Senegalese Chicken: Poulet Yassa

Senegal is a country in western Africa with a population of more than 17 million. The capital of Senegal is Dakar. France took control of part of what is now Senegal, coastal areas and a main island, in the 1600s, but regional chiefs remained in control of much of the interior part of the territory. The coastal area was used for the slave trade, but during Napoleon's time, the British took control of that area, and they abolished slavery. When Napoleon was defeated in 1815 at Waterloo, the British and French began negotiations for the territory to be returned to French control, with one of the conditions being that the slave trade and slavery would remain abolished. Within a year or so, France was once again in control and the French began a campaign to move inland from the coast. The area eventually became a part of French West Africa, which was a French created federation of the French colonial territories in western Africa: French Sudan, Mauritania, French Guinea, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta, Dahomey, Niger and Senegal (Dahomey is now Benin, Upper Volta is now Burkina Faso, French Sudan is now the Republic of Mali). The capital of the federation was the city of Saint Louis, a city in northwestern Senegal. In the summer of 1960, Senegal became independent of France. Senegal's official language is French, but only about a third of the population speak French, and seemingly part of this third of the population speak an African language as their primary means of communication with others in Senegal. Wolof, a language from the Niger-Congo family of languages, is the most widely spoken language in Senegal, followed by Pular, another Niger-Congo language.    

 

"Poulet Yassa" is dish that seemingly originated in southern Senegal, although it has spread not only to other parts of Senegal, but also even to other West African countries. The amount of onion is not a mistake; in fact, many recipes use even more, and it is the onions and chicken that form the core of this dish. The recipe I have put together here is a somewhat more elaborate version, as basic "yassa" does not include carrots or olives, but these are added, also at times with some cabbage, for special occasions for some families, although others prefer this version most of the time. You can make this dish as spicy hot as you want, but part of the dish's "character" is some heat, so at least give it a little heat. You can substitute a milder chili, like jalapeno, or even some ground red pepper, for the habanero or scotch bonnet.     

 

 

Ingredients (about 5 servings):

 

10 pieces of bone-in, skin on chicken; 5 thighs, 5 wings

3 (baseball size) onions, thinly sliced

1 habanero or scotch bonnet chili pepper (or other hot chili pepper), seeded and finely chopped

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt (you can use less, as the chicken stock will likely have salt)

2/3 cup chicken broth, cold, not heated

2 large carrots, peeled and fairly thinly sliced

1/3 cup pimento stuffed olives

3 tablespoons peanut oil for marinade + 2 tablespoon for cooking 

 

In a large bowl or non reactive pan, add the lemon juice, chili pepper, Dijon mustard, ground black pepper, salt, cold broth and 3 tablespoons oil; mix very well, then add the chicken and be sure the pieces are coated with the marinade. Add the sliced onion and mix everything together (mixing by hand is best). Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate a minimum of 3 to 4 hours, but 10 hours is better.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and place it onto a plate/platter. In a large skillet, heat two tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add chicken pieces to the skillet, but don't crowd the pan. Lightly brown the chicken pieces in batches until all have been browned. Remove the chicken pieces to a platter as you finish browning them. Add another tablespoon or two of oil to the skillet if needed, and then add the onions. Move the onions around occasionally, then once the onions begin to soften, turn the heat to low and continue browning the onions, stirring often. You don't want to burn the onions, you just want them to be reduced, softened and nicely browned. Now add the marinade to the onions in the skillet, along with the carrots and olives, and increase the heat again to medium. When the marinade begins to simmer, add the chicken pieces to the skillet and cover the skillet with a lid or foil and simmer for 20 minutes, then check to determine if the chicken and carrots are tender; if not, cover it again and cook 5 more minutes or until they are tender. Stir well and serve with rice.

 

WORD HISTORY:

Project-This is a prefixed word, with the main body being related to a large number of Latin-derived words borrowed into English, for example: "abject," "adjective," "deject," "eject," "inject," "jet," "object," "reject" and "subject." The prefix "pro" is a Latin prefix meaning in some way "in front, ahead of, before, forward" (indeed, it is related, through Indo European," to the "for(e)" part of English "forward" and "before," from the Germanic roots of English). The main part of "project" goes back to Indo European "ye/yeh," meaning "to throw," which gave Latin "iacere," meaning "to throw." Together, Latin had the verb "proicere," meaning "to throw down, throw before, thrust out, stretch forward, cast off," with figurative meanings like "banish," "reject," "jut forth" and "cast a shadow." One of the verb's participle forms was "proiectus," which was used as a noun meaning "(something) thrown down or thrown forth," and this gave Latin the somewhat later noun form "proiectum," with the same meaning. The 'i' pronunciation in Latin produced a 'y' sound; that is, an English 'y,' but rendered as a 'j' in other languages/dialects, which had the word also spelled as "projectum." English borrowed the word from Latin in the early 1400s, and the second half of the 1500s also had the noun take on the meaning "a design, a plan, a plot," which then became its main meaning. The verb was formed from the Latin verb "projectare," which meant "to push forward, to thrust forth." The English use as a verb had the meanings "to plan something," but also generally in a negative sense, "to plot or scheme." Somewhat later one of the word's Latin senses in architecture was also used in English, "to jut out." The further development of the noun was "projector," likely patterned after the same Latin form, circa 1600, then meaning "one who devises and puts forth plans." The 1880s (?) saw the word used for "a device that throws light onto a wall or screen for the purpose of displaying images." The 1930s saw the use of "projects" (plural) for government-subsidized housing for low income residents."             

Chicken Salad

You can use store or restaurant bought rotisserie or grilled chicken, or cook some chicken yourself in the oven, on the grill, under the broiler, or boiled.

The cayenne pepper won't scorch your mouth, and I have really hot cayenne, but the chicken salad was not hot at all.

