SHRIMP PUFFS – MY LONG TIME HORS D’OUEVRE

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas, Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly, and ‘Tis the Season to be Jolly.  And along with the Holiday Season from before Christmas followed by New Year’s Day – comes much entertaining.  This is one of the recipes I’ve used for many years.  Small cream puffs keep well in the freezer – of course, they should be well wrapped.  It’s sometimes hard to find the Campbell’s Cream of Shrimp Soup for the filling, and while it can be made from scratch, it is more time-consuming.  This year H who is on winter break, ordered a package of cans which were still available on Amazon.com.

The Cream of Shrimp Soup, combined with canned and deveined shrimp, makes a delicious filling.  Of course, the filling can be made the night before to fill the thawed cream puffs for serving the next day.  This is my Tried & True recipe for this hors d’oeuvre – these are very nice for a cocktail or dinner party at any time of the year.  I’ve also used the cream puffs with a salmon salad or a bleu cheese filling.

Once upon a time, Grandma would have the Christmas Eve Vigil/ Wigilia at their house after everyone got there after “work”.  Christmas Eve was not considered a holiday and we did not get the day off, but were lucky enough to get out of work a half hour earlier.  The meatless dinner was held about 6 p.m. – it was already dark of course – and the “first star” had long since appeared.  Afterwards, family members would go to a wonderful Midnight Mass at the local church.  When we moved back to this area, I would make well over 60 pierogi and all of the other food, at our house, and take it about an hour away to have Wigilia at Grandpa’s house – this was our gift to him.

We were hosting Wigilia at our house, so H and her cousin B.G. made the small cream puffs – after a couple of batches of trial and error.  They then made the shrimp filling and put it into a covered container to refrigerate until needed.  The next day, I cut open the cream puffs and filled them for serving at our Christmas Vigil.

We held the vigil earlier than usual since people came from various areas except for one cousin who lives only 10 minutes away.  Of course, she was the last one to arrive – and brought  the fish chips she had to have for Wigilia.  Unfortunately, the fish chips were cold right from her refrigerator and had to be warmed up in the micro – after she had wine with her cousins in the kitchen.  Everybody enjoyed the food – there was at least one dish that was a favorite for each person.

Mini Cream Puffs made with Pate a Choux

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter    1 cup boiling water    1 cup flour    5 extra-large eggs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees – check the thermometer kept in your oven and adjust the oven temperature accordingly.  Heat water and butter to a boil over medium-high heat – reduce to low heat and simmer one minute.  Add flour and stir vigorously till it forms a ball.

With an electric beater, add the eggs one by one and beat each one in till smooth.  Yes, a food processor can be used – just put the ball of dough into the bowl and pulse in the eggs one by one.  Add more flour only if needed, by the spoonful.  Drop by a rounded teaspoonful – or use a pastry bag – to form “kisses” onto a greased bake sheet, or onto a bake sheet that is covered with parchment or silicone.  Use a damp finger to gently tap down any existing point on top.

Bake in a preheated oven – on the top shelf – at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.  Do not burn the bottoms.  Check the needed oven temperature to be set, against the temperature on the thermometer kept in the oven.  Reduce the temperature to 325 degrees and continue to bake for 5 minutes more.  These puff up very nicely.

Remove cream puffs from the oven and pierce each one with the tip of a sharp knife.  Put back into the oven and again bake for 5 minutes more till a nice golden brown.

Cool well.  Can refrigerate or freeze cream puffs, well wrapped, till needed.  Let them sit out about 1 hour, to thaw before filling.  Also make the desired filling and refrigerate.  Yum!

Shrimp Pate for Cream Puff Hors D’ouevres:

2/3 of a 15/16 ounce can R.T. – Campbell Cream of Shrimp Soup

2 cans 6/7 oz each – drained, deveined Shrimp – medium or small whole

1 package 8 ounces – Cream Cheese R.T. – whipped is okay

1/2 teaspoon dried Tarragon and 1/8 teaspoon coarse grind black pepper

Combine soup, cream cheese, tarragon and pepper and mix well.  If the shrimp are large, cut them into 1/2” to 1/3” pieces.  Add the shrimp gently – do not mash the shrimp.

