Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times (18 page)

VARIATION

Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast

Increase the melted butter, oil, or stock to ¼ cup and combine with ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, along with a mixture of other fresh herbs, like tarragon (about a teaspoon), dill (about a tablespoon), or celery or fennel leaves (a tablespoon or more). Baste and roast as directed.

MAKES AT LEAST 12 SERVINGS (WITH LEFTOVERS)

TIME: 2½ HOURS

ONE THANKSGIVING,
I vowed to minimize everything: time, number of ingredients, and, most of all, work. My goal was to buy all the food with one trip to the store and prepare the entire feast in the time it took to roast my twelve-pound turkey—less than three hours. The results are close to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner: Without using convenience foods—I made both the stuffing and the cranberry sauce from scratch, each in less than ten minutes—I prepared a full-fledged feast for twelve with more food than anyone could possibly finish.

The stuffing was inspired by a clever recipe from the late great chef Pierre Franey; you can make it and stuff the bird in less time than it takes to preheat the oven. The gravy relies on pan drippings but is finished with nothing more than water, good-quality sherry, and butter; it’s made in ten minutes or so, while the turkey rests before carving.

1.
Preheat the oven to 500°F. Rinse the turkey and remove the giblets; save the liver to make the stuffing. Loosely pack the turkey cavity with the stuffing, then tie the legs together to close the vent.

2.
Put the turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan. Add ½ cup of water to the bottom of the pan along with the turkey neck, gizzard, and any other trimmings. Put in the oven, legs first.

3.
Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the top begins to brown, then turn the heat down to 350°F. Continue to roast, checking every 30 minutes or so; if the top threatens to brown too much, lay a piece of aluminum foil directly onto it. If the bottom dries out, add water, about ½ cup at a time. The turkey is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh measures 165°F. If, when the turkey is nearly done, the top is not browned enough, turn the heat back up to 425°F for the last 20 to 30 minutes of cooking.

4.
Remove the turkey from the oven. Take the bird off the rack and make
Sherry Reduction Gravy
while the bird rests (let it sit for about 20 minutes before carving).

Fastest Bread Stuffing

MAKES 12 SERVINGS

TIME: 2½ HOURS

1.
Chop together (by hand or in a small food processor) the butter, livers, and parsley; season to taste.

2.
Spread half of the mixture on 4 of the bread slices; use the remaining bread to make 4 sandwiches. Spread the remaining mixture on the outside of the sandwiches. Cut each of the sandwiches into 6 pieces.

3.
Stuff the turkey and roast as described in the preceding recipe.

Sherry Reduction Gravy

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 15 MINUTES

1.
Remove the giblets and pour off all but a tablespoon of the fat from the turkey’s roasting pan; leave as many of the solids and as much of the dark liquid behind as possible. Put the roasting pan over 2 burners and turn the heat to high.

2.
Add the sherry and cook, stirring and scraping all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan, until the liquid has reduced by about half, 5 minutes or so.

3.
Add 3 cups of water (or stock if you have it) and bring to a boil, stirring all the while. Turn the heat to medium and simmer for about 5 minutes.

4.
Stir in the butter if you like and, when it melts, salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm until ready to serve. Strain before serving if desired.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

PREPARED MUSTARD IS
about as underappreciated as a staple could be. After all, it’s fat-free, low in calories, and high in flavor. Despite these assets, its main role in most households is as a condiment for meat and, perhaps, as an occasional ingredient in vinaigrette. In this chicken dish, however—essentially broiled chicken smeared with a spicy mustard paste—it plays a leading role.

You can make this dish with chicken breasts if you prefer, but I recommend starting with bone-in breasts and following the same procedure.
If you want to use skinless, boneless breasts (forget about crispness), smear the meat all over with the mustard mixture, then broil for just about six minutes, turning two or three times to prevent burning.

1.
Preheat the broiler to its maximum and set the rack about 4 inches from the heat. Season the chicken on both sides and place it in a pan, skin side up. Broil, watching carefully, until the skin is golden brown, about 5 minutes.

2.
Meanwhile, combine the mustard, shallot, and cayenne. (If you have a small food processor, just throw them in there and pulse the machine on and off a few times.)

3.
When the chicken has browned, remove it from the oven and turn it. Spread just a teaspoon or so of the mustard mixture on the underside of the chicken and broil for about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken and spread the remaining mixture on the skin side. Broil until the mustard begins to brown, about 5 minutes.

