One Roast – Five Dinners – PART 1 Chicken
Several times in the past few months, people who know what I do, have mentioned the recent focus of talk show cooking segments on the “1 roast = 5 meals” concept. Several of them had concluded that, allowing for the cost of all the ingredients, this was an idea geared more toward convenience than economy. Those with children, especially teens, and/or larger families laughed at the prospect of anything other than a side of meat or a big turkey yielding the 20 or so portions implied by the segments.
My experience as a personal chef service owner, where our starting contracts are based on what we call 4x 5 or 5×4 plans (4 servings of 5 entrees or 5 servings of 4 entrees), even though we don’t usually deal in leftover recipes, made me recognize the validity of their portion assessments. For years, in my own kitchen I’ve been dealing with leftovers, but never documented it. So I decided to do some experimenting on my own.
The most frequently chosen meat for these T.V. segments is chicken and that seemed a good place to start. Bearing in mind that I am only serving two at home, the bird I estimated as best adequate for the amount I would need was 4 lbs. That’s about half the weight .range of chickens. and makes it easier to double the proportions given in my recipes below to 4 servings, by doubling the size of the bird. I think a large Roasting Chicken would suffice, but I don’t think it would stretch to cover additional servings. That requires a second bird or a larger variety of poultry like turkey. Therefore, it’s safe to conclude that each of the T.V. demos plan for 4 servings at most.
I also bought a second roast, of pork, as a control, and I’ll compare the results next posting. Meanwhile, I want to say that though the experiment turned out well, in stretching the meat to cover as many meals as possible, I did use less in each dish than I would have normally, but I’m heavy-handed on meat. The recipe portions are acceptable as given.
MEAL ONE—ROAST CHICKEN
4 lb. whole chicken
1 tsp. garlic powder
11/2 Tbs. Teriyaki sauce
1 envelope chicken bouillon
2 large potatoes –halved crosswise -optional
2 large onions- peeled–optional
Water
This is a take-off on Barbara Kafka’s famous method. The chicken is blackened, but it’s flavorful and moist. Put the bird in a 9×13 inch roasting pan. Place 1tsp. Teriyaki sauce under the skin on each breast, and sprinkle the garlic powder over it. Add enough water to measure 11/2 inches and pour in the rest of the Teriyaki sauce and the bouillon. Roast in a 400 deg. oven for 1 hour, reduce heat to 350 deg. and cook for another hour, maintaining the water level in the pan, and basting occasionally during the first hour. Carve two portions of meat off the breast(s) and serve with the potatoes and/or onions if using, and a green vegetable. Pass the strained broth on the side.
MEAL TWO – CHICKEN SALAD
2 drumsticks and 2 wings from the above roasted chicken
Enough lettuce of choice, iceberg, Romaine or Bibb for 2 dinner portions
1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/3 cup toasted walnut pieces
½ cup crumbled Feta cheese
Bottled Raspberry- Walnut or Pecan salad dressing
Freshly ground black pepper
Tear the lettuce into bite sized pieces and pile on two plates. Divide the cranberries and walnuts evenly over the tops. Drizzle with dressing to taste. Top with the cheese and garnish with the pepper. Place a drumstick and awing on each plate. Serve with a crusty bread.
MEAL THREE – Chili
Diced meat from the two thighs of the roasted chicken
1 rib celery –thinly sliced crosswise
½ bell pepper diced
1 medium onion diced
1 Tbs. canola oil
½ 28oz. can diced tomatoes- with juice reserved
(2)15oz, cans kidney, pinto or great Northern beans-one drained
½ cup corn – frozen or canned
2 tsp. chili powder
3 oz. tomato paste
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. garlic powder
2tsp.paprika
2 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. brown sugar or honey
Cayenne, red pepper flakes or Tabasco sauce to taste.
2/3 cup grated Cheddar Cheese
Microwave the onion, celery, bell pepper and oil for 2 min. on high. Add to a pot with the other ingredients, except the chicken and cheese. Cook just under a simmer for about 10 min. for the flavors to meld, adding enough reserved tomato juice and/or bean juice to moisten. About 3 min. before finish, add the chicken and heat through. Adjust seasonings. Add salt if needed. Serve hot in bowls topped with the cheese.
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1cup diced leftover chicken
(4) 8 inch flour tortillas
4oz. salsa Verde- heat optional
1cup broccoli flowerets
1 medium onion in large dice
½ a bell pepper in large dice
1tsp. canola oil
About ½ the remaining canned diced tomatoes-drained
1tsp. dried basil
1tsp. dried oregano
4 oz. sliced mushrooms- canned or fresh – optional
1 cup grated cheese—Cheddar, or Monterey Jack
Microwave the onion and pepper in the oil for 2 min. on high. Wipe one side of 2 tortillas with water and top with the other 2 tortillas. Spread the salsa over the tortilla tops leaving a ½ margin. Sprinkle the other ingredients evenly over each ending with the cheese. Place on a baking sheet or pizza pan and bake in a preheated 410 deg. oven for 12-15 min. until edges are golden and cheese bubbles. Serve hot.
MEAL FIVE- PASTA – CHICKEN IN CREAMY MUSHROOM SAUCE
1cup leftover chicken diced
½ lb. linguini, tagliatelle, fettucini or spaghetti (to jazz-up the presentation use a spinach flavor)
4 oz. sliced button mushrooms
1 Tbs. oil
1 Tbs. butter
1 tsp. garlic powder
3 Tbs. white wine or cream sherry
½ cup heavy cream or half and half
1 small onion chopped
1 slice of bacon cooked and crumbled (optional)
½ tsp. dried tarragon
2 tsp. flour
1Tbs. pasta water
Salt to taste
Grated Parmesan for serving
Cook the pasta to al dente. Cook the onion in the butter and oil until soft, add mushrooms and cook for 2 min. Add the tarragon, wine and garlic and cook down for about 1 min. Blend the flour with the pasta water. Add the cream to the pan, bring to a boil, stir in the flour mixture, and continue cooking, stirring constantly until sauce thickens adding more pasta water if it seems too thick. Gently stir in the chicken and bacon if using. Drain the pasta and add to the pot with the sauce and the chicken. Stir gently until well combined and heated through. Serve hot topped with grated Parmesan.
1 chicken roast 5 dinners
1 chicken roast 5 dinners breast
1 chicken roast 5 dinners beans
There you have it: one chicken stretched to cover 2 servings for five meals It can be done, but as I said I would prefer a bit more chicken or one less meal. If I do this again, I’ll make allowances. Judging from my experience I would estimate that one should allow about 2 lbs. chicken per person and if serving more than 4, or even 4 large appetites, consider buying more than one bird. One tip though, strip the meat from the bones early on to get a clear understanding of how much you have to work with before committing to all the meals. Next I’ll talk about the pork roast I put to the same test and compare the two. I did choose them of almost equal weight and price, so the results are interesting.
