Poultry ala Sunbird – Fragile Things

Thoughts:

This plate is full of exotic, old world flavors. The chicken is soft and tender, and the meat falls from the bone, gently infused with the ingredients in the cider can. Flavors from the herbs are just barely present, but there, and the lavender mostly fades to the background, except for a hint of aroma.

The sauce is out of this world. Vanilla bean might seem counter-intuitive but it blends with the other flavors surprisingly well. I wondered how the garlic and the sweeter flavors would meld, but the whole thing came together wonderfully. The grains of paradise, which were my own addition, give the sauce a little bit of a kick. The final squeeze of citrus in the sauce gives the whole a little zip, and helps to round out the feeling of the sauce on the tongue.

I’d love to try this same recipe with a pheasant, but until one happens my way, I’ll be more than happy to enjoy this with chicken again and again.

Poultry ala Sunbird Recipe

Ingredients:

1 chicken
1 can of cider, 1/3 filled
1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig sage
1/2 tsp. dried lavender
1 tsp. cardamom
1/2 tsp. coriander seed

Fill the can of cider with the spices and herbs. Place the can inside the chicken, and stand it up in a pot. Cover with aluminium foil, and cook for around 1 hour. While it’s cooking, make the sauce (below).

Remove the chicken from the oven, and let rest for 15 minutes.

Discard the can and carve the bird. Drizzle with sauce, and serve hot.

Sauce:

Cook’s Notes: Of all the quirky ingredients that went into the description of this dish, patchouli was the only one I didn’t have on hand. Feel free to improvise according to what’s in your own pantry!

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
2/3 can cider
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs. honey
1/2 tsp. red sandalwood powder
1/2 tsp. ground grains of paradise
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch of cloves
pinch of nutmeg
1 vanilla bean
1 Tbs. molasses
1 Tbs. worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. fresh orange or lemon juice

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and sautee until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for around 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened. Turn off the heat, add the citrus juice, and stir to incorporate. Serve immediately.

Laura Moon’s Chili – American Gods

“Laura made a great chili. She used lean-cut meat, dark kidney beans, carrots cut small, a bottle or so of dark beer, and freshly sliced hot peppers. She would let the chili cook for a while, then add red wine, lemon juice, and a pinch of fresh dill, and, finally, measure out and add her chili powders. On more than one occasion Shadow had tried to get her to show him how she made it: he would watch everything she did, from slicing the onions and dropping them into the olive oil at the bottom of the pot on. He had even written down the sequence of events, ingredient by ingredient, and he had once made Laura’s chili for himself on a weekend when she had been out of town. It had tasted okay–it was certainly edible, and he ate it, but it had not been Laura’s chili.”

–American Gods, by Neil Gaiman

Thoughts:

Predictably, this chili is as delicious as you would expect after reading through that description.

I love the colors of this thick and savory chili, those rich dark reds, the flashes of orange carrots, and the sprinkle of seasonings. The huge amounts of cumin and spices amp up the other flavors, while the dill and lemon add a bit of an acidic zip. I’d never before added cocoa powder to a chili, but after this batch, will do it to every chili to follow. Although not specifically mentioned in the ingredients listed in the novel, the cocoa deepens the flavors of the chili, and could potentially account for Shadow’s inability to really recreate Laura’s recipe.

Laura Moon’s Chili Recipe

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 lb. ground lean beef
2 15 oz. cans kidney beans
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes (fire roasted are best)
6 medium carrots, diced
1 bottle dark beer
2 freshly sliced hot peppers
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. fresh dill, chopped fine
assorted chili powders, to taste
salt, to taste
1 tsp. cumin
pinch of turmeric
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa

Cook over medium heat for at least an hour. As with most stews and soups, the chili is much better the next day.

Lemonade with Mint – Chivalry

“‘Tea or lemonade?’

‘Whatever you’re having,’ Galaad said.

Mrs. Whitaker took a jug of her homemade lemonade from the fridge and sent Galaad outside to pick a sprig of mint. She selected two tall glasses. She washed the mint carefully and put a few leaves in each glass, then poured the lemonade.

–Chivalry, by Neil Gaiman

Thoughts:

Delicious! The tart zing of the lemons is countered by the sweetness of the confectioners sugar. The mint, meanwhile, lends the beverage a subtle, even more refreshing quality. Served over ice, it’s a wonderful version of a summer classic, and will leave you energized for whatever grand and noble quests you must face.

Recipe for Lemonade with Mint

Makes about 6 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

6 lemons
zest from one lemon
6 cups still or sparkling water
2 cups powdered sugar
a handful of mint leaves, crushed

Grate the peel of half the lemon and half the orange.

Juice the fruits. Add the water, sugar, zested peel, and crushed mint. Shake or stir vigorously for about a minute. Pour the mixture through cheesecloth or paper towel to catch the zest and mint. Refrigerate, and serve cold.

Coraline – Button Cookies

“The other mother had followed her in. Now she stood in the center of the room, between Coraline and the mantelpiece, and looked down at Coraline with black button eyes. It was funny, Coraline thought. The other mother did not look anything at all like her own mother.” –Coraline, by Neil Gaiman

Thoughts:

Although a simple sugar cookie recipe, the somewhat sinister connection to the “Other Mother” in Coraline lends them a creepiness similar to the bright facade of the 1950s. Available in a wide array of colors, the buttons appear purely festive, while still hinting at the curious world Coraline finds on the other side of the door.

Button Cookie Recipe

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

Prep: 20 minutes Chilling: 1 hour plus Baking: 10 minutes Icing: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

Icing:

3 cups powdered sugar
1 egg white
water
food coloring

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix until thoroughly combined. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, putting in the flour a bit at a time, until the dough is all mixed. Divide dough in half, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least an hour. Preheat oven to 325 F. Roll out dough to 1/4″ thick, and cut into rounds. Using a straw or the tip of an icing bag, punch holes where the buttonholes would be. Bake for around 10 minutes, or until the edges are just turning golden. Remove the cookies from the baking sheet, and allow to cool completely, else the icing will run off. Mix the icing by beating into the powdered sugar the egg white, and just enough water to make a runny, pourable consistency- you may need to experiment a bit with this to get a great, workable batch. Tint to desired colors with food coloring. ‘To ice the cookies, place one or two cookies at a time on a long, flat knife. Hold the cookies over the bowl of icing, and spoon icing over, making sure to get the sides covered. Allow the excess icing to drip off, then transfer the cookies to a rack over paper to catch the drips. Repeat until all the cookies are covered. Let cookies dry for several hours (if you can wait!), and serve with a glass of ice cold milk.