Charm of the Carolines

Crepes with Creamed Chicken

Another wonderful recipes found in The Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits is Crepes with Creamed Chicken.  I'm not sure if I've ever made homemade crepes before. I was in the kitchen helping a friend prepare a meal and she was making crepes but that was thirty years ago, I remember she had a special convex pan that she would dip in the batter to make her version. I don't own any special crepe pan, but attempted the recipe with a simple eight inch skillet. The first crepe was a hot mess, I must confess. The dogs enjoyed it, but it lacked color.

I simply increased the heat and tried again. Voila! Perfection. Every crepe attempted after the first was beautiful, delicious, and a crepe to be proud of. If I can do it, so can you. 

 

Preheat the oven to 350*. 

TO MAKE THE CREPES

Whisk together the crepe ingredients.  I prefer almond flour or Bob's Red Mill Paleo Flour. 

In a 6-8 inch skillet, spray Pam or add a tablespoon of butter and melt it. Heat needs to be medium high. Using a small ladle or a large serving spoon, ladle about 2 tablespoons of batter into skillet and roll it around to coat the bottom of the pan. Set it on heat for a minute or two until bubbles form in the batter and the side down is browned. Flip to brown the other side. 

 

Set the cooked crepes on a plate and set aside. 

*You may want to double the recipe for the crepes and refrigerate them for other uses. Dust with sugar and cinnamon and serve with chopped strawberries and cream or ice cream. 

TO MAKE THE CREAMED CHICKEN

In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat, and add mushrooms.

Add flour and mix together for a couple of minutes until flour is browned.

Add homemade chicken stock and milk and mix together and cook until thickened.

Add cheese, diced roasted chicken, and smoked salt. Heat through. 

I didn't have sherry. I used chicken fat that was on top of the homemade chicken stock instead of butter to make the roux. It's yellow, made of fat, and looks like butter. It also adds amazing flavor. 

I had Parmesan cheese, but chose to use sharp cheddar. 

Assemble the crepes. 

Lay a crepe in a casserole dish and add creamed chicken to the middle. Fold or roll up. Continue with remaining eight crepes. 

Add additional cheese on top. 

Bake until bubbly and delicious. 

This recipe is so delicious I made it all over again a few days later, but with a few changes. 

I didn't have mushrooms available to use the second time, so included asparagus instead. Yum!  And I didn't bake the assembled crepes. Both the crepes and the creamed chicken are completely cooked before baking, so why bake? It tasted amazing and was so easy. I'll be making this again and again. 

Hover over the photo below and click on the red Pinterest Save Button to post to your Pinterest board of favorite recipes. 

Note and full disclosure: 
Some words in the post may link to more information, related news, or to a product on Amazon.
As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
Originally the account was created years ago to benefit "Happy Tails" animal rescue,
but now it benefits my pack of rescue dogs and assorted fosters at Windy Acre Cottage.
Thank you!

Roasted Chicken

I think the reason why I love to cook is because I don't have to. There are no little mouths demanding three squares a day, except for the four little furry mouths, but unless I choose to make them treats of homemade dog bones or treats of cornbread, their culinary world is limited to cans, bags, and boxes of ready-made pet food that only need to be opened and portioned into their respective bowls.  

So I collect new and vintage cookbooks and read them like the latest Stephen King, John Le Carre, or James Patterson Novel. Many of the vintage ones only get read. Any contemporary cook would need an archaic language glossary to decipher the list of ingredients and instructions. (What are boiled Spots, anyway? I've got a recipe for them in the Martha Washington cookbook.)

One of my newest cookbooks is also one of my most cherished. It the Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits Handbook of Etiquette with Recipes by Suzanne Pollak and Lee Manigault with illustrations by Tania Lee. My dear friend Dianne and her husband Mike gifted me with an amazing week on Isle of Palms near Charleston, South Carolina, near Charleston back in the early autumn. I actually purchased this book ahead of the trip in anticipation. One of the chapters in this book especially resonated with me, LEFTOVERS:  Why are we Left Over? Weren't We Just as Good as Everyone Else Last Night?  Good question.

"The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for 30 years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found."