Since most of the “work” was done ahead, now comes the easy part.  Cut the tips off the thawed small cream puffs and fill them with the shrimp paste no more than 1 hour before using.  Serve at room temperature.

There is some work involved in making the pate a choux cream puffs – but they can be made and can be frozen well ahead of use.  A savory filling, too, is very easy to mix up.  These make a very nice “fancy” hors d’ouevre.

And here’s more information about pate a choux/ cream puffs.  When made with a grated Swiss cheese mixed into the dough, these are usually made larger and often in a ring, and are called gougeres.

With a sweet filling, small cream puffs are also used for one of the latest U.S. wedding “fads” – a tower of croqembouche.  This is usually draped with a net of caramel strings.

RJW especially liked the larger cream puffs with a whipped cream filling and chocolate ganache icing on top.  Larger cream puffs also come filled with custard.  And pate a choux dough, too,  is used to make French doughnuts when put through a pastry bag with a star tip.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED@AT THE AMERICAN TABLE

2010-2012

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MY CAULIFLOWER WITH PASTA – AND WRITING

“One picture is worth a thousand words.”   Until Gutenberg invented the marvelous Printing Press, the Church wrote all manuscripts by hand.  The printing press made the written word much more accessible to many more people – and eventually to the hoi polloi.  Then came photos.  So now, until I can find a free source of photos and learn how to scan, this will have to be a written blog.

The written word is, after all, communication.  And though a picture has much to say, photos rarely stand alone – they must be augmented with the written word.  In the meantime, much food, along with a recipe, is actually described by the written word as it often is in the newspaper food sections and in food magazines.  There is no series of step-by-step photos to show how a dish is made as there are in many a blog – some blogs do use too many photos.  And of course, still and yet, they must use the written word.

Here then is my recipe for the Cauliflower Pasta which I developed. And though cauliflower is very good in a cheddar cheese sauce as a side dish, it does make a wonderful pasta entree.

My Cauliflower Pasta with Creamy Bacon Sauce:

8 ounces or 1/2 pound of good bacon – diced/ fried/ drained

1 Tablespoon of bacon fat left in pan

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 cups cream or half ‘n half

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 pound Radiatore Pasta, cooked

3/4 of a head of cauliflower or more as needed

Cut the cauliflower into flowerettes with a 3/4 ” stem.  Steam just till tender – test the stem with a fork – probably no longer than 10 minutes.  Cook the Radiatore Pasta according to the package directions, just to al dente (toothsome) – then turn off the flame.  Pour the hot water into another pot or bowl and keep the water hot over a small flame.  Keep the pasta hot with a cover over it.  If necessary, when ready to use the pasta, pour the hot water over the pasta and let it sit for a minute – do not overcook.  Drain and use immediately.

On medium-low, cook and brown the diced bacon (we like Black Label bacon, preferably low-sodium), then drain on paper toweling.  Remove all but 1 Tablespoon of the bacon fat in the pan – add the minced garlic and saute it over a medium-low flame.

Add the cream or half n’ half and use the rounded side of a large spoon to incorporate any fond on the bottom of the pan.  Bring to a simmer and whisk in the grated Parmesan cheese.  Simmer about 2 minutes.  Add the bacon back to the pan – whisk and simmer about 2 minutes.

Gently stir in the cooked cauliflowerettes – simmer for about 2 minutes.  Serve over hot, cooked Radiatore Pasta.  This is a very, very good pasta entree.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED@ATTHEAMERICAN TABLE    2010 – 2012

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BLUE READING CHAIR, ICHABOD AND FILLED BAKED PUMPKIN “BOWL”

We all know the book or at least the wonderful animated Disney movie, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” by Washington Irving.  The protagonist was Ichabod Crane – and there was also the infamous “Pumpkin Head.”  I did see Washington Irving’s brick house in Tarrytown, New York, which was near Poughkeepsie and the farm where my husband had lived.   In the book, the spelling is Tarry Town – the area was settled by the Dutch.

In the story, Ichabod Crane was tall, gangly and unlovely.  He was unfortunately, in love with a pretty girl – and her future fortune – she was the single child of a very comfortable and well off Dutchman. Bram (short for Abraham) was a local, and was also in love with her.  He was much nicer looking, though he was big, brawling, and had a “gang.”  Bram also was not quite such a nice person and though his “tricks” are called “mischief” in the book, Ichabod had the wits scared out of him by the headless horseman “joke” which was attributed to Bram. Now you must read the book or see the Disney movie for the rest of the story!

