Beer-braised chicken with fennel

• Four chicken thighs, skin on.
• One bulb fennel, julienned.
• One bottle brown ale.
• One cup chicken stock.
• Salt and pepper.
• Two tablespoons cider vinegar.
• Two tablespoons butter.

Salt and pepper the chicken thighs. In a deep skillet, brown the thighs on both sides until they’re nice and golden brown. Remove chicken to a platter. Deglaze your pan with the chicken stock, then add the beer and fennel. Add the chicken back to the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and let the chicken work until it’s nice and tender. Remove chicken and add the vinegar, cooking the liquid until it has reduced by half. Adjust seasonings to taste, then swirl the butter into the finished sauce for a nice, glossy look and luscious taste. Serve with sweet potatoes or over wide egg noodles. Happy cooking!

To reverse sear your chop (or steak, but we eat our steaks so rare that a regular sear is enough), pre-heat your oven to 225. Salt your meat and allow it to come to room temperature. I know that bringing meat to room temperature seems like a gross violation of the Laws of Food Safety, but the salt is going to slow the growth of any nasties, it isn’t going to be nearly enough time to spoil — and room temperature meat cooks more evenly. Take your chops, pat them dry, and season with some fresh-cracked black pepper. You might be tempted to add some sort of bottled seasoning or some chili powder: stop yourself. These pigs are raised right. They have flavor. Don’t cover it up.

Put your chops in a cast iron skillet and let them cook in the oven for 30-45 minutes. The chops will be pretty much cooked through, but they should still be quite juicy. For you science folks out there, what we’re doing is allowing enzymes known as cathespins to break down the connective tissue in our meat, which will make it more tender. These enzymes don’t work above about 125 degrees, so low heat is vital. In addition, lower heat will cook without a lot of moisture evaporating, so our meat stays juicy — it’s a win/win.

Of course there’s another science term involved in good meat, and that’s the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction occurs when dry heat reacts with sugars and amino acids in meat to make that delicious caramelized crust that’s so good on steaks and chops. Cooking at low heat won’t give us this, so this is where the sear part comes into play. Remove your chops from the skillet and add a glug of olive oil (the more pungent, the better). Pat your chops dry, and when the oil is hot, sear them until they’re nice and brown. Let them rest for a few minutes and then serve. Savor the flavor of excellently raised free-range pork and don’t worry about anybody seeing you gnaw that bone. Happy cooking!

Photo courtesy Farm Girl Natural Foods

One of our more popular posts is this recipe for a roasted chicken galantine, a play on the classic French dish that roasts a boneless, stuffed chicken to serve hot rather than the traditional method of poaching and serving cold. And while I’m not the most efficient at getting a chicken boneless without tearing the skin, I’ve gotten a lot better at it — so much so that I rarely have to watch the Jacques Pepin video embedded in that original post for pointers anymore. The galantine takes a bit of work, but the results are so attractive and tasty that I just can’t help wanting to make one every time I get my hands on a whole chicken. Such was the case last week, when I used one of the Farm Girl Natural Foods chickens gifted to us by grower Katie Short to make a bird stuffed with bread crumbs, bacon, and some linguiça that also came from the Arkansas farm. I did more cooking than picture taking last weekend, though, and didn’t get any good shots of that lovely bird — so I went to Hillcrest Artisan Meats today and bought another one of Katie’s chickens, not only to get some pictures, but also to taste that delicious chicken once again. We served the galantine with a blend of mashed celery root and potatoes and some French-style green beans.

Sausage stuffed galantine

• One whole chicken, de-boned (see previous post for de-boning instructions).
• 3/4 pound sausage. Use whatever sausage you like. Or make your own by seasoning ground pork to taste.
• 1/4 pound bacon, cut into lardons.
• 3 tablespoons diced shallots
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 cup dried bread crumbs. Roughly tear your own and let dry overnight or just buy the pre-bagged kind made for stuffing.

Brown your sausage in a skillet, place into a bowl and set aside. Brown the bacon and add it to the sausage, reserving the fat. Use the bacon fat to saute your shallots and garlic, just until the shallots start becoming opaque (do not brown them). Add shallots, garlic, remaining bacon fat, and bread crumbs to the bowl, stirring to mix. Stuff your galantine and truss (again, see previous post for instructions). Roast for 20 minutes in a 300 degree oven, then finish for 10-20 minutes at 400. Because there are no bones in the bird, it will definitely cook faster.

