Part II: Cooking Praxis #8 Cuisine from England: margie

margie_sue

Part II: Cooking Praxis #8 Cuisine from England

May 22, 2011 15:33

1.)    Research and inquiry about a course/meal

So I’m back. A summer later and boy am I ready to start cooking! I decided on England for a couple reasons, 1.) I didn’t want to start off my second summer of cooking with something too difficult. I want to ease my way back into the cooking mindset etc, 2.) My boyfriend is currently on deployment and will be staying in England for a brief amount of time and 3.) And a couple of my friends from college are going to Europe for a school trip and England is their first stop. So fair to say, England has been the center of many conversations lately.

Looking up recipes for this country wasn’t too difficult, just figuring out which dishes went with my main course seemed to take the most debating and planning. But after searching through numerous websites I decided on Chicken & Dumplings with a side of Buttered Broccoli with Almonds and Country Mushrooms.

As a kid my babysitter Marge used to make the best Chicken & Dumplings and for years my mom and I have tried making it to her perfection, but it never really turns out the same. So maybe this time around it will be different. Also I’m a huge broccoli (and just green leafy vegetables in general) fan so that recipe was a no brainer, not to mention it’s pretty basic and can’t be messed up. I decided on doing a mushroom dish to give myself a little challenge and also because both my parents love mushrooms. I also want to keep a lot of my dishes vegetable based so two side dishes of vegetables sounded better than a rice or bread.

Recipes:
Chicken & Dumplings

Ingredients:
6 1/2 cups Water Divided
4 (8 Oz.) Chicken Breast Halves
1 1/2 c Sliced Mushrooms
3/4 cup Diced Carrots
2 tb Chopped Onion
3/4 ts Poultry Seasoning
1/2 ts Salt
1/2 ts Pepper
1 ts Lemon Juice
4 Drops Hot Sauce
1 cloves Garlic Minced
1 1/4 cups + 2 T. Flour, Divided
1 ts Baking Powder
1/2 cup Skim Milk

Place 6 Cups Water And Chicken, Mushrooms, Carrots, Onion in A Large Dutch Oven. Bring To A Boil; Cover. Reduce Heat & Simmer 45 Min. OR Until Chicken Is Tender. Remove Chicken From Broth & Let Each Cool Separately. Discard Bones & Skin. Cut Chicken Into Bite Size & Add To Vegetable Mixture. Cover & Chill 8 Hours. Skim Fat From Broth & Discard. Stir in Poultry Seasoning, Salt, Pepper, Lemon Juice, Hot Sauce & Garlic.

Combine 1/4 C. Plus 2 T. Flour & Remaining 1/2 C. Water; Stir Well. Bring Chicken Mixture To A Boil; Stir in Flour Mixture. Reduce Heat & Simmer Uncovered 35 Min. OR Until Thickened.

Combine Remaining 1 C. Flour & Baking Powder. Add Milk, Stirring Just Until Dry Ingredients Are Moistened. Drop Batter By Teaspoonfuls Into Boiling Broth; Cover. Reduce Heat And Simmer 15 Min. OR Until Dumplings Are Tender.

(Recipe found at: http://www.operagastro.com/recipes/england/chicken_and_dumplings.htm)

Buttered Broccoli with Almonds
The delicious crunch of almonds makes broccoli into something quite special. Broccoli does not keep well, so buy it as fresh as possible, without any signs of yellowing. Beware of overcooking it - some crispness should be retained. An easy and appetizing way with broccoli, to serve as an accompaniment with meat or fish.

700 g (11/2 lb) broccoli florets, trimmed
salt and pepper
25 g (l oz) butter
50 g (2 oz) flaked almonds
juice of 1/2 lemon

1. Cook the broccoli in boiling salted water for 10 - 15 minutes, until just tender.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan and cook the almonds over a gentle heat until golden brown. Stir in the lemon juice and season with pepper to taste.
3. Drain the broccoli well, then toss with the almonds and butter. Serve at once.

(Recipe found at: http://www.allbritishfood.com/buttered%20broccoli%20with%20almonds.php)

Country Mushrooms
Choose button mushrooms for their delicate flavor. There's no need to wash or peel them - a wipe with a damp cloth is all that's needed. Tarragon is very distinctive and marries well with mushrooms. Soured cream gives a hint of piquancy.

25 g (1 oz) butter
450 g (1 lb) button mushrooms
15 ml (1 tbsp) plain flour
150 ml (1/4 pint) fresh milk
10 ml (2 tsp) wholegrain mustard
10 ml (2 tsp) chopped fresh tarragon or 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) dried tarragon
45 ml (3 tbsp) fresh soured cream
Chicory and lettuce, to serve
Fresh tarragon leaves, to garnish

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, then fry the mushrooms for 2 minutes.
2. Stir in the flour and milk. Heat, stirring continuously until the sauce thickens, boils and is smooth. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.
3. Stir in the mustard, tarragon and soured cream
4. Serve hot on a nest of chicory and lettuce leaves, garnished with fresh tarragon.

(Recipe found at: http://www.allbritishfood.com/country%20mushrooms.php)

2.)    Gathering/hunting/harvesting

This meal was pretty cheap because I had all the ingredients necessary. The only items I needed to buy were the sliced almonds and lemon for the “Buttered Broccoli” and tarragon, sour cream and mushrooms for “Country Mushrooms.” So overall I think it cost me around $14.00 for those items. Fresh produce is always going to be an expensive item when cooking but to me it’s worth it.

3.)    Processing and preparation

This meal I have to say was pretty tame. No mistakes, no spills of catastrophic proportion and everything turned out pretty decent. Preparation was pretty simple. Not a lot of chopping involved and with the help of some extra hands from my mom, everything went smoothly

4.)    Consumption

The dumplings weren’t anything special and I feel I will never recreate them to the perfect consistency that my babysitter made them when I was little. But other than I enjoyed everything I made. The broccoli was delicious and simple. Next time I think the lemon and the almonds would be fine on their own without the butter so that would eliminate any cholesterol. And the mushrooms were very tender and tasted amazing with the tarragon sauce, but since I’m not a huge mushroom fan in general I probably wouldn’t make this dish a lot. Overall though I am satisfied with this meal but not blown away.
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