Hannah’s students were entranced recently with Ichabod in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ” as well as the thumping of the “Tell Tale Heart” and “The Raven” reciting “Nevermore,” by Edgar Allen Poe. These were among the spooky vignettes shown for students during the Halloween season at Elgin’s Hemmens Auditorium by the Chamber Theatre Group.

“Halloween, Halloween, of what funny things we’ve seen…” part of a song our mother taught us for Halloween when we were small children.   And of course, we certainly do all know about Pumpkins.  In the United States of America, Halloween most certainly does mean Pumpkins!!

Halloween has become an all-around holiday, second only to Thanksgiving, which most people can celebrate on October 31 – no matter where they’re from, or what their ethnic background.  The name Hallow Evening/ Halloween – originated because the next day is All Hallows Day, a Christian holiday also known as All Saints Day.  Those of Spanish origin, as in Mexico and the Philippines, have “dia de muerte” or “day of the dead.”  They picnic at the cemetery to share the food with their ancestors – a candy skeleton, or its various parts is now sold here to commemorate that tradition.

The practice of Jack-O-Lanterns probably first originated in the U.K. from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed “Stingy Jack” who was an unsavory character.  He had tricked the devil more than once, but when he died, God would not allow him into heaven.  Since the Devil claimed he had been tricked into promising not to claim Jack’s soul, he sent Jack off into the dark night with a forever-burning ember from hell.  Jack put the ember into a carved turnip variously known as rutabaga/ yellow turnip/ Swede – and began roaming the Earth.  The Irish refer him as “Jack O’ Lantern.”

In Scotland and in Ireland, people made Jack O’ Lanterns by carving scary faces into large potatoes or yellow turnips – large beets were used in England.  They placed them in their windows or on their doorsteps on Hallowe’en to frighten off such wandering spirits – and gave treats to prevent “tricks.”

Immigrants to the U.S. brought the practice of the Jack O’ Lantern here, and were able to use the pumpkins that grew here – a native fruit that was eminently suited for lanterns because of the larger size. The Jack O’ Lantern in America may have been named for the “will o’ the wisp” – floating fog on the marshes in New England.  However it originated, pumpkins in the “New World” became a Halloween icon in the U.S.  No doubt the colonists cooked up the pumpkins after using them as a lantern – they could ill afford to waste anything.  Pumpkin pie first came about when colonists filled a pumpkin with milk, honey and spices and then baked it in the hot ashes remaining in the fireplace.  (Source: The History Channel)

I actually cleaned and cooked Hannah’s first Halloween pumpkin and made a somewhat lumpy pie – without a food processor.  I also cleaned and baked the pumpkin seeds with salt. A recipe for baked pumpkin seeds follows the easy recipe for baking a pumpkin to use as a serving bowl with whatever appropriate food desired.

Whole Baked Pumpkin:

First clean a nice pumpkin weighing between 4 – 5 pounds with a nice stem attached. We now have large “sugar” pumpkins and other pumpkins which are raised for eating.  As Fall arrives – about the second week of October – we are on the alert since different supermarkets, and even hardware stores, will have them.

The pumpkin cannot be much larger than 5 pounds because a larger one can be less tender.  It should be rather nice and unblemished, and have no holes from which to the leak food.

Cut the top off – leaving a large enough round hole to remove the fiber and seeds. Do not make the edges smaller – the lid must be able to stay on top of the pumpkin. A large amount of the inside of the pumpkin will also be eaten, so there should be a large enough hole in which to put a large serving spoon or ladle for serving the desired food.  Clean the seeds in order to bake them with salt, alongside of the pumpkin.

Using a skewer, a few small holes can be pierced into the lid/ stem end before baking – to let out steam.  A pumpkin also makes a marvelous tagine and can be easily used with lamb or chicken stew, etc.

When the walls of the pumpkin are well cleaned, the inside including the lid, should be brushed with soft butter. The lid should be baked with the stem up, next to the pumpkin which will be baked with the hole up. Use a sturdy bake pan – 2” sides are okay – it should not be baked in a deep Dutch oven.

