Pan-Roasted Drumsticks

I'm very excited about today's recipe, because it is the first on No Free Lunch to feature one of my favorite cuts - the chicken leg. You can substitute any other part of the chicken here if you like, but there's something fun (and delicious) about going a little medieval and biting into the juicy leg. This recipe is as easy as it gets in the world of chicken preparations. Pan-roasting in this way cuts down on cooking time, useful if you are really hungry, and also makes it easy to prepare a pan gravy with some chicken stock after you're done.

Another great thing about this meal is that it's very economical. I had a bowl of rice on the side and a glass of 2009 Borsao Garnacha at $6.99 a bottle. With the chicken only $.99 a pound, I would be hard pressed to say this filling and tasty meal cost more than $2.00!

Ingredients

• 3 chicken legs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• Olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a plate, mix the seasonings for the dry rub together. Sprinkle and rub the seasoning over each drumstick. Heat olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Make sure you're using a pan without any plastic parts, because we'll be putting the whole pan in the oven later.

Once the oil is hot, put the drumsticks in the pan. Fry until the outsides are browned and the skin crisps a bit. Turn the chicken with tongs to make sure each side gets browned.

Place the pan in the oven and roast until the chicken is cooked through. Be careful, as the pan will become very hot. You can check periodically by poking with a sharp knife close to the bone. If the juice runs clear, the chicken is done. If it runs red, put it back in the oven. Roasting will take about 20 minutes, less for smaller pieces. Robert Irvine would say that slitting your chicken shows you aren't confident in your cooking. He is right. But here we are cooking at home for ourselves with no one to impress. Once you get used to cooking times and your own oven, you will build confidence.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala is one of the most popular Indian dishes worldwide, especially in Britain. The origins of the dish are unclear, but one story says it originated in an Indian restaurant in Scotland. Everyone has their own recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala, and I devised my own after some extensive research. What everyone does agree on is the basic construction of the dish - chicken tikka and a tomato cream sauce. Chicken Tikka  is a an Indian dish of marinated chicken pieces roasted in a Tandoori oven. Of course, I don't have one of those, so I substitute my handy broiler.

The chicken tikka by itself is very tasty, and I encourage you to take a bite before submerging it in the sauce. Overall, you'll notice that the flavors are a lot more nuanced than the quick-and-easy chicken curry I did before. This is a dish that is one must nurture, and it is well worth it. In terms of ingredients, this is by far the most sophisticated recipe to appear on No Free Lunch so far. Don't be intimidated, however, by the long list of spices. This is by no means a definitive recipe; go with what you have if you're missing something here or there. That said, the flavors come together beautifully - the acidic citrus from the lemon, the fragrant cinnamon, the spicy cayenne pepper, and all the rest make for a delicious treat.

Ingredients

Chicken Tikka

• 2 split chicken breasts
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 lemon

Tomato Cream Sauce

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup cream
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter

Instructions
  

Cut the bone and skin off the chicken, then cut into small pieces, about an inch a side. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty here, it's messy work. Combine the yogurt, spices, and chicken in a large bowl or Ziploc bag. Squeeze the lemon juice into the bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for one hour. Use this time to cook some basmati rice and to get the sauce started. It is worth noting here that due to the shape of the grain, basmati rice only takes about 15 minutes to cook fully.

Once the chicken is done marinating, place the pieces on a sheet pan and shake off excess marinade. Broil until cooked through. Since we cut up the chicken into small pieces, this takes less than 10 minutes. You may want to flip the chicken after a few minutes to cook evenly. The marinade will keep the chicken juicy and tender.

Melt butter in a large pot on medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until onions are softened. Add the spices and stir. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes. Stir in the cream. The sauce will now take on the brownish-orange color we all know and love. Simmer and reduce for about 10 minutes, then add the chicken pieces. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper as needed. Simmer for a few more minutes all together. Serve with basmati rice. A great drink accompaniment is an English dry cider.

Potstickers (鍋貼)

Note: This recipe has been updated!

As promised, No Free Lunch is celebrating the beginning of the year of the Dragon with a Chinese classic. These aren't the greasy, overcooked dumplings you get at your local Chinese buffet. Guotie, which actually does translate to "potstickers," are another food that brings me back to dinners at Grandpa's house when I was little. We sometimes ate these in the same meal as the famous macaroni casserole.