 

Ingredients (4 to 6 servings):

 

1 pound boneless cooked chicken, chopped

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons very finely chopped onion (red or white)

2 tablespoons finely chopped sweet pickle (or dill pickle, if you prefer)

1 teaspoon celery salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 good pinch cayenne pepper

1/4 cup pecans, toasted (buy toasted or toast them yourself)

whole wheat or white bread

 

 In a cup or a bowl, add the mayonnaise, yogurt, buttermilk, garlic powder and honey; mix together very well (whisk or I sometimes use a stick blender), set it aside briefly. In a bowl, add the chicken, finely chopped onion, finely chopped sweet pickle (or dill pickle, if using), celery salt, ground black pepper and pinch of cayenne pepper. Mix these ingredients into the chicken, it doesn't have to be perfect, as next, add the mayo/yogurt dressing, and mix further to completely coat all of the chicken. Add the pecans and just fold them through the salad. Serve on whole wheat or white bread. 

 

 Chicken salad on whole wheat bread with a few pecan pieces to top it off ...

Full chicken salad sandwich on whole wheat ...

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WORD HISTORY:

Copious-This word is related to "opulent" and to "copy," words borrowed from French, but with heavy reinforcement by Latin, to "opus" and to "optimum," words borrowed from Latin. "Copious" is really a prefixed word and a suffixed word, with the prefix going back to Indo European "kom" which meant, "beside, near, together," and this gave Latin both "con" and "com," with the idea of "together, with," and the "com-" and "con-" forms sometimes were reduced to "co-." The main part of "copious" goes back to Indo European "op," which had the notion of "perform work, to make or produce;" thus also, "to have the force; that is, the ability to do." This gave Latin "ops," which meant "resources;" thus also, "wealth." With the prefix this produced the Latin noun "copia," meaning "plentiful supply, riches, resources," and this produced the adjective "copiosus,"^ which meant "plentiful, abundant." English borrowed the word in the mid 1300s from Latin.

 

^ The suffix "osus" was used in Latin to convey the notion of the word "having much, being full of, well supplied with, being inclined toward."   

Chicken Fricassee

There are other dishes that pair "fricassee" and a type of meat for the name of the dish, with veal, turkey and rabbit being examples, but "Chicken Fricassee" is likely the best known and the most common.* Some people pronounce it like "frik-ah-see," others pronounce it as if "frik-ah-say." Probably because of chicken being used most often, "fricassee" is likely thought by many to have a light colored sauce, and I'll admit, that's what I think of when I think of fricassee, as that's how my grandmother made it when I was a little kid. But there are some recipes for chicken fricassee that are darker in color, and some are reddish, even downright red. It depends upon the culture behind any given recipe. I've seen German recipes that add juniper berries** or capers (chicken fricassee in German is "Hühnerfrikassee"), while Hungarians add paprika, which of course will add a somewhat red or orange tint to the sauce, and dishes derived from Spanish background may be much more red, as they may well contain both paprika and tomatoes, and some recipes do not use cream or milk at all. If I remember right, my grandmother made chicken fricassee with carrots, asparagus and peas. In those times canned peas were common in household pantries in the U.S., as they still are, but they were a dull green, or olive type color, and my grandmother used frozen peas, which were bright green, and with a much better taste. I use boneless chicken, but you certainly can use whole bone-in chicken pieces, if you prefer. As you'll see in the ingredient list, I actually use boneless chicken breast, but I also list one whole wing. This gives a little of the added taste of skin-on and bone-in chicken. Rice or noodles are commonly served with chicken fricassee, but myself, I'm a mashed potatoes guy, and the delicious sauce screams for mashed potatoes to me.

 

The history of this dish is rather obscure, although some, including myself, assume it to be of French origin, with the French sounding name adding support to that assumption; see "Word History," below.

Ingredients (5 to 6 servings):

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast + 1 whole skin-on wing

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter + 1 tablespoon olive oil (or vegetable oil or canola oil)

1 cup sliced mushrooms (I used cremini mushrooms, but I've used white mushrooms at times over the years too)  

1/2 cup diced or small chopped carrot (smaller is better, as larger pieces naturally take longer to cook)

1/2 cup chopped asparagus (about 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces)

1 cup chopped white onion

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

2 1/2 tablespoons flour

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup heavy cream (or half and half)

2 egg yolks, tempered with small amount of sauce

(optional) 1 or 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, divided to sprinkle on the individual servings 

 

Note on salt: I salt the chicken pieces with the 1 teaspoon of salt, but I don't add any other salt directly to the dish, as the chicken stock has salt. 

In a skillet add the butter and oil over medium heat. Salt and pepper the chicken. When the butter is melted, add the chicken pieces to the skillet and saute until the chicken starts to get a little browning to it (we're not cooking the chicken through, at this point). Remove the chicken to a plate or platter, then add the chopped onion to the skillet and saute for about 1 minute before adding the carrot; saute for about 3 minutes, turning and stirring the vegetables often, then add the mushrooms, and mix all of the vegetables together. After another 2 minutes, add the asparagus and saute another 2 minutes (always turning and mixing the veggies around). Sprinkle the flour into the skillet and mix it into the veggies and butter/oil. Now add the white wine and the chicken stock and mix everything together well, add the bay leaf. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook at this level for another 2 minutes (that is after it starts to simmer), stirring a lot (the liquids should begin to thicken somewhat). Stir in the cream, then add the chicken pieces to the sauce and cook at a gentle simmer (adjust heat accordingly) until the chicken is tender (check the carrots too, as they can sometimes take some more cooking). Turn off the heat, or remove the pan from the heat. Add two egg yolks to a cup or a small bowl and use a spoon to break and beat the yolks briefly. Add a tablespoon of the sauce to the yolks and immediately beat it into the yolks, followed by another tablespoon of sauce with the same procedure, and then one more time of the same. GRADUALLY stir in the yolk mixture to the sauce, and keep stirring until the yolks are fully incorporated into the sauce. Remove the bay leaf. You can sprinkle some chopped parsley over the top of each serving, if desired.    

