/3 stick of butter
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 bay leaves
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon tarragon
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
• 5 carrots trimmed, peeled and diced
• 1/2 pound potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and diced
• 14-ounce can Italian peeled tomatoes, chopped
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (none of the powdered stuff in the green container)
• For the pesto (optional):
• 5 large garlic cloves
• Pinch of Kosher salt
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup Olive Oil

Soak beans in cold water overnight.

Sautee leeks in 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over moderate heat, stirring frequently for 1/2 hour or until leeks turn dark golden brown.  Add bay leaves, garlic, tarragon, fennel seeds and pepper, stirring for 1 minute.

In a separate pan, sautee chicken strips in 2 tablespoons olive oil until browned.

Drain the beans, add to leek mixture.  Add the stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, add browned chicken strips and simmer, covered for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until beans are tender.  Make sure soup does not boil.

While the rest is simmering, cook carrots, potato, fennel bulb and orange zest in remaining olive oil in a separate pan, stirring often, until vegetables brown.  

Stir vegetables and tomatoes into soup.  Cook soup over moderate heat for 5 minutes.  Serve topped with the grated cheese and pesto.

To make the pesto: Mash garlic and salt, pounding vigorously into a paste.  Gradually add the basil as you mash.  Add cheese gradually until mixture reaches the consistency of a soft butter.  Gradually stir in the oil. You could do this in a food processor, but that takes away all the fun.

Honey Nut Chicken Sticks

• 1 pound chicken tenders
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup of flour (whole wheat or all purpose)
• 1 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup of honey nut corn flakes
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon poultry seasoning
• 1 tablespoons steak seasoning
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat Oven to 400

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a large, shallow. Coat the chicken in flour. Beat the eggs and milk in a shallow dish. Combine the cereal, bread crumbs, paprika, poultry seasoning, steak seasoning and vegetable oil in a food processor.

In batches, dip the flour-coated chicken into the egg mixture and then in the breading and place on then place on a nonstick cookie sheet or aluminum foil. When all of the tenders have been coated, bake 15 minutes or until evenly browned and cooked through. Cool enough to handle and serve.

Use warm barbeque sauce (Montgomery Inn), honey and steak sauces for dipping.

Artichicken Pasta

• 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• Whole wheat flour
• 1 can of artichoke hearts
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 box spaghetti

2 tablespoons olive oil

Cook spaghetti for 10 minutes in a pot of boiling water.

Coat chicken in flour.

Sautee chicken in olive oil until browned.  Add chopped carrots, green pepper and onion.  Cook for five minutes or until vegetables soften.  Add artichoke hearts and cook for another two minutes.

Add chicken stock and deglaze the pan.  Add cream and cook for five minutes.

Drain spaghetti and toss into pan with chicken and vegetables.  Cook over low heat for two minutes.