4.
At this point the chicken may be done (there will be only the barest trace of pink near the bone, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meat will read 160°F). If it is not, turn off the broiler and let the chicken remain in the oven for another 5 minutes or so. Garnish with the parsley if you like and serve.

VARIATIONS

• For extra crunch, combine the mustard and shallot with about 1 cup bread crumbs. Be especially careful in broiling, for the bread crumbs will burn very soon after they brown.

• For extra flavor, combine the mustard and shallot with about ½ cup chopped fresh parsley (or basil, cilantro, dill, or chervil). Proceed as directed.

• You can use the same coating with pork or veal chops; they should be at least 1 inch thick. Cooking time will be about the same.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 25 MINUTES

CHICKEN BREASTS ARE
so bland that they demand something—a spice rub, a salsa, or a strong reduction sauce. If you start with strong-tasting solids and add a variety of bold liquids, reducing each one to a syrupy consistency, you end up with an intense and complex reduction sauce. The process can involve esoteric ingredients and procedures, or it can be quite straightforward, like this one, which is direct, quick, and easy, especially considering that the result is a dark, complex sauce that can be used in many ways (see the variations).

1.
Preheat the broiler or start a grill. Put a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat for a minute or two. Add the tablespoon of olive oil, then the mushrooms and shallot, and turn the heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms brown nicely on the edges, about 5 minutes.

2.
Add the honey and stir until it evaporates, less than a minute. Add the vinegar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is dry, about 2 minutes. Add the sherry and cook, stirring once or twice, until the mixture is syrupy and nearly dry, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and cook, stirring once or twice, until the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and keep warm.

3.
Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and broil or grill them for about 6 minutes, or until cooked through.

4.
When the chicken is done, season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper and strain it if you like; stir in the remaining olive oil. Serve the chicken with the sauce spooned over it.

VARIATIONS

Mushrooms and Shallots with Sweet-and-Sour Sherry Sauce

Sauté about 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced (a combination of different mushrooms is best, but you can use all shiitakes or all button if you like), in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. The mushrooms will first give up their liquid, then begin to brown. When they start to crisp up, add ¼ cup minced shallot. Cook for another 3 or 4 minutes, then serve with the sauce.

• Sauté the chicken breasts, using the recipe for
Chicken Cutlets Meunière
, and serve with the sauce.

• Serve the sauce with poached, grilled, or sautéed shrimp.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

ONCE IN MARTINIQUE
I ate at a restaurant that was so simple that almost all of the food—chicken, tuna, quail, pork, and veal kidneys—was grilled. Not only that; it was all served with the same thin, powerful sauce, made of lime, scallion, chile, and garlic, with loads of allspice. It was the allspice that made the sauce unusual, but there was more to it than that: the garlic and scallion looked uncooked but had lost their harshness and become easily digestible. Furthermore, the base of the sauce was not oil, but water. With the help of a friend who was born on Martinique, I was able to duplicate the sauce at home. It’s called
sauce au chien,
which means “dog sauce” (a fact I chose not to research too aggressively). And it’s great with almost anything grilled.

1.
Start a grill or preheat the broiler. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: Combine the garlic, scallions, chile, ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper, the allspice, and oil in a small bowl. Add ½ cup of boiling water; stir and let sit.

2.
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and grill or broil it, turning 2 or 3 times, until it is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Taste the sauce and add more chile, salt, pepper, or allspice if needed. Stir in the lime juice (which must be added at the last moment to retain its freshness). Serve the chicken hot or at room temperature, passing the sauce at the table.

VARIATIONS

• Serve the sauce with grilled fish or shellfish, especially shrimp; grilled ribs (or in fact grilled pork of any kind); or any grilled poultry.

• Add some chopped capers to the finished sauce to vary the flavor.

NOTES

• Scotch bonnet pepper, with its fierce heat and distinctive flavor, makes this sauce more authentic. But a small amount of Asian chile paste is fine, as is any other source of heat.

• If you have the patience to mince or grind allspice berries, the sauce will taste brighter; preground allspice will do the trick as long as it is reasonably fresh.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

EGGPLANT IS SO
strongly associated with the cooking of Italy and southern France that it is almost always prepared with olive oil and garlic. This need not be the case, of course, and with a few ingredient changes—like the addition of ginger—you can make a novel kind of “ratatouille,” which readily converts an ordinary boneless chicken breast into an unusual and appealing dish. Be sure to spend a few minutes thoroughly cooking the shallots before adding the eggplant, allowing them to brown and begin to soften; and don’t overcook the ginger.