 

* I like Cajun Meatball Fricassee, too, and here's the link to the recipe: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2021/12/cajun-meatball-fricassee.html

 

** If you've never used juniper berries, they come from certain evergreen trees; thus, the "berries" are actually little "cones" from these trees, but they look a lot like blueberries, but dried. They are most famous for the flavor they give to gin, and they are not uncommon in certain dishes from German language and cultural regions, like Germany, Alsace (part of eastern France), Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, as well as in some Scandinavian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian and Polish recipes. The German name for "juniper berries" is "Wacholderbeeren." 

 

I had my "Chicken Fricassee" over mashed potatoes with some cottage cheese on the side ... 

 

 

 

When I fixed Chicken Fricassee this time, I cut the chicken into smaller pieces ... 

WORD HISTORY:

Fricassee (Quash)-The term "fricassee" is thought to be a combination of words, with the first part coming from the French verb "frire," meaning "to fry." Indeed, English borrowed "fry" from the Latin-derived French word. The second part of "fricassee" is presumed to be from French "casser," also spelled "quasser," which meant "to break up, to cut up." This part of the word is closely related to "quash," a word formed by the merging of two separate verb forms with similar meanings and even spellings, one that goes back to Indo European "kwet," which had the notion of "to shake, to shake up, to excite or agitate." This gave Latin the verb "quatere" with the same general meanings, and its participle "quassus," produced Latin "quassare," which meant "to shake violently, to shake forcefully." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "quasser," which was also spelled "casser," and with the same meaning as the Latin parent, but also, "to weaken, to break apart." This was borrowed by English within the first couple of decades of the 1300s as "quaschen/quashen," which then simply became "quash," with the meaning "to smash, to crush, to defeat completely," but its meaning was then also influenced by the second verb. The second verb goes back to Indo European "kes," with the general meaning of "to cut." This gave Latin the verb "carere," meaning "to separate, to be separated (from);" thus also, "to be without, to be lacking in," and this gave Latin the adjective "cassus," meaning "empty, void, hollow," and this produced the verb "cassare," later as "quassare," which meant "to nullify, to make or declare void," and this passed into Old French as "quasser," and also as "casser" (as with the first verb), with the "to nullify, to void" meaning, and it was often used in legalistic matters, which brought it into English in the mid 1200s, but by the late 1500s, the word began to be used for, "to suppress, to halt something," from the notion of "nullify," and it is this meaning that is best known in English today ... "to put down, to suppress, to put a firm stop to something."        

Persian Rice Pilaf & Chicken: Zereshk Polo Morgh

 

I've seen various recipes for this dish and they are all similar. Persian cooks often take their time and complete several steps in the preparation. Some people make more of the fruit and nut mixture and then  mix it throughout all of the rice, while others do as I've done here, and they put a small amount of the fruit and nuts mixed with some cooked rice on top of each serving or platter of cooked rice. The rice should not come out all sticky or clumped together, but rather more as individual grains. 

 

This is much more of a dinner than just a dish, so there's a lot going on here and I know it might look intimidating, but it really isn't difficult. Persians generally use barberries in this. Barberries are used in various parts of the world, and they are a tart berry from a type of evergreen bush. They are not terribly common in the United States, but they can be easily found online, if you want authenticity, or if you just want to try something new. I substituted dried sour cherries, but you can also use dried cranberries (preferably unsweetened) in addition to, or instead of, dried cherries and raisins. Persians often use skinless chicken, but you can use skin-on chicken (note: if I use skinless chicken in a particular recipe, I sometimes add the removed skin to cook alongside the skinless chicken to add flavor; I leave it in large enough pieces that it can be fished out, but if you are using skinless chicken for health concerns, that's a totally different matter). The red pepper isn't much, so it won't leave your mouth smoking. I use pistachios, but almonds (skins removed) can also be used as a substitute, or almonds can be used along with the pistachios. Saffron is an expensive spice from crocus flowers. If you don't have saffron and you don't care to buy it, you can substitute turmeric, in addition to the amount I already have in the recipe. The cardamom pods should be crushed or slit to allow the flavor of the seeds inside to easily be released.    

 

Ingredients:

 

4 whole chicken legs (that is the drumstick and thigh together)

2 cups basmati rice

6 cups water seasoned with 1 tablespoon salt to cook the rice initially

1/2 cup water to finish cooking the rice

1 teaspoon saffron in 1/4 cup hot water (divided use after soaking)

2 tablespoons olive oil + 2 tablespoons butter

1 cup chopped white or yellow onion

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon salt

2 whole slightly crushed and opened cardamom pods

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 good pinch ground red pepper (Indian, cayenne or other)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 cup chicken stock

3 tablespoons butter

1 heaping teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup shelled and lightly roasted pistachios

 

Soak the basmati rice in some cold water from the faucet while you do other things for the recipe. Grind the saffron into a powder. A mortar and pestle is good for this, but you can use a spice grinder. Put the saffron into a small cup and add 1/4 cup hot water, stir and let it sit while the rice finishes soaking. In a large skillet, add the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add the salt, black pepper, pinch of ground red pepper, ground cinnamon, cardamom pods, ground turmeric and tomato paste; stir the spices and tomato paste to mix everything together well. Now snuggle the chicken pieces in among the onion/spice mixture. Cook for about 2 minutes, then keep turning the chicken pieces to coat them with the mixture. Cook for 4 or 5 minutes, then add 1 cup chicken stock, stir, cover the skillet with a lid or foil, turn the heat to low and let cook until the chicken is done and tender, removing the cover/lid on occasion to stir and to turn the chicken pieces. Add 1/2 the saffron water, stir and let cook just like 3 minutes. In a pan, add 6 cups water and 1 tablespoon salt, bring to a full boil. While the water is coming to a boil, drain the soaking rice, and once the water is fully boiling, add the rice to the water. Cook for 6 minutes ONLY (taste a piece of rice, the rice should still have some firmness to it, the rice does NOT have to absorb all of the water at this stage the way we normally cook rice, so much of the water will be drained off). Pour the water and rice into a colander and once the hot water runs off, place the rice and colander under the faucet and let cold water run on it for a few minutes (this stops the cooking process for the rice). In the pan you just used, add the rice back in and 1/2 cup water over very low heat, cover. Let the rice finish cooking and absorbing all of the water (this time as we more typically cook rice). Remove from the heat, but put the lid back on, let the heaping rice sit covered for 15 minutes. While that is ongoing, melt 3 tablespoons butter in a skillet over low heat, add the dried cherries (barberries or dried cranberries), golden raisins, pistachios (I lightly dry roasted the pistachios briefly, but that's certainly optional), 1 heaping teaspoon sugar and the rest of the saffron water. Stir and toss the fruits and nuts in the sweetened mixture. Now add 5 tablespoons of the cooked rice to the fruit and nut mixture and stir and toss to mix everything together very well (the rice will take on the color of the sweetened mixture). Serve by placing some of the cooked white rice on each plate, then topping each with some of the fruit/nut/seasoned rice mixture. Place a whole chicken leg next to the rice dish and add a little of the chicken sauce over the chicken pieces.  