Mashed celeriac and potatoes with dill
The credit for my finally cooking with celery root goes to my buddy Kevin, who runs his own excellent food blog. I can’t believe it took me so long.

• 1 medium celery root, peeled
• 1 cup or so peeled potatoes. I say “or so” because my amount of potatoes was the rest of a bag of baby Yukon Golds that I had left over from a previous recipe.
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons dill
• salt and pepper to taste

Peel and chop your celery root. Blanch for five minutes in acidulated water (use vinegar or lemon juice). Drain and add fresh water, bring back to the boil. Boil blanched celeriac and potatoes until both are soft. Mash with the butter, then add the sour cream, dill, and salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings as needed. Serve immediately.

This meal was a lot of fun to make, not only because I was cooking with a new ingredient, but also because I was once again using some quality local product. Happy cooking!

Other things of interest: we were recently lucky enough to “test drive” some free-range chicken and hand-made sausage from Farm Girl Natural Foods, and I couldn’t be happier with the meat. We did a longer write-up over on Eat Arkansas, so check that out for more information about these locally-raised delicacies.

I’ll leave you with a recipe that we made with some of the Farm Girl sausage, a simple stir-fry that just rocked our heads.

Hmong sausage stir-fry

• 1 package Farm Girl Natural Foods Hmong sausage. This is an Asian sausage style flavored with ginger, cilantro, and chilies — and Farm Girl’s pork shines.
• 2 cups broccoli slaw. Yes, the kind in the bag from the super market. If you want extra carrots or anything else like water chestnuts or sugar snap peas, add ‘em in.
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 egg (per person)
• Steamed rice

Remove the sausage from its casings and brown in a skillet. While the sausage is browning, poach the eggs in a separate pot, then put them in a bowl of ice water to hold. Mix together the soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, and corn starch. Add the broccoli slaw to the pan with the sausage (this is a very lean sausage, and will not produce much fat, so no need to drain) and stir to mix. Add the soy sauce mixture, stirring to coat. Cook the stir fry until the slaw becomes just tender and the sauce has coated everything nicely. Give your eggs a 30 second dunk in some boiling water to freshen them up. Make a bed of rice, place the poached egg on top, then cover with the stir-fry. Serve.

And when it comes to this blog, I’m inclined to agree with you. Arkansas Foodies has always been a labor of love, something that Jess and I did in our spare time in order to share our love of the food and people of Arkansas with the world at large. And we’ve been gratified and humbled by the responses we’ve gotten over the years.

Over that time, I’ve chosen to keep Foodies free of advertising (save for whatever ads WordPress may force us to run), although that may change in the future. The website doesn’t run for free, and while there’s not just a ton of overhead for this site, there’s still expenditures that must be absorbed. I don’t know if advertising is the answer to that issue, but it’s certainly a possibility. The other possibility is to have a small donation drive where you, the reader, can maybe toss us a few bucks as a way of saying “keep up the good work.”

The main impetus behind this idea of a fundraising drive is this: within a matter of weeks, I’ll be taking on a major role with one of Arkansas’ top-rated radio programs. While this program enjoys a great deal of popularity, it doesn’t enjoy a massive budget (much like this blog). To do the job right, there are some equipment and software purchases that we really need to make, things that, while not large, are outside the reach of our day jobs and my freelance work. Thus, the donation request. On the side-bar, you’ll see a button that says “Donate.” That links directly to our PayPal account, and all donations will go to buying a digital recorder and some editing software. And since I know times are tough, if you can’t afford a dollar or two, leave us a comment telling us “good luck” so that we can at least know you’re thinking about us.

Cheers!

As an aside, the original Caesar dressing did not contain anchovies; rather the anchovy flavor in the dressing came from Worcestershire sauce. Given that most modern Worcestershire sauces don’t have nearly enough of a salty, fishy kick to them, we’re using honest-to-god anchovy filets. Don’t let that scare you away from this dressing, though — the end result is a bright, fresh flavored dressing perfect for greens.

