Garlic Chicken Stew, the Perfect Comfort Food

It's winter, and it's cold and the snow forecast for New England is looking to mess up my daughter's 7th birthday party. So I needed some comfort food last evening and I thought I'd share it with our loyal readers.

Like a good book that you reread over and over this is a recipe I cook up whenever I can't think of what to make for dinner or when it's cold out and we need something to warm us up. Comfort food at its best.

The amount of garlic, cabbage and onion in this recipe is probably extra good for you during the winter months. So enjoy!

I have fallen in love with my pressure cooker, a Fagor Rapida. I can take a frozen chunk of chicken, in this recipe, 4 thighs, and have chicken stew in under an hour. Falling-off-the-bone yumminess.

Garlic Chicken Stew with Dumplings

Garlic Chicken Stew

6 cups of water

4 chicken thighs (bone-in, with skin, but you can do any cut with or without bone)

2 ribs of celery cut

1 big handful of those mini carrots, or 2 large carrots sliced (large chunks are fine)

1 large sweet onion, white or red, diced

2 tsp dried thyme

1 head of garlic, peeled and sliced (don't chop, just slice)

1/4 head of cabbage chopped (in 1 inch squares)

Salt to taste (I use about 1 Tablespoon of kosher salt)

If you're not using a pressure cooker put everything in the pot and bring to a boil and simmer for an hour and a half then check the chicken to see if it's falling off the bone.

With a pressure cooker, put everything in the pot, bring up to pressure 15psi, and cook for 40 minutes, even if the chicken is frozen. I use the cold water release method where I put  the pot under cold running water until the pressure goes down. I don't like to wait. :)

Depending on how ambitious I am, I'll either take each piece of chicken out and take the meat off and return it to the pot, or serve it in bowls with one thigh in the bottom of each bowl.

I will sometimes add Bisquick Dumplings to the stew (I use half this recipe). This will also thicken the stew even further. YUM.

Ansha Kotyk is the upper middle grade author of GANGSTERLAND, a story about a boy, bully and magical comic book. She is a volunteer for New England SCBWI conferences (registration opened yesterday, come visit!) and is one of the hosts of #mglitchat.

Guest Post: Author Amanda Bonilla

Amanda Bonilla and I met through a blog chain we both participated in, and we've gotten to be not only critique partners but also close friends. She has a knack for bringing the world in her novels to life in an amazing, tangible way. Her debut novel, the much buzzed about urban fantasy SHAEDES OF GRAY in which shadow assassin Darian finds out the truth about who she in and who she loves, hits store shelves on December 6, 2011.

So without further delay, let's see what Amanda's got cooking for us today:

An author uses so many things to connect readers to a story. We write emotional scenes that cause laughter or tears. We create sexual tension to remind readers of the way it feels to fall in love or experience that first spark of passion. And we draw readers in by creating worlds that, no matter how unusual, can make a believer out of the staunchest skeptic.

It may seem insignificant, but food can play a huge roll in both world-building and connecting readers to a story. In any paranormal or urban fantasy world, one of the first questions we ask is, what does my creature eat? In the case of my Shaedes, I decided that I wanted their diets to be as normal as any human’s. Darian has a particular love for Honey Nut Cheerios, something that carries over from my own childhood. My grandma always had a box in her cupboard, and I definitely consider those delicious O’s as comfort food. When I developed the Lyhtans, the Shaedes’ mortal enemies, I decided to make their physical appearance as far from human as possible. So it stood to reason that their diet should be far from human as well. After much brainstorming, I decided that they should inject their prey with venom that not only paralyzes, but turns the victim’s insides into a slurpable goo that the Lyhtan could suck from the wound. I know, not exactly the most appetizing image, but that’s what I was going for. I wanted the reader to be repulsed by my Lyhtans, and I wanted to convey that this is not the type of creature you want to stumble upon in a dark alley.