I did consult Grandpa before making these, and discovered there isn't a set recipe, just pork and some kind of vegetable for the filling. They keep very well frozen, and Grandpa and Grandma sometimes make them by the hundred. They also make their own wrappers, which I can tell you makes the best dumplings. I use wrappers from the grocery store here; let's learn to walk before we run. This recipe makes about 75 dumplings.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground pork
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• 1 large egg
• Salt and pepper
• Potsticker wrappers
• Vegetable oil

Instructions

First, make sure you have the right wrappers. Potsticker wrappers are round and slightly thicker than the square wonton wrappers. You can likely find both types of wrappers in the freezer section of your grocery store.

To prepare the filling, combine pork, green onions, chives, and egg in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper liberally (2 pounds is a lot of meat). Mix well. Prepare a large surface to make the dumplings. We'll need a small bowl of water and something to put the dumplings on - I use a large, non-stick sheet pan. I also enjoyed a bottle of beer while doing this, but that's up to you.

For each dumpling, use a fork to place a little of the meat mixture in the center of the wrapper. You'll soon get a feel for how much to put in. Too much, and the you will have trouble folding the wrapper. Too little, and the pocket you form won't be filled. Next, dip your finger in the water and wet the edge all around the circular wrapper. Fold it over, forming a half-moon, and squeeze around to seal. The last step is to fold the edge back on itself 2-3 times at the top of the dumpling. This forms a natural "bottom" so the dumpling can stand up. As you complete each dumpling, line them up on the sheet pan so that they don't touch. If you aren't going to eat all the dumplings today, slide the entire pan into the freezer. Once the dumplings harden, you can safely transfer them to a plastic bag without risk of them sticking together.

To cook the potstickers, make sure to use a non-stick skillet. I have previously written about how every great dish is preceded by failure. Trust me, use non-stick here. Add a little oil to the pan, then a little water, and heat on medium-high. The key here is to get the right dumpling to water ratio. Don't be tempted to add too much water, or the dumplings will become soggy. Just enough to cover the bottom, about 1/8 inch. 

Once the oil/water is hot, place dumplings in the pan. You can put them close together, even touching. This will also ensure you don't have too much water. Cover the pan immediately. As the dumplings steam, they will absorb the water, leaving only the oil in the pan. Cook until the bottoms are nicely browned and crispy. Once the water is absorbed, you can uncover and periodically lift up one to check the bottoms. If you prefer, you can also boil the dumplings for a different texture; these are known as shuijiao - water dumplings. Potstickers are usually served with a soy and vinegar sauce.

Beef Stroganoff

It's been something of a busy week for me, but with Thursday upon us, No Free Lunch has returned. Regular readers may also notice that I've added a category "cloud" on the sidebar to help you navigate the recipes. There's also a navigation bar at the top, which will fill up as I add new pages.

Beef Stroganoff is definitely another food I've been eating my whole life, and it has long been one of my favorites. Originally a Russian dish, stroganoff has made its way around the world. It's a great use for a cut of meat that isn't flavorful enough to stand on its own as a steak.

Ingredients

• 1 large sirloin steak
• 1/3 - 1/2 onion
• 6 small mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup beef stock
• 8 oz sour cream
• Salt and pepper
• Garlic powder

Instructions

Remove the fat from the side of the steak, then cut into thin slices. This is one case where the steak can still be a little frozen, so that it's easier to cut. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Melt butter in a frying pan on high heat. Brown the beef slices on both sides. Work in batches as to not crowd the pan. Set the beef aside.

Slice mushrooms thinly and dice onion. Turn heat to medium and sauté onions for a few minutes, then add mushrooms. When mushrooms are browned on both sides, deglaze the pan with the beef stock. Scrape the beef bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the sour cream, and stir to integrate. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Simmer for a few minutes, then add the beef back into the sauce. Simmer a bit more.

Serve over potatoes, egg noodles, or rice. Many variations of this dish exist. For example, you can add some minced garlic with the onion. Some prefer not to add the mushrooms. As usual, when it comes to the kitchen, it's all up to you!

Chicken Economics

I have always been a dark meat eater. I believe the leg is the best part of the chicken; it has it's own handle! As such, dark meat (legs and thighs) are generally the only chicken I buy. Last week, I went to Sam's Club to stock up on ingredients for Pub Week. I bought two packages of chicken, one dark and one white. The dark meat was a six pound package of legs at $1 per pound. The white meat was a seven pound package of split chicken breast. Having never bought white meat before, I was shocked to discover it was $2 per pound, double the price of the legs.

