Tuesday's Tip... Cooking with Love

“There is no spectacle on earth more appealing than that of a beautiful woman in the act of cooking dinner for someone she loves.”

cute little cake stand from etsy

Today is the husband's birthday and in honor of that I am going to discuss one of the most important cooking tips I've ever learned.  I think I may have learned it from my grandmothers or maybe even my mom, but as cliche as it may sound love is one of the most important ingredients you can add to your spice rack.  There's something about cooking in a non-selfish way, whether it be for someone down the street or your own family.  When cooking is selfish we have a tendency to get an attitude of "I made it, you'll eat it" but when the cooking is all about the other person even in the imperfections we can still feel pleased with what we make.  Not only that but it is such an easy way to please your husband, children, neighbor up the road or friend in need.  So this week's tip is to try your hand at catering a whole week worth of menus around other people, attempt to make their favorites and show them how much they mean to you.  

For my husband's birthday he had one request for me to make Airline Chicken.  I know it sounds like something you would get aboard a plane but I promise it isn't.  Airline actually refers to the cut of the chicken (the breast and the first joint of the wing to be exact) that makes a shape somewhat resembling of an airplane.  Below is a video that is great at explaining how to cut this although it is a little quick in the demonstration.  After you cut the chicken as demonstrated the rest of the recipe is relatively easy as it consists of pan searing the chicken then baking it off while making a wonderful sauce.   This recipe pairs nicely with brown rice and vegetables which is exactly how I'll be making it.  I hope you enjoy it as much as the husband does!

Airline Chicken
Ingredients:
For Chicken:
Airline chicken breast (as many as you'd like to make, this recipe works well for 2-6 breasts)
 *skin on... you can remove after cooking but keep it on while cooking to keep the moisture in the chicken

turquoise and brown cake

2 shallots (minced)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup of heavy cream
2 cups of veloute sauce (see recipe below)
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper
olive oil
For Sauce:
2 cups chicken stock
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
salt and pepper

Make Sauce First:(makes 2 cups of veloute sauce)
Melt 3 tbsp butter over low
add flour, cook until bubbles (~2 minutes)
pour chicken stock in slowly whisking while adding (much like making gravy)
*if not using immediately cover surface with plastic wrap to prevent crust from forming
set aside for later on in dish
Making Chicken:
preheat the oven to 350 degrees
season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder
start browning in pan until golden
finish off in oven until internal temperature is 165 degrees
* while chicken is in the oven finish sauce
place veloute sauce in saucepan and bring to simmer
reduce slightly and add minced shallots
in a separate stainless steel bowl beat together yolk and cream
temper yolk liaison and mix with pan sauce (tempering basically means adding a little of the hot into the cold slowly there wasn't a good video on this so looks like maybe I'll try to make one to put up as it is a great technique to know)
reheat to low simmer (don't bring to a boil)
add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste

Remove chicken from the oven, spoon sauce over top, and you have a fabulous meal!!!!