 

           

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Cadence-This word is related to "chance" and to "case" (the noun form meaning, "the state or condition of something, something that happens;" as in, "in this case," "a court case," also the grammatical sense, "nominative case, accusative case, etc"), both words of Latin origin borrowed by English from Latin-based French, and it is related to "cadaver," a word borrowed by English from Latin. "Cadence" goes back to Indo European "khad/kad," which had the meaning, "to fall." This gave Latin "cadere," which meant, "to fall." A participle form of this verb, cadens, produced Latin "cadentia," meaning, "something that falls out, the falling out of dice (the action of such)." This passed into Italian as "cadenza," meaning "falling," but also, "the ending of a piece of music" (from the idea of "rising and falling of the rhythm and sound to end a song). This was taken by French (the basic form came from Latin, but with the extended meaning taken from Italian), and English borrowed the word in the late 1300s "seemingly" from French, but almost certainly with Italian (and perhaps Latin?) influence. It is possible that the borrowing was from Italian, but the spelling was then influenced by French. "Cadence" has since expanded the meaning to the rising and falling of one's voice in speech. 

Burundian Bulgur Wheat & Chicken: Boko Boko Harees

Burundi is a country just into the eastern half and just into the southern half of Africa. It has a population of between 11 and 12 million. Burundi is a relatively small country with Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda being its immediate neighbors. The main language of Burundi is Kirundi, but both English and French are spoken, to varying degrees of fluency, by parts of the population. It was a colony of Germany in the later part of the 1800s, but control went to Belgium in the aftermath of World War One, and Burundi gained independence in 1962. Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world, and perhaps, it is THE poorest country in the world.  

 

I have made this dish a couple of times and the first time I followed "some guidelines" from many of the recipes I looked at prior to deciding to do this recipe. Most gave specific water measurements that were used during the preparation of the dish, but I found that they didn't completely work and that it was better to use specific measurements in some cases, but also to use some less than specific measurements in other cases. The thing to remember is, you aren't making soup, so you don't want to end up with runny bulgur; on the other hand, you aren't making dough that you can roll out. The bulgur should end up pretty thick, like a thick porridge, but if you still have a little water, you won't turn into a pumpkin or a butternut squash (I figured I'd give you a choice... haha). You want to cook the dish like you would cook rice; that is, over low or very low heat, to prevent sticking or burning.

 

There are also similar bulgur dishes found in some other African countries, especially in neighboring countries to Burundi, and there are variations to recipes, even within Burundi, especially regarding the meat, as fish or mutton is also sometimes used, but it seems many Burundians seem to prefer chicken. Burundians often serve this dish with some beans (seasoned with onion and some spices) on the side.

Ingredients (in my judgment, easily serves 4 or 5):

2 cups bulgur wheat

water (see instructions below)

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 onion (baseball size), grated

3 inch piece of peeled ginger, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons butter 

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

 

For the giblets:

 

15 gizzards and hearts, chopped (I put the raw giblets into a chopper and coarsely chop them)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

1 1/2 tablespoons ground turmeric

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water

 

See instructions below for preparation ...

 

For the onion rings:

 

1 medium onion cut into rings

2 tablespoons butter  

  

See instructions below for preparation ...

Soak the bulgur wheat for two hours in enough water to just cover it. After two hours, much or all of the water will be absorbed. In a heavy bottom pan, add the soaked bulgur, then the chicken breast, grated onion, chopped ginger, minced garlic and fresh water to an even level with the bulgur, cover with a lid or foil and cook about 45 minutes over low or even very low heat (like when cooking rice), until the chicken is tender. Temporarily remove the chicken to a plate and cut the cooked chicken into small pieces and then add it back and mix it into the bulgur. Stir in 1 1/2  teaspoons of salt and just 2/3 cup water, then top with 3 tablespoons of butter. Leave uncovered and cook a further 20 minutes (low/very low heat), stirring occasionally. In a small separate pan or skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the chopped giblets, sugar, turmeric, pepper, salt, and saute for 2 minutes, then add 1/2 cup water. Let come to a steady simmer, adjust heat to maintain that steady simmer, then cover and cook until the chopped giblets are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes, adding a little more water, if the mixture begins to become too dry. Peel and then cut the medium onion into 1/2 inch thick slices. Separate the slices into rings. In another skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat and then add the onion rings and saute them, turning often, until the rings are lightly browned. For each serving, dish up a scoop or two of the bulgur and chicken, spoon some chopped giblets over the bulgur, then top the giblets with a few fried onion rings. 