Why is this? Simply, the majority of Americans prefer the taste of white meat, so the demand is higher. This is also why a lot of dark meat gets exported to Russia and other countries. In particular, the most popular option seems to be the "boneless skinless breasts" which, at Sam's Club, come individually plastic wrapped. For some reason I find this a little disquieting. I went with the bulk packaged bone-in chicken.

Now in possession of several pounds of both kinds of chicken, you can expect to see all manner of poultry delights coming up on No Free Lunch.

Macaroni Casserole

I would bet there are a few dishes that transport you back to your childhood every time you eat them. This is definitely one of mine. My grandparents have been making this casserole for as long as I can remember. It's an ancient and traditional recipe they smuggled to the United States all the way from Hong Kong. I also might have made that up. This is a delicious and easy-to-make macaroni casserole that truly deserves to be passed down through the generations. I would love to hear about dishes of your childhood in the comments!

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry elbow macaroni
• 1 pound ground beef or pork
• 1 cup diced mushrooms
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup grated or crumbled hard cheese
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Garlic powder
• Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

The choice of meat is up to you. I have made it with all pork, all beef, or a mix of the two. You can also add diced ham if you like. This recipe makes a pretty meaty casserole. If you prefer less meat and more pasta, adjust accordingly.

Boil salted water in a pot. Once the water is boiling, cook the macaroni for ten minutes. Then drain and rinse the pasta. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season the meat with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Heat olive oil in a frying pan and brown the meat and mushrooms. Work in batches to avoid crowding the pan. 

Once the meat, mushrooms, and macaroni are finished, mix them all together in a casserole dish. Take about 2/3 of the soup out of the can and mix it in also. Smear the rest of the soup over the top of the pasta-meat mixture. Top with cheese. You can use whatever cheese you want. This time, I used gruyère. Cheddar or Monterey Jack are other good options.

Bake the casserole for 10 minutes, then broil for about 5 minutes, until cheese becomes crispy. Handle with care, as the dish will have become very hot. Scoop out onto plates, making sure everyone gets a proper cross-section. It keeps very well in the refrigerator. Just heat it up for a few minutes in the microwave later.

Pub Week Retrospective

During Pub Week, No Free Lunch crossed 500, 600, and 700 pageviews! I would call this a big success. I want to thank you, the readers, for your continued support. Two readers even posted on their successful dinners after having made some of the dishes posted here.

Looking forward, No Free Lunch will resume its more relaxed pace of recipe posts. Tomorrow's is especially near and dear to my culinary heart. As always, suggestions for future recipes are always welcome.

Happy Chinese New to all of you... stay tuned for some Chinese favorites later this week.

Bangers and Mash

Pub Week, Day 7! Pub week rolls to a close with perhaps the most quintessential pub grub of them all: Bangers and Mash. Most of the time, I tell people that most complicated-seeming dishes are actually pretty easy to make. This one, however, is the opposite. Bangers and Mash seems very simple, but it actually takes a fair amount of dedication to produce, since it has 3 separate elements that need to come together at once.

Ingredients

Mashed Potatoes

• 2 gold potatoes
• 1 1/2 tablespoons half and half
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Salt and pepper to taste

Sausage and Gravy

• 2 links pork sausage
• 1/2 onion
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Mashed Potatoes

Boil water in a pot. Peel the potatoes and cut into halves. Boil the potatoes until soft (pokeable with a fork), 20-30 minutes. Once soft, drain the potatoes and mash with a potato masher. Add butter and half and half, and mix thoroughly. Season to taste.

Sausage and Gravy

Heat sauté pan to medium-high and brown sausages on both sides. Fill the pan up with water, about 1/3 up the sides of the sausages. Cover the pan and poach for 20 minutes. While the sausages cook, dice the onion.

Drain the water and set the sausages aside. Melt the butter in the pan and sauté onion pieces until soft, about 5 minutes. Add flour and stir together to integrate. Pour in the beef stock and a splash of Worcestershire. Mix together and reduce for a few minutes to thicken the sauce, and season to taste.

Once all three components are ready, place a mound of potatoes on the plate, top with sausages, and pour the gravy over the plate. Serve with a strong English pale ale for a full alehouse meal. I went with Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale.