Recipe of the Week: NoTakeOut

I was recently introduced to a website called NoTakeOut.  It is perfect for too-busy hipsters and yuppies who are just learning to cook.  NoTakeOut sends an email every day with the featured recipe, which spells out every ingredient you need to purchase, as well as outlines  the "game plan" for prepping and cooking.  However, I realized three things while I was experimenting with this recipe:

1) I am a little more advanced than the average beginner
2) The recipe's proportions were somewhat incorrect
3) I don't understand how to follow "game plans"

... so I did it my way.


Braised Manhattan Studio Chicken over Couscous
my take on braised farmhouse chicken, served with a crisp mixed salad
Original recipe on NoTakeOut

INGREDIENTS

Shopping List

• 2 yellow onions, diced 
• 1 fennel bulb, diced 
• 1 bag mixed lettuces from Dole (it was on sale) 
• 3 cubes frozen cilantro from Trader Joe's (I love their frozen herbs!) 
• 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed 
• 6 chicken thighs 
• 1 cup couscous

Pantry Items

• Balsamic vinegar, 1 - 2 tbsps 
• Black pepper, a sprinkle 
• Chicken broth, 3 1-cup serving boxes from Pacific Natural (a real pantry must have!) 
• Extra-virgin olive oil for vinagrette 
• Canola oil for browning
• 4 garlic cloves, minced/diced/crushed 
• Ground cumin, 1 1/2 tbsps first, more later 
• Ground ginger, 1/2 tsps 
• Red pepper flakes, a pinch 
• Sea salt, a sprinkle

INSTRUCTIONS
Turn on computer. Visit NoTakeOut. Read recipe in its entirety. Get annoyed that a website that targets super busy people would list ingredients without measurements and educate folks to prep everything first, then cook - as if we have the time to do things separately. Decide to go against the grain.

1. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Heat canola oil in frying pan. Place chicken skin-side down and begin to brown. The chicken should make a sizzling sound once it touches the pan. If it does not, remove and count to 10, then try again. Brown about 5 - 6 minutes on each side and just listen to it snap, crackle, pop.
2. While chicken is browning, dice onions and garlic. Dodge the crazy bits of oil jumping out of the pan. Realize that canola oil heats at a higher temp than olive oil and it hella stings when it hits your skin. Curse the chickens and their mothers. Move chopping board farther away from frying pan. 
3. Once chicken thighs are crispy and golden on both sides, remove from pan and place on plate, season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Add to the pan diced onion, garlic and spices. Stir and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 to 6 minutes. Wonder if you've added enough cumin, as the color seems light. Note that you did not use the a precise measuring spoon and sometimes eyeballing it isn't always accurate. Decide to think about it later. 
4. Add 4 chicken thighs back to the pan. Wonder if braising in a clay pot would bring about a different result and place two thighs in there. In both pots, cover with chicken broth (about 3 cups, instead of the 4 that the recipe recommends) and add chickpeas. Simmer for 30 minutes. Begin to watch the premiere of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. 
5. During commercial breaks, prep salad: open bag, rinse salad and place into large bowl. Make vinaigrette: Whisk together 1 tbsp. vinegar, the minced garlic and salt and pepper in a bowl. Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup olive oil. Taste and want it to be more vinegar-y, add another 1/2 tbsp. Dice the fennel and stir into the vinaigrette. Toss into salad with fun giraffe utensils that mom got from South Africa. 
6. Check on the chicken. Notice that it looks too watery. Taste chicken sauce and notice that is really bland. Panic. Add more cumin to both until it is a golden brown color. Remove Trader Joe's cilantro cubes from freezer and mix in bowl with 1 clove garlic. Microwave to melt cubes and stir together. Add cilantro/garlic to both pots. Partially uncover and return to watching Food Revolution. Cross fingers and hope that the spices create their own revolution. 
7. At next commercial break, prepare couscous by bringing to boil one 1-cup serving of chicken broth in a small pot. Add a bit more water and couscous. Set aside 5 minutes and fluff with fork. Briefly remember the couscous in Morocco. YUM. 
8. After sauce has thickened, taste once more and marvel at the ability for a dish to make a complete comeback due to an extra 10 minutes of simmering. Decide the meal is ready to be served. Place on plates with couscous. Serve with a perfectly tossed salad. 

Optional step: Do a blind taste test with your dinner guest. You may notice that the clay pot version is more flavorful and sauce is thicker, but the chicken is a little tougher. On the other hand, the flavors in the pan version are a more subtle, although the chicken is more tender and juicy. Learn that guest prefers the pan version, eats a second helping and even offers to do the dishes. Feel happy that everything turned out okay.