First-time chicken cooking

Awesome, thanks for the link! All the recipes I had found for coq au vin myself just had instructions for using hens since roosters are too hard to find. It's nice to see the real thing!

I'm definitely going to ommit the other meat though... not quite ready for pork yet. I hope the dish won't suffer too much if I use extra butter and leave out the bacon and ham.

fwegan in Home Cooking

First-time chicken cooking

I've been a vegetarian since I was a teenager, so I've never cooked any meat. I consider myself a pretty good cook when it comes to veggies, but I'm about to face my first meat dish, and I'm a little worried.

I slaughtered my first chicken last week, and I'm planning on cooking the bird. And enjoy it, dammit! He had a pretty sweet life on our little farm, so I'm determined not to feel guilty about it.

He was a rooster, not particularly young, and he's been sitting in the fridge from yesterday because my boss says that he'd be better after a couple days rest.

Since he's an older (a bit over a year), less tender specimen, I'm thinking a moist cooking application would work best. I was thinking of doing chicken fricassee, but thought I'd check for suggestions here first.

So, what would you do with a chicken a bit past its prime, but hopefully quite flavorful? And any tips for a first-time poultry cook?

fwegan in Home Cooking

Cold Soup...what's your fav?

Sure! Here's the version of the recipe that my mom typed up for me a few years ago. No one in my family, except for me and my brother, is really into cooking, so this is special -- the only family recipe! Just watch out for the butter. Yikes.

Zucchini Bisque

1 med. onion, quartered
½ c. butter
1-1/2 lbs. zucchini
2-1/2 c. chicken stock
½ tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. salt
freshly ground pepper
1 c. ½ & ½
Chop onion in food processor. In large saucepan, melt butter. Saute onion until limp. Shred zucchini in food processor. Add zucchini and chicken stock to onion. Simmer covered for 15 minutes. Puree zucchini mixture in processor in 2 batches, adding ½ the spices each time OR use an immersion blender to puree, adding spices. Add ½ & ½ and stir until well mixed. Taste for additional seasonings. Serve hot or cold.
From MaryLou McCandless

fwegan in Home Cooking