 

  

WORD HISTORY:

Euphemism-The first part of this word, "eu," is distantly related to "am" and "is," both from the Germanic roots of English, and it is related to the first part of "eugenics," a word (the whole word) developed in English, from Greek, and also to "eulogy," another Greek-derived word borrowed from Latin, which had gotten it from Greek. The main body of "euphemism" is related to a number of words, for example: "ban" (both the noun and verb forms), from the Germanic roots of English, to the second part of "blasphemy," a word of Greek derivation borrowed by Latin and borrowed by English via Latin-based French, and "fame," a word of Latin-derivation borrowed by English via French. The "eu" part goes back to Indo European "(e)su" or "(he)su," an extended form of Indo European "es" ("to be"), and "esu/hesu" had the notion of "good," with extended meanings of "favor, prosperity, good fortune." This gave Ancient Greek "eus," meaning "good" and "eu" meaning "well, well off." The second part, "phemism," goes back to Indo European "bha/bhe," which had the notion, "to speak, to say, to utter, to tell." This gave transliterated Greek "phanai" ("to speak), which then produced the noun "pheme," meaning "speech, voice, talking." These parts gave transliterated Greek "euphemizein," which meant, "to use good words in place of words of bad omen," which produced the noun "euphemismos," meaning "the replacement of words of bad omen with acceptable words," which later broadened to "replacement of offensive words with more acceptable words." English borrowed the word in the mid 1600s as "euphemism."       

Moroccan Chicken with Couscous: Chicken Tagine

A "tagine" is a type of North African pottery dish used for cooking stews. The name of this cooking dish has given its name to the stews cooked in such a dish, and besides chicken, these stews may have lamb, beef, fish or vegetables as the main ingredient. In Tunisia, recipes generally are not stews, but rather much more of a type of omelette, like a frittata. Tagine cooking dishes are often, but not always, glazed and decorated with designs, some of which can be quite colorful. The basic dish is a shallow flat bottom dish, but there is a sort of domed top for the tagine. You needn't run out and buy a tagine for this recipe, as you can just use a heavy bottom pan (preferably with a lid, but you can use foil) and large enough to hold the contents.

Most recipes I've seen for this dish use boneless, skinless chicken, although I have seen a few recipes that use cut up skin on, on the bone chicken pieces. Skin on chicken has more flavor, but when a recipe uses boneless and skinless chicken, I often use that, BUT I also buy a bone-in, skin-on piece of chicken or two and cook it with the dish, then remove it at the end of cooking. 

 

This chicken tagine is usually served with Moroccan couscous, a type of pasta made with semolina flour. In Morocco the couscous is of very small grains of pasta, and it is smaller than the couscous of the Middle East, Israeli and Lebanese, which are larger and take longer to cook. Harissa is a paste of hot chili peppers usually seasoned with some spices. Both harissa and preserved lemons are often available in supermarkets, in spice shops and certainly in many Middle Eastern grocery stores. You can substitute some freshly grated lemon peel or strips of lemon peel for the preserved lemon, and you can add some cayenne pepper, sambal oelek (an Indonesian sauce of chopped chili peppers, also made in the United States), or any hot sauce to your liking, or you can just add an extra 1 or 2 fresh hot chilies as a substitute for the harissa.    

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken (chicken breast or thighs, or mixture of the two)

1 whole skin on/bone in chicken thigh

1 whole skin on/bones in chicken wing

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 inch piece ginger, grated, finely chopped, or thinly sliced

1 cup of either butternut squash, acorn squash, pumpkin or peeled sweet potato, diced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 two inch cinnamon stick

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 or 2 whole chili peppers, slit cut in it/them

1 tablespoon harissa

1/2 cup raisins

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 2/3 cups chicken stock

1 14 to 16 ounce can chickpeas, drained (also known as garbanzo beans)

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1 small preserved lemon (or 1/2 regular sized preserved lemon)

1/4 cup pitted green olives, halved

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy bottom pan. Saute the onion, garlic and ginger for just like 2 minutes, then add the chicken pieces, including the whole pieces, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon stick, ground coriander, chili pepper, harissa, preserved lemon and chicken stock, cover and cook 20 minutes, then add the squash or sweet potato, honey and raisins; reduce heat to low, cover and cook for one hour. Add the slivered almonds and chickpeas, cook another 20 minutes, then stir in the green olive halves, and cook for two minutes. Check to be sure the chicken is done (it should be).

 

For the Couscous:

1 1/2 cups Moroccan couscous

1 2/3 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil 

(optional) 1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a sauce pan (with a lid). Add the butter, olive oil and salt (if using). Add the couscous and stir very well to mix. Let cook like 30 or 40 seconds, then shut off the heat and cover the pan with a lid for about 5 to 6 minutes. The broth should be completely absorbed. Fluff the couscous with a fork. 

 

  

WORD HISTORY:

Mattress-This word goes back to the transliterated Arabic root "tarh/trh," which had the notion of "throw, throw or toss away." This gave Arabic the verb "taraha," meaning, "to throw down, to throw away," which produced the noun "matrah" (the "ma" part was a noun forming prefix), which literally meant "the object thrown down," and which was used as "al matrah" for "the cushion or rug thrown onto the floor or ground to lie on." This was borrowed by Italian (via trade with North Africans in the early Middle Ages?) as "materasso," which was borrowed by French as "materas," and additionally reinforced directly by Arabic? English borrowed the word in around 1300 from French, initially in the French form "materas," but what became the modern spelling seems to have then been influenced by the Italian form. Of course too, modern mattresses are often made with springs and various padding.   

Indonesian Chicken Satay: Sate Ayam

There are many kinds of satays or kebabs from various countries, and with different names for the food product, but they are all based upon meat, fish, vegetables or fruits on skewers that are cooked, often by grilling or broiling. "Shish kebabs" and Peruvian "anticuchos"* are examples.

 

"Kecap manis" is a sweet and thick soy sauce, unlike most other types of soy sauce, and it is available in many supermarkets and Asian grocery stores. From my experience, it comes in taller bottles than regular soy sauce. You can use boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh meat, and while bamboo skewers are traditional, any wooden skewers are fine; just be sure to soak them in water for 20 to 30 minutes before using. Of course, you can use metal skewers too. 

Ingredients (for 15 skewers):

15 wooden skewers (soaked in water for 20 to 30 minutes, traditionally bamboo, but I'm sure Indonesians won't put you onto a skewer and then throw you into Mt. Krakatoa, although you will undoubtedly cook well, YEEEOOOWWW!)