-Calvin Trillin

According to the authors, and I would agree, Leftovers are a lost art. Everyone's attention is on the recipe of origin and the word leftover has become a dirty word. The authors speculate there are no leftovers anymore because people purchase pre-made, processed food packaged in individually portioned containers and since family's are smaller and rarely do people host dinner parties anymore, gone is the habit of doubling or tripling a recipe. They suggest that instead of simply roasting a single chicken, why not roast two? Another good question. 

So today I set out to roast a couple of hens. One I will simply enjoy roasted with a large green salad with my grandmother's wonderfully delicious Cucumber Onion dressing, and the other I will make into a crepes or crepes casserole. (I can't believe I've never blogged about my grandmother's dressing recipe. I just made a huge batch and didn't take photos, but I'll do my best to get the recipe posted and linked soon. And while I'm at it, I'll blog the recipe for Creamy Chicken Crepes, too.)

The way I roast chicken is easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy, but in today's recipe I didn't have any lemons. 

Simply preheat your oven to 350* and spray your roasting with olive oil or PAM. Slice two white onions in quarter-inch wide rounds and line the bottom of the roasting pan. 

Rinse and pat dry your two hens and place them on top of the rack made by onions in the pan, breast side down. 

Melt a half stick of butter and brush on to the skin of the hens. If you want to slice a couple of lemons for each hen and add it to the cavity, you can. You can also add carrots, leeks, celery, or spices such as rosemary or sage. There really is no right way to roast a hen. For me it all depends on what's available in the pantry. 

Add a healthy sprinkling of smoked sea salt. 

Close the lid and roast in the oven for 30 minutes and then remove the lid and increase the heat to 500*.

Using a long-handled utensil, (I use this vintage fork that belonged to my mother from the 1960s) stick the utensil in the cavity of the bird and turn it over, breast side up, and roast an additional 30 minutes until the chicken reaches 165* on your instant read thermometer in the thickest part of the breast meat without touching the bone and the skin browns and crisps. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Reserve golden broth to make additional dishes.   You can chill the broth and skim off the hardened fat at the top. Reserve the fat for frying meat or seasoning veggies. 

Save the cooked onions in a separate container. They are delicious served with the chicken or in flavoring soups or pureeing and making a gravy. 

When carving the hen, I remove the skin, but save it for treats for the dogs or to flavor their morning kibble. Never, under any circumstances, feed your dogs chicken bones. They are too soft and will splinter, injuring your pets insides. 

Delicious!!

 

Hover over the photo below and click on the red Pinterest Save Button to post to your Pinterest board of favorite recipes. 

 

Note and full disclosure: 
Some words in the post may link to more information, related news, or to a product on Amazon.
As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
Originally the account was created years ago to benefit "Happy Tails" animal rescue,
but now it benefits my pack of rescue dogs and assorted fosters at Windy Acre Cottage.
Thank you!

Cock-a-Leekie Pie

Yesterday, November 30, was St. Andrew's Day, the official Flag Day of Scotland celebrating the Apostle Andrew. With a large portion of my ancestry heralding from Scotland, I wanted to celebrate in my own way and make a traditional Scottish meal. However, time, energy, and other commitments got in the way, so that I got as far as purchasing the ingredients from the local grocer and waited until today to make the meal... Cock-a-Leekie Pie. 

I've made Cock-a-Leekie Soup before, but never Cock-a-Leekie Pie and wanted to give it a try. 

Cock-a-Leekie Pie

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 3 slices bacon cut into ¼” pieces
• 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 leeks, white and pale-green parts only, thinly sliced into rounds and scrubbed cleaned. Leeks are very sandy.
• 2 sprigs thyme, leaves stripped
• ½ cup diced pitted prunes
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour or corn starch for thickening
• 1 14 oz can low-sodium chicken broth
• Purchased Pie Dough (or homemade ha!)
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend OR olive oil spray

And because I was guided by the souls of departed Scottish relatives I also added items in the pantry that needed to be used, specifically petite red potatoes, garlic, and spinach. Don't tell me the peasants who made the scrumptious peasant food only followed recipes precisely. You know they used up every bit of scraps and morsels they had available to feed everybody. 

Recipe Preparation

• Place a rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 375°. Cook bacon until crisp and transfer to folded paper towels until it's needed.

• Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook in same skillet of bacon drippings until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Add a splash of water to skillet. Cover, reduce heat, and cook until chicken is cooked through, 10–12 minutes. Transfer to paper towels with bacon.

