this 'n that

With the recent heatwave, I wanted something easy to prepare for supper. Whole Foods had on special for Prime Members whole Bell & Evans chickens for $1.79/lb. (regularly $2.99-$3.99/lb.). In order for the chicken to cook quicker, I spatchcocked it. I found a wonderful recipe on the Martha Stewart website, Grilled Spatchcocked Chicken. You’ll need a medium onion, garlic, fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, parsley and sage leaves), extra virgin olive oil, lemon zest and salt and pepper.
 
All the rub ingredients were placed in a food processor until they became a purée. Loosening the skin a bit, some of the rub was placed over the breast meat with the balance over the bird. The chicken needs to marinate at least 6 hours.

Before I was ready to grill, I removed the chicken 30 minutes before and removed most of the rub from the chicken. A little salt and pepper, and it was ready for the grill. The chicken was placed breast side down for approximately 10-15 minutes, or until it had a nice char. The chicken is then turned over to cook for another 30 minutes. Using a meat thermometer, the internal temperature should reach 165°. My chicken took almost an hour to cook. Despite sitting out, I had the chicken in my basement refrigerator which doesn’t get open that often.
 
Nonetheless, the chicken was delicious. The combination of fresh herbs and lemon zest made for a tasty summer night supper. Since it was grilled, the kitchen stayed cooled. This is a perfect recipe for those of you growing herbs. Any combination of one or any of the herbs would be fine.
 
I have on my kitchen table this summer, a small pile of recipes that I’ve been wanting to make, but haven’t had a chance. One is for an Italian cookie I got from a classmate of my daughter’s over 25 years ago when she was in kindergarten. The cookie is called Jamels and is made with eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ground clove, flour and baking powder.
 
I made this recipe many years ago and remember that my results weren’t good. This time I opted to make only half the recipe. The directions call for beating the eggs and sugar for 20 minutes. I used a stand mixer for this step. The mixture becomes quite light as you incorporated air into the ingredients. I believe this method also helps to produce a lighter cookie even though there is baking powder in the mix. As you beat the eggs and sugar, the spices and vanilla are added. After 20 minutes, I removed the bowl from the mixer and folded the flour in. Make sure you scrap the bottom of the bowl often to bring up any flour that hasn’t mixed in.
 
The batter was very thick and creamy. I used silicon baking mats that had circles on them to help me evenly space the cookies and used a cookie scoop to get a uniform size. The cookies bake at 375° for approximately 8 minutes, or until a white/beige color.
 
My husband said they are a nice light cookie for the summer. A hint of cinnamon and clove come through and would go well with a tall glass of flavored iced tea @sweetteasetearoom would be nice. ​

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​Grilled Spatchcocked Chicken
From www.marthastewart.com
 
Ingredients
 
1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half
1 large garlic clove, peeled
1/3 cup packed fresh herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, parsley, and sage leaves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
1/2 lemon, zest removed in strips with a peeler
1 chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), spatchcocked (see instructions, below)
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
 
Directions
 
Step 1
Prep:
 
Puree onion, garlic, herbs, oil, and zest in a food processor. Rub some puree under skin of chicken breast. Rub remaining puree over rest of bird. Refrigerate at least 6 hours and up to 8 hours. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Wipe off most of rub; season with salt and pepper.
 
Step 2
Grill:
 
Heat grill to medium-high, or set up for indirect heat. Grill chicken, breast side down, covered with vent open, until nicely charred, 10 to 15 minutes. Flip; cook 30 minutes more. Flip again; grill until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees in thickest part of breast, 5 minutes more. Let rest 10 minutes.
 
Cook's Notes
To spatchcock a chicken, cut along each side of the backbone with shears. Remove the backbone, and reserve it for stock (it can be frozen up to three months). Turn the bird breast side up; flatten it with your palm.

grilled_spatchcocked_chicken.pdf
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​Jamels
From Tracy McCarthy Tancredi
 
6 eggs
1 pound + 1-ounce granulated sugar (2-1/4 cups)
 
Beat these ingredients together for 20 minutes
 
Beat into egg and sugar mixture
1 teaspoon Vanilla             
1 teaspoon Cinnamon      
1 teaspoon Ground Cloves
 
Mrs. Tancredi was never given measurements, but uses 1 teaspoon as guide.
 
1-1/4 pounds flour (4 cups)
1 full teaspoon baking powder
 
Fold the flour and baking powder into the egg mixture. Make sure you scrap the bottom constantly to ensure all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
 
Preheat oven to 375°.
 
Bake until cookies are white/beige color. If you press the cookie, it should spring back. 
 
Donna’s Notes:
The cookies were baked on silicone mats that were marked for cookie placement. I also used a small cookie scoop to ensure uniform cookie size.
 
At the end of the recipe card there’s a notation of 1 CC + sprinkles. I’m not sure what it means, perhaps prior to baking you can dust with confectioners’ sugar and sprinkles. 

jamels.pdf
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