Bake at 350 degrees as long as it takes to make the flesh tender enough to scoop – but the pumpkin must still be firm – not collapsing. Remove the lid when it is done, as it will cook faster than the whole pumpkin. When the pumpkin is tender enough, but still firm, remove it from the oven.  To test for tenderness, use a fork to pierce it – but the fork should not be easily withdrawn. It took less than one hour to cook a 4-5 pound eating pumpkin till tender.  When nearing done – it must be checked to find this out, so check after 5 minutes and turn the pan around.  Repeat as necessary till the pumpkin is tender enough to use as a bowl – and, of course, to scoop out some flesh to eat.

The pumpkin can be baked the day before, cooled, and then refrigerated in a doubled paper bag.  Take out of the refrigerator and let sit at room temp for about 2 hours – then warm the pumpkin in the oven on a bake sheet – for about one hour at 225 degrees.  Use a higher temp and bake it longer if it’s not tender enough.  When using a stew with a baked pumpkin bowl, a cup of pumpkin diced 1/2 inch can also be removed from a smaller, peeled pumpkin and cooked in the stew.

Place the hot pumpkin into a shallow bowl or on an appropriate platter and put it in the middle of the table, no more than 15 minutes before serving.  When ready to serve, the pumpkin can be filled about three-quarters of the way up – and put the stem top back on.  A properly sized clean ladle should be  available, as well as a large pointed serving spoon.  Each person at the table can then remove small pieces of the orange pumpkin flesh from the inside top above the food, and place the pieces into their own bowls – over which they can then ladle the stew.  Yum!

Baked and Salted Pumpkin Seeds:

Put all the seeds with fiber, into a colander or a spaghetti insert with holes, and insert into the bottom of a pot.  Cover the seeds and fiber with water, by about two inches – swish it all around – remove the seeds from the fiber as necessary.  The seeds float to the top.

Do not put the seeds on paper toweling because the seeds will stick to the paper.  Put the seeds on an oiled pan and use a flat pancake turner to flatten the seeds out in one layer.  Dry the seeds for 5 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Shuffle them around and turn the seeds over – spray them with oil and sprinkle them with salt. Shuffle them around again and flatten with the flat pancake turner into one layer.  Bake them about 15 minutes or more, till golden – check after 5 minutes and turn – repeat if necessary. Let cool in pan about 10 minutes before using.

Test one to see if they’re “done” inside – Hannah has always liked pumpkin seeds.  She first sucks on them for the salt, and then removes the shell before eating the seed.  They’re somewhat messy – but good.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED©AT THE AMERICAN TABLE

2010-2011

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Wonderful Brunch Waffles

Every now and then we will have homemade waffles for a Sunday brunch – we have brunch about once a month and making waffles is not a lot of work.  Surely home cooked waffles have to be way ahead of the frozen packaged waffles – and these happen to be very, very good.  I do use Carnation Malted Milk Drink Powder in my waffles, which has been available at the supermarkets for many, many years.   I once read that bakers use malt in their baking, so I tried it. This ingredient certainly adds that “je ne sais quoi” – the “it” factor – to this and to a couple of other brunch items.  I see that King Arthur Flours does carry a malt powder to be added to baked goods.

Waffle Irons are very inexpensive and the one we now use is a round, white “Belgian Waffler” with deep square wells and is non-stick.  The waffle iron should still be lightly oiled and wiped.  Our waffle iron makes a 7” waffle and it has a red light which only shows that it’s on.   We can tell a waffle is done when it stops steaming.  Hannah does turn it over with a fork to brown the top side before serving.  The waffle iron should be cleaned when done – by simply wiping it out well. 

These, of course, are not a ball of the yeasted morning Belgian Liege waffles that are made in the center of the waffle iron which is used for un-yeasted waffles.  There is now a food truck in N.Y. which does make the yeasted “Belgian waffles”.

Here’s my recipe for very good and very easy waffles to make at home.