1 to 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cut into about 1 inch cubes

2/3 cup sweet soy sauce (traditionally 'kecap manis,' or substitute slightly less than 2/3 cup regular soy sauce mixed with 2 tablespoons molasses or maple syrup, but ... see the note in 'skewers' above about the potential 'penalty')

(optional) 1 teaspoon fresh chopped chili pepper or 1 teaspoon sambal oelek** 

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon sesame oil for the sauce + a little more for basting the chicken when cooking

1/2 cup coconut milk

Mix together the kecap manis (or soy sauce/molasses/syrup), chili pepper (if using), ground coriander, garlic powder, salt, ground black pepper and tablespoon of sesame oil. Toss the chicken cubes in the sauce mixture, cover the dish and refrigerate to marinate the chicken for a minimum of 1 hour, but 8 to 12 hours is better. You can grill or broil the chicken. Be sure to soak the skewers in water for 20 to 30 minutes before putting the chicken onto them. Let excess marinade drain into the bowl you used for marinating the chicken pieces and keep it (see further below). Put like 4 to 6 pieces of the chicken on each skewer, and allow a little space between the pieces. Grill or broil the chicken, turning the skewers often, and use a brush to baste the chicken pieces with a little sesame oil as it cooks. Cook the chicken until the pieces are getting a little charred appearance (I said "a little charred appearance," not burnt or ashes ... hahaha), likely 6 to 10 minutes. Pour the marinade liquid into a pan, then stir in the coconut milk. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce the heat to maintain a bare simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often. Serve the sauce in a separate dish for dipping the chicken and serve the chicken along with some rice.

 

* For Peruvian Anticuchos, here is the link:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2018/09/peruvian-kebabs-anticuchos.html

 

** Sambal Oelek is a chunky hot chili pepper sauce. It should be easily found in the Asian section, or in the hot sauce section, of supermarkets. It is pretty common is the U.S.and it is not expensive, although the price may vary by brand. 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Cockatoo-This word for some of the prominently crested birds of the parrot family has an uncertain origin, although it may simply be a name derived from the imitation of the sounds made by such birds, as these birds are chatty. It goes back to Malay^ "kakatua," which was borrowed by Dutch as "kaketoe" (the Dutch were very involved in southern Asia from the 1500s until 1945. Indonesia was long a Dutch colony called "(the) Dutch East Indies" until 1945. Dutch "kaketoe" was borrowed by English in the 1630s (some sources say about 15 years earlier) as "cockatoo." Note: While the name may be from the sound of the birds, Malay "kakatua" pretty much literally translates to "older sister." If true, why the use of the term is difficult to understand, but far stranger words have developed among humans. Of course too, it could indeed be from the imitation of the bird sounds and the word adjusted to conform to the "older sister" term's phonetic spelling.

^  "Malay" is from the overall Austronesian family of languages of southeast Asia and many Pacific islands, where "Malay" is part of the subfamily "Malayo-Polynesian." 

Turkish Chicken & Okra Stew: Tavuklu Bamya

Okra are the seed pods of a plant and they are known as ladyfingers to some. The okra plant tolerates hot weather well, so it is a common crop in places like India, parts of the Middle East, Africa, and southern parts of the United States. Okra is known for its sticky, slick texture when cooked, a result of a viscous substance in the seed pods. The best thing is just to forget about it and fix the okra and enjoy it, but some finicky people try to reduce the slickness of the okra by various means: soaking it in vinegar, soaking it in salt water, soaking it in vinegar AND salt water, frying it, cooking it at high heat, not cutting the tops off completely, and likely many more. This substance from the okra pods generally helps to thicken soups and stews, so don't fret and get your nerves tied into knots over such things. It won't kill you. Look at me, I eat okra, and 6 weeks in intensive care and I'm fine now, so there! hahaha Really though folks, don't let this silly stuff consume your life.     

 

This Turkish stew is great served with bulgur pilaf.*

 

Ingredients (4 servings):

 

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1 pound okra, trimmed

1 lemon, juiced (or more to your taste preference)

3 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (divided use)

1 1/2 cups chopped onion (bite size pieces, not small)

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt (remember, the broth will likely have salt, so take that into account)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground red pepper** (Aleppo pepper, if you have it)

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 medium roma tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup tomato juice

1/2 cup chicken broth

(optional) 1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup chopped parsley

 

In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Saute the onion and chicken pieces to get both a little browned. Rinse the okra well and trim the stem end. In a pot or pan with a lid, add the cleaned okra, the browned chicken/onion mixture, lemon juice, ground coriander, ground red pepper, minced garlic, salt, ground black pepper, tomatoes, tomato juice, chicken broth. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to low and cook 30 minutes. Stir in sugar (if using), remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley, stir and cook another 5 minutes. Serve with rice or bulgur pilaf.  

 

* The make bulgur pilaf, here is the link to the recipe:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2021/06/turkish-bulgur-pilaf.html

 

** "Aleppo pepper" is a very modest heat red pepper commonly used in Turkish cooking, but you can certainly use cayenne or other ground red pepper mixed with an equal amount of sweet paprika, as cayenne pepper is often hotter than Aleppo pepper.

WORD HISTORY: 

Conceal-This prefixed word is closely related to "ceiling," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English via French, and somewhat more distantly related to "color," another Latin-derived word borrowed from French, and closely related to "cell," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English directly from that language, and it has distant relatives through Indo European like "helm" (the "head covering" meaning), "hull" (seed covering) and "hall," all from the Germanic roots of English. The prefix of "conceal" goes  back to Latin "co/con/com," all prefix forms meaning "with, together, along (with)," and going back to Indo European "kom," which meant, "near, with, by, beside." The main body of "conceal" goes back to Indo European "kel/khel," which meant, "to cover." This gave Latin "celare," which meant "to cover, to cover up, to hide," and this was coupled with "con," seemingly used to intensify in this word, as "concelare," meaning, "to hide (something)." This passed to Latin-based Old French as "conceler," meaning "to hide (something), to keep something secret and from view." English borrowed the word circa 1300, initially as "concelen,"^ also meaning "to keep something from view," but also, "to keep from telling a secret."  

