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Finding Her Way
In The Kitchen

will be bronzed and
crisp. The liquid will have
reduced by half. Remove
from the oven.
Here, the cookbook rec-
ommends tilting the pan
so that the fat gathers and
then spooning off as much
as possible. I was confused
as to whether or not the
chicken should remain in the pot for
this, so I decided to remove the legs to a
clean plate. I spooned the fat off the sauce
as it cooled, and then brought it back to
a boil over medium heat, swirling as it
reduced to a more syrupy consistency.
Mix the vinegar and honey, and warm
slightly. (I did this in the microwave.) Add
the figs to the sauce on the stove, and then
the vinegar and honey mixture, stirring.
Nestle the chicken back into the pan,
careful not to squish the figs, and simmer
until the sauce is glossy, only a minute or
two. The taste should be rich and vibrant-
ly sweet and sour. Add more salt, honey
or vinegar to taste.
Serve each chicken leg with two wedges
of onion and 4 or 5 fig halves, with a few
spoonfuls of sauce.

Season to Taste author Molly Birnbaum
shares some favorite recipes.

W

hen I lost my sense of smell,
returned. Today, I love to cook food with
the result of a head injury
bright colors and varied textures. I still
sustained when f was hit by a rely on simple ingredients, dishes that are
car while jogging, I quickly realized that
in season and filled with flavor.
I could no longer taste. Well, that's not
The silken texture of the braised chick-
entirely true. I had the salty,
en in a Zuni Cafe recipe is per-
sweet, bitter, sour and umami
fect alongside plump figs, the
of my taste buds. But I couldn't
bright tang of vinegar and the
detect herbs or spices, all of
mellow sweet of honey. Penne
the nuance that makes food
with Butternut Squash, Goat
good.
Cheese and Walnuts is a study
Before the accident I had
in textures.
been training to be a chef. I
The scent of cinnamon in
had loved food both compli-
my mother's recipe for home-
cated and complex. Afterward,
made applesauce reminds me
however, I began to eat much
of my childhood home.
M oily
more simply, food with bigger,
I have written about these
Birn baum
bolder bite.
recipes on my blog, My
Specia I to the
Over the last six years, my
Madeleine (mollysmadeleine.
Jewish News
sense of smell has slowly
blogspot. com ). I I

CHICKEN BRAISED WITH
HONEY, FIGS AND VINEGAR
(Adapted from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook)
4 chicken legs (thigh plus drumstick)
salt
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium-sized onion, peeled,
trimmed and cut into 8 wedges
1 /2 cup dry white wine
2 Tbsp. dry white vermouth
1 /2 cup chicken stock
(approximately)
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of fresh thyme
a few black peppercorns, barely
crushed
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. honey
8-10 (or more) fresh figs, cut in half
Rinse and then dry the chicken legs.
Trim the excess fat. Season with salt and
refrigerate, covered, until ready for use

PENNE WITH BUTTERNUT
SQUASH, GOAT CHEESE AND
WALNUTS
(Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seed-
ed, and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper
1 lb. penne pasta (I use whole wheat)
1 cup (8 oz.) goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely
chopped
1 cup basil leaves, sliced
1 /3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Mix the cubed squash and onion
together on a baking sheet. Drizzle with
olive oil, and season to taste with salt
and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes, until
the vegetables are browned in spots and
cooked all the way through. Set aside.
While the squash is cooling, bring a

(recommended: 12-24 hours in advance).
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Heat oil in a heavy ovenproof skillet,
preferably large enough that all of the
chicken can be held in one single layer.
Over medium heat (the oil should sizzle,
not pop explosively), brown the chicken,
skin side down, until golden brown and
crispy, about 10 minutes. Turn the legs
over, and cook slightly, about 4 minutes,
until just slightly colored. Pour off the fat.
If your skillet is not ovenproof, trans-
fer chicken to braising dish, skin side
up. Arrange onion wedges in the spaces
between the legs. Add the wine, vermouth
and enough stock to come up 1/2-inch in
the dish. Bring to a simmer on the stove.
Add the bay leaf, thyme and cracked
black pepper.
Place in the oven, uncovered, and cook
until meat is tender but not falling off the
bone, about 40 minutes. The chicken skin

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50

October 27 • 2011

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large pot of salted water to a
boil. Add the pasta, and cook
until tender but firm, about 10
minutes. Drain the pasta, but
reserve 2 cups of its cooking
water.
Place the pasta, goat cheese
and 1 cup of the pasta water
into a large serving bowl.
Stir until the goat cheese has melted,
forming a creamy sauce. Add the squash
and onion mixture, the walnuts and the
basil. Toss well. Season to taste again with
salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Parmesan
cheese and serve.

APPLESAUCE
(adapted from my mother)
1 bag of apples (however many, what-
ever kind you want — here, I used a
mixture of McIntosh and Macoun)
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
ground cinnamon to taste
ground nutmeg to taste
1 food mill
vanilla yogurt
Chop each apple in half, and then the
halves in half, and then the quarters
in half at 90-degree angles (otherwise
known as 8 chunks). Place in a large
pot. Add the cinnamon sticks and then a
healthy dose of ground cinnamon, as well
as a few shakes of ground nutmeg. Add
a quarter cup of water to keep the apples
from scorching at the start. Cook at
medium-high heat, covered, until the
apples begin to bubble away. Turn down
the heat to low, and let simmer until soft.
Then, run the mixture through the food
mill, discarding the stem, seed and skin
detritus that is left behind. Shake some
additional ground cinnamon on top.
Serve with vanilla yogurt.

Molly Birnbaum, author of Season
to Taste: How I Lost My Sense
of Smell and Found My Way,
speaks 2:15 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4,
at the Jewish Book Fair in West
Bloomfield. See Special Events/
Health Awareness Day on
page 44.

