I fixed you 3 Julias so sit down and eat

No matter how hard I try to plan ahead I still seem to find myself behind the 8-ball. About 3 weeks ago I bought an organic chicken at the Sunday market, the kind that had a great life until somebody whacked his head off, and threw it into the freezer. Yesterday I planned to make Julia's roasted chicken and took him out to thaw. While he was getting ready I read Julia's instructions which included trussing, which is sewing up the neck and hind end of the bird to keep stuffing in and keep the limbs close to the rest of the bird so that they don't dry out before the rest of the bird is done.

So, off to the store. Of course all the store has is the equipment to truss a turkey which isn't going to work at all because it doesn't include a needle, just these metal hooks to hold the skin together, but I buy them anyway. I hate that store.

When I get back I dump the thawed chicken out of the bag into the sink and much to my surprise a bunch of chicken pieces fall out-and there isn't going to be any need for trussing because there isn't going to be any roasted chicken. I consider despair but instead decide to consult the cookbook again to see what options might be available for chicken pieces. Unbelievably there is a master recipe called Chicken Simmered in White Wine for which I not only have all the equipment I also have most of the ingredients. Let's cook.

It is in the easy as pie category and requires leeks, carrots and celery to be washed, trimmed, peeled and julienned and then put into a pot along with the chicken pieces, 1.5 cups of dry white wine, salt, pepper, tarragon, bay leaf and then chicken broth added to cover it all. Simmer 25 minutes and eat. When we got to that point the Main Eater commented that when the Queen of England comes to dinner I should fix something else because I make a lot of stuff that takes a whole lot better. It is possible that it would have been better if I had actually used chicken broth, but all I had was beef broth so that may have effected the flavor some, even though I maintain that the flavor is very similar. Also I simmered it about 45 minutes instead of the 25 and that may have contributed to the breasts being a bit dry. I usually eat the dark meat which is rarely dry no matter what you do to it.

In addition to the chicken we also had steamed rice, or as Julia calls it, "Plain Boiled Rice" and blanched broccolli. Her recipe for rice is very similar to the one on the rice box: 2 parts water to 1 part rice, salt to taste and add a little olive oil or butter if you want. But them all together in a pan with a tight fitting lid, bring to a boil for 2 minutes, turn the heat down to low for 18 minutes, taste to be sure it a almost done, and then remove from the heat and let it stand for another 5 minutes. Use a fork to fluff it and transfer it into the serving dish because a fork will not break the rice grains. Delicious. One important thing with rice is to measure the water and rice accurately using the same measuring cup for both of them.

She recommends blanching broccoli because steaming it deminishes the color. Cut the flowerettes into smallish pieces that are similar in size and peel the stems if you are not cutting them off. Be sure there is enough water in the pan to cover the brocolli, salt it, and then bring to a rolling boil. Now add the broccoli and boil for 4 minutes and then drain immediately.

I will probably use all these recipes again. The chicken is easy, fast, relatively inexpensive and low calorie which puts it into the trifecta + category. In addition the broth can then be used to make a soup the next day. While there was nothing particularly different about the rice directions they were exact, easy to follow and resulted in a great product. Blanching the broccoli was faster than my normal steaming and may well have brought out a more vibrant color.

The Bottom Line
Chicken Simmered in White Wine-Thumbs Up
Plain Boiled Rice-Thumbs Up
Blanched Broccoli-Thumbs Up

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