^ As I've noted in some other word histories here over time, in the past, English infinitives did not require "to" as they have in more modern times, as in "to conceal;" rather, most English infinitives were like those most often still used by their German cousin, ending in "en," but no "to" required.

Chicken from Southern France: Chicken Provençal

The word "Provençal" tells us this dish is from the southeastern region of France, from "Provence," where the largest city is Marseille, and other well known cites are Toulon, Cannes and Nice. All of these cites are located along the Mediterranean Sea, although Provence also extends well inland. Italy is beyond the eastern border of Provence. Besides standard French, the language of Provence is Provençal, a dialect of the Latin-based Occitan languages, which include various southern French and Italian dialects and Catalan, spoken in the Catalonia region of eastern Spain. 

This is such a good dish. I used boneless/skinless chicken thighs for when I made the dish for this article, but you could certainly use chicken breast, and previously I've used chicken with the skin on. Please don't get all wound up about anchovy fillets in this dish. They will melt into the sauce and you will not experience the strong taste you recall from your first (and last) bite of anchovy pizza. Many recipes I've seen have far more garlic, like 8 to 12 cloves, so feel free to add more garlic. Serve with mashed potatoes and some good crusty bread.   

 

 

Ingredients (4 to 6 servings):

 

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into four pieces each

3/4 teaspoon dried thyme, rub it with the thumb of one hand in the palm of the other hand

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, rub it as as thyme

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon olive oil + 2 tablespoons butter (I use extra virgin olive oil)

4 garlic cloves, chopped

4 anchovy fillets

2/3 cup white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 cup crushed tomatoes and juice

1/4 cup black olives (preferably Niçoise or Kalamata)

1/4 cup green olives (preferably Castelvetrano or Manzanilla)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

 

Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Season the chicken pieces well with salt, ground black pepper, dried thyme and dried rosemary. Put the seasoned chicken pieces into the butter/oil mixture and saute until they are lightly browned all over (be sure to turn the pieces often to prevent sticking and to prevent the chicken from developing tough and dried spots). Remove the chicken pieces to a plate temporarily. Lower the heat and add the garlic and anchovy fillets and saute for about a minute or so, then add the white wine and the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a simmer and let it cook for just 2 to 3 minutes (adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer). Stir in the tomatoes and juice and bring everything back to a simmer. Add the chicken pieces back to the skillet, then add the black and green olives. Let the chicken simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, basting it with the sauce a few times. Stir in the chopped parsley. After about 2 to 3 minutes, remove the skillet from the heat. Serve with mashed potatoes and some good crusty bread.  

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Paradise-This is a compound word with the first part related, at least in part, to a huge number of words in English, including: "fore," "before," "forth" and "from," all from the Germanic roots of English, and to the first part of the following: "pardon," "perfect" and "permit," all Latin words borrowed by English via French, and to "percent," a word borrowed directly from Latin. This goes back to Indo European "per," which had the notion "in front of, forward, against, near." This gave Indo Iranian^ a transliterated form "pari," meaning "near, around, about." The second part of the word "paradise" is related to the first part of "dairy," from the Germanic roots of English (the ending, however, is from French/Latin), and to "dough," also from the Germanic roots of English. It goes back to Indo European "dheigh," which had the notion, "to shape, to form;" thus also, "to build, to knead." This gave Indo Iranian "dahyah," meaning, "wall," and together the parts gave the meaning "wall around;" thus, "an enclosure, a garden, a park" (from a verb like "paridahyiz," "to build or make a wall??"). Greek borrowed the compound word as transliterated "parádeisos," meaning, "walled garden or park," but it was used in the biblical religious sense for, "the Garden of Eden," but in New Testament passages it meant "heaven, the home of the blessed in the afterlife." Latin borrowed the word as "paradisus," also meaning "garden, park, orchard," but also with the 'heaven' meaning in Christianity. This passed into Latin-based Old French as "paradis," with the same religous meaning, and this was borrowed into late Old English (circa 1000?) as "paradis," which then became "paradys" and "paradise."     

 

^ Indo Iranian is a branch of the Indo European languages; thus, with its component languages being related to English, but further down the family tree. There are many, many Indo Iranian languages, some of which are: Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and Persian. 

Haitian Chicken in Sauce: Poul an Sòs

Haiti is a country in the Caribbean that shares the island of Hispaniola with the Domincan Republic, a Spanish speaking nation on the eastern part of Hispaniola. As you can guess, Haiti is on the western part of the island, and French is the language of government and most commerce, while Haitian Creole is the every day language of most Haitians. This creole is overwhelmingly derived from French, but with bits and pieces of native Indian dialects, Spanish, Portuguese and African dialects. The population is of 90% to 95% black African descent. The history of Haiti is very complicated, and far beyond the scope of this article, but the Spanish were heavily involved in the overall island of Hispaniola from the time of Columbus until the early decades of the 1600s, when the French got involved in the western part of the island, which culminated in the late 1600s with an agreement between France and Spain on an official division of Hispaniola. French-owned tobacco, sugar and coffee plantations arose, worked by hundreds of thousands of African slaves. The 1790s saw the outbreak of a revolution in Haiti against French rule (in France itself, the French Revolution was ongoing during the early period of the Haitian revolt). The French abolished slavery in France and French territories. Spanish involvement on the island continued, and even the British got involved. After revolution, civil war and large numbers of French troops sent by France, eventually, Napoleon Bonaparte withdrew his troops, leaving Haiti to itself, but in an unstable governing situation. The 1800s saw much more conflict with war, assassination, a division of Haiti and conflict with the neighboring Domincan Republic. In the 1900s, the instability in Haiti saw the United States send troops to occupy the country for a number of years. After that, with governments coming and going, François Duvalier, better known as "Papa Doc," was elected in the mid 1950s and he became a ruthless dictator until his death in the early 1970s; whereupon, his son Jean-Claude, known as "Baby Doc," took over until large public demonstrations brought him to flee to France in the mid 1980s. The struggle to form stable governments in Haiti has continued. It is a very poor nation and in 2010 a major earthquake struck killing more than 200,000 people.       