Wonderful Brunch Waffles – Yum: 

1 1/2 Tablespoons powdered malt       

2 teaspoons sugar    

1 cup flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour    

1/3 cup cornstarch    

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder      

1/2 teaspoons baking soda      

1/4 teaspoon salt    

1 1/2 cups buttermilk     

2 large eggs    

1/3 cup vegetable oil     

1 teaspoon vanilla extract     

Sift together the dry ingredients – whisk together the wet ingredients.  Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet – it’s okay if the batter is a little lumpy.  Pour/ spread about 2/3 cups of batter into our waffle iron which makes a 7” waffle.  Put down the cover – it’s done when the waffle iron stops steaming.  Immediately serve on a warm plate with the desired topping – often a room temp pat of butter is put in the center of the waffle, and warm maple syrup poured on.

The waffles can be kept warm in a 200 degree oven if making a quantity – or to be eaten together.  These can also be individually well wrapped or bagged in plastic, and all placed in a larger bag to be frozen.  One recipe makes about 5 waffles 7” in diameter.

The topping we choose happens to be a bit of plain granulated sugar with no butter.  Preserves, toasted pecans, syrup or sugar of any kind are some of the toppings of choice.  A warmed plate will not chill the waffle and butter – plates can be warmed in an oven, or just by putting them on the top of the stove which is already warm from being used.  The syrups, etc, should also be warmed – easy enough in the microwave oven which are quite inexpensive today.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED©AT THE AMERICAN TABLE

2010-2011

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Roast Chicken – As Good As It Gets

After the “Great Depression” – F.D.R. said “…there will be a chicken in every pot…”.  I guess – today you don’t have to be rich to have a chicken – and lots more!  Amazingly, many people managed to live through the “depression” – such as Grandma and Grandpa.  They “…rolled with the punches”, did the work they had to do, and didn’t have the grandiose dementia (Napoleon complex) which Grandpa decried.

There are French Bluefoot chickens, and even Polish white fluffy chickens with blue flesh, but it’s hard to beat the plain old USA Roast Chicken!  So much more food is available to us, and for our own dinner, I’ve roasted many 3 pound “frying chickens” for about one hour at 400 degrees.   Recently, however, when I wanted to use an old recipe for roasting a larger chicken, a “roaster” chicken was not available,  so Hannah bought a large 4-plus pound “fryer”.  Wow!  They weigh 4 to 6 pounds and the supermarket now has them at the meat counter.  Again we roasted it at 400 degrees but, of course, it took longer – about 85 minutes.  The size of the chicken matters and must be taken into account in order to decide the amount of time necessary for cooking.  This is a company-worthy roast chicken.  And it was very, very good!  Following is a photo of one of the colorful Polish roosters.  Roosters are the emblem of Poland.

If an oven thermometer is not used, again, it may take more or less time since ovens and range tops differ widely.   An oven thermometer must be used to gauge the actual temperature, and the stove’s thermometer setting should then be adjusted as needed.

In spite of T.V. chefs – and the high prices for such small amounts of fresh herbs at the supermarkets, dried herbs do have a place in cooking – and they do a wonderful job of it.  This is certainly a case of:  “Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.”  Some such as basil, only have good flavor when fresh, or stored fresh in oil as Vito’s mother would do, leaf by leaf.  Now it can also be frozen in ice cube trays or in small bunches – and although the basil will turn black, the flavor is still there.  Marjoram, however, has marvelous flavor dried or fresh – and plain old oregano is better when dried.  Experience with herbs is the best teacher.

And then there’s bouillon, especially when it finally came in paste form (called demi-glace), which has long been used by chefs.  Before that it was the very available plain water – and food cooked in it created its own broth.  Today, broth/ stock can taste differently each time it’s made, because it depends on the leavings cooked into it.  Even canned broth is often too onion flavored, though there is a lot to be said for the consistency of canned/ boxed broth and stock if you find one you like.

Hannah says that the chicken “looks beautiful” – she especially liked that the breast meat was moist.  I initially lightly oil the skin while it sits at room temp – the skin does not need to be dried out to be crispy.  Also, I don’t put butter under the skin – I spread butter and dried herbs all over the skin of the chicken.  First, however, I like to roast it back-side up for the first 15 minutes (or more for a larger chicken) – which will cook the back slightly and keep it from just being pale and flaccid.  After buttering it, I then turn the chicken breast-side up for the rest of the roasting time, which will make all of the skin brown and crispy. 

