Tuples and Attributes

Friday night I tried a recipe I’ve been eyeing for some time: Now that I’ve made it, it’s definitely a keeper. Not sure where I got the recipe from, but here it is:

Chicken with Currant Glaze

• 1/2 cup fresh currants (or dried)
• 1-3/4 cups water
• 1-1/2 cups currant jelly (I used about 1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch (mixed with
• enough water to make a smooth paste)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Salt
• Pepper
• 4 whole chicken breasts, halved and boned ( I used boneless, skinless thighs)
• 1/4 cup oil

Plump currants, if dried, in 1 cup water for 5 minutes. Drain water from currants.

Combine remaining ingredients except chicken and oil in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown chicken in oil. Place chicken in an uncovered 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Pour 3 tablespoons of sauce over each chicken breast. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or to desired doneness. Place on a platter and spoon over remaining sauce. Serve immediately.

I served the chicken with a dish I tweaked from Food and Wine. Here’s the original:

Jeweled Rice Pilaf With Carrots

• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Pepper
• 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
• 2 1/2 ounces angel hair pasta, broken into 2-inch pieces (1 cup)
• 2 cups basmati rice
• Pinch of saffron threads
• One 3-inch cinnamon stick
• 3 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving
• 1/2 cup chopped pitted Picholine olives
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 450°. Spread the almonds in a pie plate. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the carrots with tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the carrots until golden and tender, about 15 minutes. While the carrots are cooking, toast the almonds until golden, 3 to 4 minutes; let cool.

Meanwhile, in a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the leeks and angel hair pasta, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice, saffron and cinnamon stick and cook, stirring, until the rice is golden, about 3 minutes. Stir in the broth and bring to a simmer.

Cover the rice and cook over low heat until all of the broth has been absorbed, about 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

Fluff the rice and stir in the carrots, toasted almonds, lemon juice, olives and parsley. Transfer the rice to a bowl and serve with lemon wedges.

I made a few changes:

• Slivered almonds instead of sliced
• No leeks, , as I was serving to someone who can’t eat them
• Fideo noodles as they are already short and thin
• I left off the last three ingredients and put in a cup of currants to go with the chicken dish

Lastly, since it was Halloween, after all, I tried my hand at making meringues:

Meringue Ghosts (from Sunset Magazine)

• 3 large egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 16 to 24 miniature semisweet chocolate chips or pieces semisweet chocolate

Line 2 baking sheets (each 14 by 17 in.) with cooking parchment, or butter sheets and dust with flour.

In a deep bowl, with a mixer at high speed, whip egg whites and cream of tartar to a thick foam. Continuing to beat, add sugar, 1 tablespoon every 30 seconds, then whip until meringue holds very stiff peaks.

Beat in vanilla. If using cooking parchment, smear a little meringue on the underside of each corner to make it stick to baking sheets.

Spoon meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip (or spoon into a gallon-size heavy plastic food bag, then cut off 1 corner to make a 1/2-inch-wide opening). Pipe meringue onto baking sheets into ghostly shapes about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, 2 to 4 inches wide, and 4 to 6 inches long, spacing about 2 inches apart. To make eyes (noses and mouths, if desired) press chocolate chips lightly into meringue.

Bake in a 200° oven until meringues begin to turn pale gold and are firm to touch, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours (1 to 1 1/4 hours in a convection oven); switch pan positions halfway through baking. Turn off heat and leave meringues in closed oven for 1 hour.

Slide a spatula under meringues to release.