Photo: Martin Lane Cochran
A friend asked if we could do a cooking class for her kids and some of their friends. She said, "they do not want to decorate cupcakes they want to de-bone a chicken." We found a mutually free day and de-boned a few chickens, made some pasta, made chicken stock, turned that plus some veg into a chicken noodle soup and then made a quick batch of chocolate cake with chocolate ganache. Thanks Sophie, Dylan, Julien and Ethan–– great day... looking forward to the next.
Chicken Stock, After de-boning place chicken carcass in a 400 degree oven and cook until deep brown. Remove from oven, place in a pot, cover with water, bring to a simmer and cook over very low heat, being careful not to boil, for 6 hours. Drain, discard the chicken and keep the broth.
Chicken Soup, Place broth in a pot and add vegetables of your choice, we used chopped carrots, celery and onion. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Roasted Chicken, Heat a heavy bottom skillet over high heat. Once hot add just enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Place chicken skin side down into the pan and cook until deep golden brown. Flip the chicken so the skin is facing up and place in a 375 degree oven until just cooked through, about 7 minutes.
Pasta, In a bowl combine 1 cup all purpose unbleached flour, ½ cup durum flour, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 egg, ¼ cup water and a pinch of salt. Mix with your fingers until the ingredients are combined and you can make the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a half hour. After resting shape into noodles of your choice using a pasta machine or with a roller. Cook the pasta in boiling water being very careful not to overcook, time will vary depending on the thickness of your noodles but it will take approximately 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Drain pasta, rinse under cold water and drizzle with a little olive oil to keep it from sticking together.
Chicken Noodle Soup, Assemble soup by placing pasta in a bowl, sliced roasted chicken and top with hot soup.
Chocolate Cake, In a bowl or mixer combine 1 cup water, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar,3/4 teaspoons baking soda, 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup olive oil, seeds from 1 vanilla bean, 1 cup flour, 1/3 cup cocoa and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix until just thoroughly combined. These can be made into about 8-12 individual small cakes or 1 10" cake. Cook at 350 degrees until a toothpick in the middle tests clean, the time will vary depending on the size of the cake and your oven. Test doneness with a toothpick stuck in the middle, once it comes out of the cake clean it is done, approximately 15-25 minutes. Take care not to over cook. Top cake with the ganache recipe below.
Chocolate Ganache, Bring ¼ cup water to a boil, turn off the heat and wisk in 4 ounces bittersweet chopped chocolate, wisk in 2 tablespoons maple syrup. Let cool slightly before using to top chocolate cake.
