Dinner Ups and Downs

It is the best of times; it is the worst of times.  It is an age of pickiness; it is an age of experimentation.

Yes, dinner.  I'm a bit frustrated with cooking lately, having had a few too many failed meals.  There was the minestrone soup--a huge slow cooker full--that used mealy chickpeas and freezer-burned green beans, much to my surprise.  Ruined the whole pot.  Then there was the marsala sauce I added to beautiful browned chicken, sauce that had gone bad on the shelf unbeknownst to me.  I also had a broccoli noodle soup disaster--was it the cheese?  the stock?  the broccoli?  I don't know, but even Mama could smell the funkiness when she walked in the house.  Now, these are all dishes I've made before with no problem, but sometimes it doesn't go well.  Sure, the underlying pattern is off ingredients, mostly frozen ones or prepared ones.  I use these as a crutch sometimes so I don't waste produce or so I cook at home instead of ordering in; most of the time, they're just fine. Nothing is wrong with my freezer.  I guess it just happens.  But then you have all that food to toss and extra dishes to clean and hungry people still to feed.  It's so disheartening.

I should say, though, that the chicken I "baked" in the slow cooker on Monday turned out beautiful, as did the gravy and the stock I made afterwards, all of which contributed to the best chicken and dumplings I've ever made.  Which, of course, is why I keep trying. (Please note that the chicken, gravy, stock, and dumplings were all made from scratch!)

Mama, however, is going one step beyond me.  Inspired by the intro to Michael Pollan's Cooked, which advocates for more homecooking, Mama is determined to help the kids learn to cook their favorite meals.  And not just meals like chicken and dumplings that are already in the family repertoire.  No, she said it could be anything.  So Bud chose linguine with clam sauce, while Sis asked for chicken marsala!  So Mama spent last night pouring through my cookbooks looking for recipes, deciding upon a couple in Cook's Illustrated, with some adjustments.  She's put marsala and clams and white wine on the shopping list and is determined to cook with each of them this weekend; in fact, she's really very excited.  I'm very impressed with her ambition and impressed with her determination.

But I'm also glad, especially in light of recent meals, that it's her project and not mine!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Chicken Stock
(Or it might be broth, since I don't really reduce)

bones of cooked chicken
carrots
celery
onion
garlic
water

Place all the leftover bones and bits of a (what's the word for a chicken you've taken the meat off of?) cooked chicken in a slow cooker along with a handful of chopped carrots (I used baby), a couple of stalks of celery, a quartered onion, and a couple of cloves of garlic.  Completely cover with water.  Add salt.  Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours.  Remove and discard the bits, straining liquid if necessary (I usually just skim once the liquid has cooled).  Refrigerate.  Can also be frozen.