Michele Urvater - Monday-to-Friday Chicken

MONDAY-TO-FRIDAY
Chicken

MICHELLE URVATER
Illustrations by Tim Robinson

WORKMAN PUBLISHING NEW YORK

For my husband, Michael, and daughter, Alessia, who showed endless patience and good humor while eating chicken almost daily for two years.

Thanks to everyone at Workman Publishing for their support and loyalty over the last twenty-five years. A super, special, heartfelt thank you to Suzanne Rafer, my editor, who takes so much care with every book she tackles.

Id also like to thank in editorial, Kathie Ness and Carrie Schoen; in the art department, Flamur Tonuzi, Nancy Gonzalez, and Erica Heitman; in publicity, Jackie Mills; in marketing, Andrea Glickson; and of course, the sales department.

Copyright 1998 by Michle Urvater

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproducedmechanically, electronically, or by any other means, including photocopyingwithout written permission of the publisher. Published simultaneously in Canada by Thomas Allen & Son Limited.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
eISBN 9780761179023

Book illustrations by Tim Robinson

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You can never have enough chicken recipes, says friend and food writer Arthur Schwartz. Hes right, of course, and his statement is supported by the fact that in this country 30 percent of the protein consumed is in the form of chicken. Why is this bird so popular? I believe it must be for all the reasons I like to cook it: Chicken is versatile, high in protein, low in fat, and most important to the Monday-to-Friday cook, fast and easy to prepare.

But the title of this book really ought to have been Monday-to-Friday Chicken Meals rather than plain old Monday-to-Friday Chicken. Recipes, even quick ones, that center on one ingredient present a particular problem to the Monday-to-Friday cook: What else are you going to prepare to complete the meal? This book provides the answer. The recipes are not for more ways to prepare chicken on its own, but rather for delicious meals that include chicken and at least one other elementthe vegetables or the starch, and in some cases both.

While I have tried to provide a balanced collection of recipes for all parts of the chicken, from the whole bird to its little wings, its no surprise that a number of recipes feature skinless, boneless chicken breaststhe cut that is the fastest and most versatile to cook.

Youll also discover recipes for cut-up turkey and Cornish game hens. Both types of poultry are sources of good Monday-to-Friday dishes, as are ground chicken and turkey, and sausages and bacon made from poultry.

If you dont own my other Monday-to-Friday cookbooks, you might be wondering what this system is really about. The phrase Monday-to-Friday refers to the hectic workweek we all have to face these days, whether we work within the home or hold a job, whether we are single or married with children. The Monday-to-Friday way of cooking offers solutions for getting a delicious home-cooked dinner on the table no matter how stretched for time you may be.

Because peoples schedules are hectic in ways unique to their particular lifestyles, my strategies are constructed to suit different schedules and individual needs. While many of my recipes can be on the table 30 minutes after you begin preparation, not all of them are that quick. Some recipes take more time, are done in larger quantities, and are designed for weekend cooking so you have leftovers for later in the week. A Monday-to-Friday meal might feature a home-cooked dish surrounded by store-bought side dishes, or a one-pot dinner created from ingredients found on the cupboard or freezer shelves. To rediscover the pleasures of the dinner hour, all you need to do is to stock your pantry, plan ahead a little, and relax. When everyones hungry, youll be ready.

A home-cooked meal can happen even if you begin to think about what to serve for dinner at 6 oclock, while youre stuck in traffic and havent yet picked up your child from the baby-sitters. How? If youve stocked your pantry in the clever Monday-to-Friday way with fresh, frozen, canned, and dried ingredients, I promise you can create terrific meals in short order. Youll be amazed at how quickly you can get dinner on the table, and youll be delighted at how delicious your dinner will be.

My pantry includes a whole host of foods. Some ingredients, like chicken breasts stashed in the freezer, become the main course; others, like black beans or penne pasta, become the side dishes that support the chicken; and others, like prepared pesto and canned tomatoes, are the key flavorings that guarantee that what you cook will taste delicious.

In this book I emphasize what I call my exotic pantry, a term I use for the part of my pantry that includes a stash of highly seasoned ethnic relishes and condiments. Chicken combines beautifully with boldly seasoned ingredients, allowing you to create an outstanding dinner. If you live in a large enough town, these unusual convenience ingredients will be available in gourmet or ethnic shops. Some may even be buyable in larger, well-stocked supermarkets. If you live in a part of the country that has a limited choice of such stores, the Exotic Pantry chapter will show you how to make these special items yourself.

Of all the suggestions in my Monday-to-Friday books, keeping a calendar on which to jot down menu ideas is perhaps the most usefuland the one most people resist. The world is divided between planners and those who wing it. I have given up on converting the wingers to my way of thinking because they thrive on leaving all decision-making, including what to serve for dinner, to the last minute.

But for those of us who can tolerate some planning, I recommend keeping an erasable monthly calendar (the kind you write on with washable ink) on the fridge so you can jot down menu ideas for the upcoming week. However you decide to do it, whether on a fancy store-bought calendar or one you have fashioned on the computer, the important point is to have a calendar on which to plan a weeks worth of menus. And if the idea of planning five menus is a bit overwhelming, then start slowly and plan only two or three days of meals. The menus dont have to be fully developed; in fact, they should not be. Plan out just a sketch of a menu for each day, and flesh it out later on. What do I mean by a sketch of a menu? Well, for example on my calendar I might scribble chicken and baked potatoes for Monday night and then pasta and salad for Tuesday. If I know I am going to have a particularly hectic day on Thursday and will be coming home very late, I might plan to bring in take-out for that night.