Food can really make a scene pop. When I was discussing this post with Sarah, she mentioned a scene in SHAEDES OF GRAY that really stuck out for her. Darian is not-so-happy about a certain turn of events and decides to take her frustration out on a watermelon sitting on her counter. After slicing the melon in two with her katana (she may or may not have anger management issues), she casually digs into the fruit with a spoon and shovels watermelon into her mouth while she stews. This scene might not have been memorable to Sarah if Darian had been sitting in a chair or tapping a finger against her chin in thought. Her actions humanized her, connected her to the reader, put her in a situation that we might find ourselves in. I know I’ve chewed angrily once or twice. Emotional eating is one of my go-to stress relievers!

What do you think? Can food forge an emotional connection between a reader and a character? How big a part does food play in the books you read? And last but not least, what’s your favorite comfort food?

Amanda Bonilla lives in rural Idaho with her husband and two kids. She’s a part-time pet wrangler, a full-time sun worshipper, and only goes out into the cold when coerced. When she’s not writing she’s either reading or talking about her favorite books.

Keeping It Simple with Sausage Balls

Keep it simple. Ninety percent of the time, that’s a good rule for writing and for cooking.

What! My brilliant four-page extended metaphor about laundry detergent, spiderwebs, and heartbreak is overwrought! But it’s beautiful, isn’t it? Each image twangs like the dawn’s crimson orb glazing the silken threads with freshly powdered Tide flakes.

Yeah, yeah. I know it’s not all like that, but even the most well-meaning writer can let artistry of language or the twistings of side plot overwhelm what most readers are really there for: crisp characters and a sensational story. Sometimes the extras add juicy depth, and sometimes they give so much depth your readers drown in it.

My “cooking disorder” makes the kitchen equivalent of this a big problem for me.

Let’s say I start with a simple plan to serve our guests Belgian waffles. I mix the oatmeal, multigrain batter; put out numerous jellies, syrups, and honey; and set the table. I look at the clock. It’s 7:00 and no one’s awake yet. But instead of reading the paper or going back to bed, I start brainstorming. Strawberries. Everybody likes strawberries. So I thaw some out. Of course they need blueberries to keep them company. What about bananas though? Soon I’m cooking bananas, cinnamon, and sherry on the stovetop and wondering if it would cool quickly enough if I mixed it with butter. (Mmm! Banana butter!)

Before I can stop myself, I’m making scrambled eggs with leftover meatballs, peppers, tomatoes, and cheese; blueberry cream cheese coffee cake; and a strange tater tot hash with onions, not to mention the original waffles. Then, since one person’s still in the shower, I toss some apple slices in a pan and cook those too.

By the time the last dish finishes, everyone’s been waiting for fifteen minutes. I sheepishly summon the herd of three or four to the table, and because I’m very lucky and have patient guests, this ends well. The food is tasty, tummies are full, and we’re ready to pitch in the leftovers if a dozen rhinos show up at our door.

And while this is great, everyone—especially my wife who's on dish duty—would have been equally as happy if I’d kept it simple and just made waffles.

Today’s recipe does exactly that (keeping it simple, not making waffles). This is comfort food that has a billion variations, but it’s easy to make and tastes good hot or cold.

Sausage Balls

Ingredients

1 lb. sausage

2½ c. Bisquick

½ c. water

10 oz. sharp cheddar cheese

¼ tsp. black pepper

½ tsp. tarragon

½ tsp. garlic salt

Picture of all the ingredients I debated adding to this recipe. Toooooo complicated!

Picture of ingredients I actually used. Simple=good.

Cook sausage in pan, mixing in pepper, tarragon and garlic salt when meat is halfway browned. Stir often. Finish lightly browning, then drain.

This utensil deserves its own close-up. Mix 'N Chop! Mix 'N Chop!! Mix 'N Chop!!! Thank you, Pampered Chef, for my #1 favorite kitchen tool!

Grate cheese, and mix together with sausage, Bisquick, and water. Cover and chill for a few hours to make dough easier to handle. (Though you can cook right away if desired.)

Shape into quarter-size balls and put on ungreased cookie sheets. (I made mine too big.)

Bake at 400° for 11 to 13 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 28 to 36 depending on size.

*For lower fat/calorie version, use lean ground beef, Heartsmart Bisquick, and only 8 oz. of cheese.