A chicken has two breasts, broilers and fryers are 48-day-old birds that cook up tender, and a Rock Cornish Game Hen is simply a younger chicken. These are a few things Elaine Corn explains in Chicken, a book stuffed with useful information, "chicken nuggets" (jokes and entertaining trivia), and distinctive recipes. Delving into poultry's past,
I worried that the Italian method of cooking chicken weighted under a brick on the stove top might be some gimmick perpetuated by chefs desperate to be trendy. I asked my friend Patricia, who is of pure Sicilian extraction and now an exceptional pastry chef, if she had ever heard of cooking chicken under a brick.
Of course, she said, Her family did it all the time. "Why?! I asked, "Because it makes the chicken incredibly browned," "Where do you get the bricks?" I asked. "Elaine," she said, "I'm from New Jersey. We'd just find an abandoned building and go home with a coupla' bricks."
She wraps the bricks in foil before placing them on top of the chicken. For these thighs I use two bricks across a twelve-inch pan, and rotate them from time to time. Patricia is right. The thighs brown very nicely.
Serves 4-6
3/4 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
8 chicken thighs
Salt and pepper to taste
A little olive oil
Soft Polenta (recipe follows)
About 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley leaves
Heat a serving platter in a 150 degree F oven.
Place the porcini in a bowl with warm water to cover by 1 inch. Set aside to soak. Wrap two garden-variety bricks in heavy-duty aluminum foil.
Rinse the thighs and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
Pour enough olive oil into your heaviest, widest skillet to form just a film on the bottom and place over high heat. When hot, place the thighs in it, skin side down. Top with the bricks. Immediately reduce the heat to medium. Let cook for 20 minutes.
Remove the bricks. With tongs, turn the thighs over, replace the bricks, and cook 10 minutes longer.
During this time, lift the porcini from the soaking liquid.. Chop if the pieces are large. Rinse the mushrooms in running water, squeeze out excess water, and keep handy. Strain the soaking liquid through a sieve lined with a small piece of wet cheesecloth or paper towel, and keep the liquid handy, too. You'll need 3/4 cup. At this point, prepare the polenta.
Again remove the bricks. Pour off all the fat. Return the pan to medium-high heat, turn the chicken thighs so the skin side is down, replace the bricks, and cook for 5 minutes longer over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken to the warmed serving platter, arranging it to one side, and keep warm.
Raise the heat to high and add the rinsed mushrooms to the skillet. Saute for about 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup porcini liquid and the parsley and cook down to 1/4 cup. Taste for salt, and add if necessary.
Spoon the polenta to the side of the chicken. Spoon the porcini and sauce over the polenta and chicken thighs and serve immediately.
Soft Polenta
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal
Black pepper to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Microwave method: Combine 3 cups water, the salt, cornmeal, and black pepper in a microwaveproof bowl. Cover and microwave on High for 5 minutes. Uncover, stir well, and microwave for 4 to 5 minutes longer, uncovered. Stir in the butter and cheese. Spoon the soft polenta onto serving plates immediately.
Stovetop method: Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Add the salt, then slowly add the cornmeal in a fine stream, stirring quickly. When all the cornmeal is added, sprinkle with a little black pepper. Cook at a simmer, stirring constantly, for about 15 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the butter and cheeses. Spoon the soft polenta onto serving plates immediately.