If necessary, the breast and legs can be tented with foil after they get a nice crispy skin.  Tying the legs together makes the inside of the leg and thigh pale.  Hannah is a dark meat aficionado and they too want browned and crispy skin.

Following is my recipe for roasting a larger fryer.

Roast Chicken:

One large frying chicken – about 4 to 6 pounds.  Remove any wrapping, rinse well and dry with paper towels.  Brush, wipe or spray lightly with 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil.  Let sit at room temperature about one hour.

Ten tablespoons of butter should also be cut up and let to sit in a bowl for one hour.

Use a 9 x 13 roasting pan with low sides (e.g., not a high-sided Dutch oven).  Just use a rack if not using vegetables under the chicken.  

About 15 minutes before roasting, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Cut off the wing tips at the joint and roast the chicken back-side up for 15 to 25 minutes depending on size – more time for a larger chicken.  Remove the chicken from the oven and turn it breast side up on a platter to let it cool somewhat.

If using vegetables, place them into the bottom of the pan.  The potatoes can be put in the bottom of the pan first.  The carrots can be added next, followed by the onion and the garlic.  Then pour in the liquid – the 2/3 cup of white wine plus the 1 1/2 cups of broth or water mixed with the bouillon can be added.  We use a small V-shaped rack to keep the chicken above the liquid over the vegetables. Place the chicken atop the rack. Butter the skin all over with the herb butter, including the wings, down both sides, and around the legs. Put the rack with the chicken into the pan and put the pan back into the oven to continue roasting at 400 degrees.  Add water as needed.  And yes, you can use more broth or water with bouillon paste or powder in place of the wine. 

Herb butter:

10 Tablespoons of butter at room temp

1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried leaf  or rubbed sage

1/2  teaspoon dried thyme leaves

Vegetables: 

4 cups 1 1/4“ cubed red potatoes

4 cups 1” pieces carrots

1/4 cup well diced onion

1 minced clove of garlic

Liquid:

2/3 cups white wine

1 1/2 cups chicken broth OR 1 1/2 cups water plus 1 1/2 teaspoons chicken bouillon paste or powder

After 1/2 an hour, remove the roasting pan from the oven.  A large cooking spoon can be inserted into the cavity of the chicken and using a large fork for support on the outside, it can be lifted enough to drain any liquid back into the pan.  The chicken can temporarily be moved to a platter so that the vegetables can be stirred to ensure more even cooking.  The roasting pan should be turned around when putting the chicken back into the oven.  After another half hour has elapsed, repeat these procedures.

It will take at least 80-90 minutes for the chicken to be completely cooked.  Turn it around again as necessary.  After 65-75 minutes, pierce the inside of the thigh to see if it’s done – the juices should run clear.  The liquid poured from the cavity should also be clear – if not, roast it for an additional 10-15 minutes.  Repeat as necessary until done.  There should be no blood in the juices and no blood anywhere in the chicken, especially next to the bones and joints.  Chicken must be fully cooked – an instant thermometer should read 165 degrees when inserted into the leg or thigh, without touching a bone.  

When done, remove the chicken to a clean platter and let it sit for 10 minutes so that the juices can move back into the chicken from the surface.  It can then be cut up.  If using the whole chicken for a dinner, the wings should be separated from the breast and can be cut into two pieces at the joint – the two breast halves should each be cut into halves or in thirds.  The thighs and legs should be removed from the body and the thighs should be separated from the legs – and they, too, can be cut across (chopped) into halves if the chicken is large – as desired.  The vegetables can be placed around the chicken, or into another dish.  We often save half of the chicken to make chicken soup based on Grandma’s Chicken Soup recipe.

Any fond/ browned bits in the bottom of the pan can be scraped up and mixed into the juices.  The liquid can be reduced to produce the flavor desired.  The juices can be augmented with water if necessary, to equal at least 2 cups.  Some of the hot liquid can be poured over and around the chicken, but some – or all of it, if desired – can be put into a dish with a small ladle.  Although a fryer has less fat than a roaster, the juice produced by the chicken, combined with the herb butter, wine, and bouillon, is wonderfully flavorful.  Yum!

This is an example of Polish embroidery – an emblem with roosters.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED©AT THE AMERICAN TABLE

2010-2011

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