  

• Add leeks to skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add a splash of water, cover, and cook until leeks are very soft, 5–7 minutes. Add chicken, leeks, thyme leaves, prunes, and and reserved bacon. This is where I also added thinly sliced potatoes, fresh spinach, and minced garlic.

  

• Melt 4 Tbsp. butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Whisk in ⅓ cup flour or corn starch. Whisk until smooth. Add to Chicken-Leek mixture and cook Whisk in broth, adding a little at a time, until smooth. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 5–7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool.

  

• Roll out 1 disk of dough and transfer to a cast-iron skillet or deep pie dish. Leave a 1” overhang if you have enough dough. If not, don't worry. Your meal will still be Instagrammable and delicious. Spoon filling into pie dough in skillet. Roll out second disk of dough and drape over filling. Cut a few vents in top; brush with egg or spray with a little olive oil.

  

• Bake until crust is golden brown, 50–60 minutes. Let pie cool slightly.

  

  I should have let it cool before slicing it, but I couldn't wait. 

   
  

  It may not have sliced very pretty or look Instagram worthy, but it is savory and delicious!

  
  

  Excuse me while I go get seconds. 

Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

While strolling the local farmers market located just a couple of blocks from Windy Acre Cottage, I picked up a sack full of plump Roma tomatoes. I love these hearty little fruits. They are more meaty and less gooey than Better Boys and Beef Steak varieties, and personally I think they taste better.

The other day I was perusing the Farm Fresh Recipes cookbook that had just arrived written by Heather Cameron of Missing Goat Farm and found the recipe for oven-roasted tomatoes.  I couldn't wait to give them a try.  

The tomatoes (and sliced onion I had on hand) were sliced and added to an aluminum foil lined sheet pan that had been sprayed with olive oil. I also sprayed the top of the tomatoes with the olive oil and ground fresh black pepper and Applewood smoked sea salt. 

 

And cooked them low and slow (225*) for about 2 1/2 hours. Let me tell you the aroma was heavenly! I was salivating when I removed them from the oven and had to taste one. Before I knew it, I had eaten all but six small slices. 

They all weren't crispy. I don't know if my oven wasn't hot enough or if I should have left them roasting a bit longer, but it didn't really matter. The crispy ones were delicious and the soft ones were delicious, too. And so were the roasted onion rings. Next time I make this, I plan to add a little minced garlic on top. And triple the recipe. 

Bone Broth

It has been such a busy summer! From traveling to Plein Air Invitationals to shopping in Amish Country to volunteering for a Mud Run to entering the 15th Annual Tomato Art Fest to teaching a variety of classes and preparing for new classes, I've really had to make an effort to do all the things I wanted to do this summer so the season wouldn't leave without enjoying its pleasures.  And believe me, I made a written bucket list so I wouldn't forget anything. 

Lately, I've been feeling a little overwhelmed, a little run-down, even thought I might be coming down with a cold, so to nip it in the bud I visited our new butcher shop in town, Tallgrass Meats, and purchased beautiful beef bones to make a soup. 

 

Bone Broth

• 1 Gallon Water
• 5lbs bones
•  ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• Carrots, onions, garlic, parsley, peppercorns, leeks
• Salt, Pickling Spices, ground ginger, thyme
• Minced ginger
• Lemon juice

 

Start by lining a baking sheet with foil. Rub olive oil, salt and pepper on bones and roast for 30-40 minutes. Your house will smell wonderful. I had to put the dogs outside. It was driving them crazy. 

Start with cold water, add roasted bones, and bring to simmer for 1 hour with cider vinegar. (I don't know why my photo is sideways. I've rotated it in every directions and uploaded it, but the results are the same.)

At this point you have a decision to make. Either continue with the recipe cooking stovetop for 10-12 hours or transfer liquid and bones to an Instant Pot and continue for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. I chose to continue with the Instant Pot.

Add carrots, onion, garlic, parsley, peppercorns, ginger, pickling spices, Himalayan sea salt.

Remember simmer for 10-12 hours stovetop or add to pressure cooker and cook for 2 hours.

Discard bones and solids. Strain broth through a fine, mesh strainer. I like to let it cool and skim off any fat remaining. Then reheat to serve. 

Ladle into a bowl and add a small bit of minced ginger, lemon juice.

Enjoy!