Caesar Dressing

• 3 egg yolks
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• A 2 oz. tin of anchovy filets
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• Salt/Pepper to taste
• 1 1/4 cup olive oil

Put the egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, mustard, anchovies, and oregano into a food processor and blend until the anchovies have been pureed. I only had a Magic Bullet-style blender to use, so after I whipped my egg and anchovy mixture, I transferred it to the bowl of my stand mixer. If using a food processor, you can do this whole process in it. Once you’ve gotten your anchovy/egg mixture smooth, begin slowly adding the oil with the processor running. The key to making a good emulsion is not overwhelming your egg mixture with too much oil all at once. Drizzle it in a slow, steady stream — or spoonful by spoonful if that’s easier for you to control. As the oil is incorporated, the dressing will thicken into something quite creamy and nice. Adjust your seasonings once the oil is all mixed and your dressing is ready to serve.

For our salad, we sauteed a couple of chicken breasts, added croutons, a boiled egg, and Parmesan cheese, finishing with some pickled radishes. This is a salad that makes for a complete meal, but this dressing is good on just a simple side salad with a main course. Enjoy!

Alton Brown’s Honey-Dijon Dressing

• 5 tablespoons honey (we used some really good stuff from Whole Foods)
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (we used some really cheap stuff from Kroger because I had a coupon)
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (we used regular rice vinegar from Mr. Chen’s)

Whisk everything until blended. Yes, it really is this simple. Why would you ever buy honey-mustard at the store again when you can make it at home — especially since you can play around with different kinds of honey to change the flavor of this wonderful concoction?

For the chicken, create a coating with 1 cup panko and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Toss in some herbs de Provence if you have some. In a separate bowl, mix together 1 egg and another tablespoon of Dijon mustard. Salt and pepper your chicken, dip into the egg/mustard mixture, then coat with the panko/Parmesan. Bake on a wire rack atop a cookie sheet for 20-30 minutes at 375. Let rest, slice thin, and build your salad. Enjoy!

In addition to the parsnips, we’ve done a bit of medium-rare seared sashimi-grade tuna along with some baby broccoli that we steamed and then sauteed with a little soy sauce. The result is a light, colorful plate that hits all the notes we want from a balanced meal — savory, sweet, earthy, and bright in flavors; earthy, unctuous, and slightly grassy for mouthfeel. And the whole meal didn’t take longer than a half hour to make.

Mashed parsnips

• 1 pound parsnips, peeled and sliced into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup milk (or cream)
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried tarragon (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a kettle of salted water to the boil and add the parsnips, boiling until tender. To keep your finished product warmer, have the butter at room temperature, and heat your milk in the microwave until warm. Drain the parsnips and place them in a mixing bowl. Add the milk, butter, parsley, salt and pepper, and tarragon. Mash with a potato masher, fork, or use a hand mixer until the parsnips have reached your desired consistency. Because they are more fibrous than potatoes, you probably won’t get them perfectly creamy, but I kind of like mine to retain some texture anyway. Serve immediately.

For the tuna, just salt and pepper on both sides, then sear in a hot cast iron pan for 3 minutes or so each side. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lime juice. For the broccoli, steam in the microwave (which really works best) for 3 minutes, then saute with a healthy dollop of olive oil and soy sauce until the soy sauce clings to the vegetables. Slice the tuna thin and serve. Happy cooking!

Of greater interest to me tonight are the side dishes. I wasn’t really in the mood for a meat-and-potatoes dinner, and when I stumbled onto some lovely rainbow carrots and Arkansas-grown baby chard at the market tonight, I knew just what I wanted to do — glaze those carrots with ginger-flavored honey to add sweetness to the plate and braise the chard with a lot of garlic and lemon to add some colorful and tangy brightness. Both preparations are quite simple, but quite delicious.

Honey-ginger glazed carrots

• 1 pound carrots. I used a bunch of multicolored ones, but the good old orange variety are just fine.
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

Scrub and peel the carrots, then cut them on the diagonal to form medallions. Toss them with the olive oil and salt and roast them in a 450-degree oven for 15 minutes, until just tender and starting to brown. In a saucepan, heat the honey, butter, and ginger over medium heat and cook until the butter stops foaming and the ginger begins to turn translucent. Add the carrots, stirring to coat with the honey mixture. Cook for 5 minutes until the carrots are nicely glazed. Try not to drink the honey mixture — it’s really good.

Braised baby chard

• 4 cups baby chard, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 fresh lemon

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Add the minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes, taking care not to brown it. Add the chard, stirring to coat the greens with the oil and distribute the garlic evenly. When the chard begins to wilt, squeeze the half-lemon over the pan, stirring well once again to coat. When the leaves begin to give off liquid, the chard is done. Various types of vinegar can also be used to add a bit of acidity to these greens — play around to see what tastes you like the most.

In the end, the side dishes we made tonight wound up being a bigger star than the steaks — although the steaks were pretty good. Pan-wilted greens are a lovely addition to any plate, both for the eyes and the tongue, and the natural sweetness of carrots is made only better by the addition of honey. Happy cooking!

A particular high note was the annual Arkansas Times “Readers Choice” issue, a food-packed issue that I had a good bit to do with. A feature article about our friends at Loblolly Creamery was my main by-line, but I also contributed a dining review as well as several capsules in the feature discussing the 52 best dishes in the state of Arkansas. The 52 dishes were a lot of fun to work on, bouncing ideas back and forth with my Eat Arkansas colleague Dan Walker and our editor, Lindsey Millar. Both of those guys are quite knowledgeable about good food; they’re both also damn fine writers, so it was an honor to be included with them and the rest of the Times staff in this issue. Check the issue out online, or grab a copy — and soon, because feeding that monster means a new issue hits newsstands on Thursday.

You have to have a thick skin when it comes to writing, and as a matter of fact, you have to have a thick skin when it comes to cooking, too. I’ve been guilty of letting my temper get the better of me, like the time I blocked one of our crazy-face local bakers from my Twitter feed because they told me I didn’t know what I was talking about one night. Blocking somebody on social media is one thing, though, and melting down completely is another. Which brings me to the mysterious case of Jay’s Pizza, whose owner, Jay Baxter, responded to a negative review on The Mighty Rib blog by going supernova all over the comments section and his Facebook page. Unfortunately, I didn’t save any of the now-scrubbed comments from Facebook, but you can read his initial comments at the link above.

Now Kevin over at The Mighty Rib is a good friend of mine; but despite the bias of friendship, I really didn’t see what the issue was with the review. He said good things (that the people were nice) and he said some negative things (the pizza wasn’t good). Bad reviews happen. If you can’t handle them, stop cooking or get better at it. I’ve never been the sort of food writer to go after somebody just to be mean (neither is Kevin), but sometimes the food just sucks. And if there’s a place you visit with the intention of writing about it, you’ve got to write about it, good, bad or in-between. It’s a competitive world out there, and you’ve got to get good or get out.

Which brings us to the last bit of Little Rock food doings, the return of the inexplicably popular Hot Dog Mike. Now, I’ve got no problem with the guy, although he’s not nearly as friendly in person as his online persona would lead folks to believe. But in January, he made a big deal out of leaving Little Rock, stayed gone for 28 days, then came back with plans for some sort of wiener empire. The news stations went nuts; Twitter went nuts; and a lot of us food writers were left shaking our heads and wondering what all the hoopla was about. Because here’s the thing about Hot Dog Mike. While I respect the work he’s done for charity, and I admire his abilities to successfully self-promote…his hot dogs aren’t anything special. They’re basic store-brand hot dogs in store-brand buns with canned chili and the like on top. Sure, he mixes it up by grating chocolate on them or throwing some tomatoes on the top, but the dogs aren’t that great. They’re pretty generic, in fact. It’s all style over substance, and as somebody who goes to eat looking for well-executed tastes that broaden my horizons, the whole Hot Dog Mike mythos in Little Rock is a mystery to me, because his food does none of that.

If that sounds harsh, it shouldn’t: the guy’s far more popular than this blog ever has been, and we’ll do nothing to tarnish his image. But I’d hope that the people of Little Rock might find better food to treat with such adulation — because there’s certainly better food out there. I, for one, am a little bored of the whole saga, and consider this post to be the last words I’ll write on the subject.

And thus the monster’s fed. For now.