Haitians have their own various ways of preparing this dish. You can use skin on or skinless chicken pieces, but I often use boneless and skinless chicken, except I add one or two skin on whole wings. One chili pepper will add "kick" to the dish, but if you're a lover of heat, use two chilies. If you aren't especially fond of heat, keeping the chili pepper whole will generally allow you to remove the chili pepper easily. Serve with rice, and Haitians often use fried plantains (called "ban(n)ann peze" in Haitian Creole) as a side dish.  

Ingredients (about 4 servings):

3 pounds chicken, mix pieces

1 large (baseball size) onion, cut into quarters, then sliced

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1/2 medium bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1/2 medium green bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1 habanero or scotch bonnet chili pepper, washed, but left whole

2 tablespoons tomato paste 

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups water (divided use)

1/4 cup oil

Add the chicken pieces to a pan. Add the minced garlic, thyme, black pepper and salt, then add 1 cup water, cover and cook for 20 minutes; remove the chicken to a plate with a slotted spoon to drain the liquid (reserve the liquid in the pan and add any liquid from the plate used to drain the chicken). Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, then carefully add the chicken pieces to the skillet (it will sputter and spatter, so a splatter screen is a handy utensil). Fry the chicken, turning it often, until it is lightly browned (do not fry the chicken too long, especially if you use skinless chicken, as it will get dried and tough on the outside). To the original pan with the reserved broth, add the sliced onion, green and red bell pepper, scotch bonnet/habanero chili pepper, tomato paste and ground cloves; mix well to break down the tomato paste and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Add the chicken to the pan along with 1/2 cup water; cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, periodically spooning some of the sauce over exposed chicken pieces. Taste the sauce to check seasonings and adjust, if needed. Serve with rice. 

 

 Poul an Sòs with rice and a couple of fried plantains ...

 

WORD HISTORY:

Discern-This word is related to a number of words, including: "certain" and "concern," Latin-derived words borrowed by English via French, and to "secret," a Latin word borrowed by English directly from Latin, and it is distantly related to "riddle," now more common in the verb form "to fill with holes," but the corresponding noun form is now archaic, but it meant "sieve," and these are from the Germanic roots of English (it is not related to "riddle," meaning "a word game or puzzle). "Discern" goes back to Indo European "krei," which had the notion of "separating out, distinguishing between," which gave its Latin offspring "cernere," meaning, "to separate, to distinguish, to sift." Latin had the prefix "dis," with several meanings, including "asunder, apart, away from," which went back to Indo European "dwis," which had the notion, "in two;" thus, "double, twice, again." ("Dwis" may have had a variant form "dis," which may well have spawned the Latin form. Latin "dis-" and English "twi-," a prefix from the Germanic roots of English, are distantly related through Indo European.) The two Latin parts gave Latin "discernere," meaning, "to set apart, to divide, to distinguish (between), to determine (that is, "separate one thought from others, so as to make it decisive, to decide upon"). This passed to Latin-based Old French as "discerner," essentially with the same meanings, and English borrowed the word (likely with Latin reinforcement) in the second half of the 1300s as "discernen," meaning, "distinguish between two or more objects, see things clearly (thus also, 'see rationally and understand')." As English began to conjugate verbs differently, "discernen" became just "discern."   

French Chicken with Vinegar: Poulet au Vinaigre

"Chicken with Vinegar," or "Poulet au Vinaigre," is a specialty of the French city of Lyon, dating back to the 1500s, 1600s or 1700s; take your pick, as historical information on the dish is scant. Serve with noodles, rice or mashed potatoes and a salad. You can use other parts of the chicken, but for this article I chose whole legs. There are quite a number of recipe variations, with red wine vinegar being the major preference, over the white wine vinegar that I use. Further, fresh or canned tomaotes are one of the other variations, but I chose to just use some tomato paste, although you can substitute ketchup, as the vinegar in the ketchup will simply blend in with the dish anyway. (Note: I needn't really tell you that using tomato paste can pose the problem of what to do with the unused portion, as many recipes call for 1 or 2 tablespoons of the paste. Of course there are tubes of tomato paste which can help with the problem, but if you aren't a prolific user of tomato paste, you'll still have a problem. I choose to frequently substitute ketchup, and to my knowledge, I have yet to turn into a pillar of salt; however, I did walk through some snow the other day, and IT MELTED! Another variation in some recipes is the amount of vinegar. I've seen recipes that call for what I view as "scary" amounts of vinegar, like 1 cup or more, and I'm not one to like a lot of sour taste in foods. Other recipes use 1/2 cup, but that's still a bit much for me, so about a year or two ago I tried using 1/3 cup, and while it was better, I finally settled upon using 1/4 cup, so if you like this dish, try it with 1/4 cup of vinegar and escalate the amount from there to see what you prefer. The old food preparation rule applies; in this case, to the use of vinegar: you can always add vinegar, but once you add it, try getting it out; so, use small amounts to start.        

 

Ingredients (4 servings): 

4 whole chicken legs

1 medium onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste (or thick ketchup)

2 tablespoon butter + 1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup dry white wine

1/4 to 1/3 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried tarragon

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt (if the broth is salty, you can leave this out)

1 cup cream

 

In a large skillet (it will need to be covered later; so preferably, a skillet with a lid, or you can cover it with foil), add the butter and oil over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the chicken and cook until it is browned ('about' 3 minutes per side). Remove the chicken to a plate, cover and set it aside temporarily. Add the onion to the skillet and to the existing oil/butter (add a little more oil if needed), then reduce the heat to low. Add the garlic and cook until the onion/garlic mixture is softened (like about 4 or 5 minutes). Add the tomato paste or thick ketchup, white wine, white wine vinegar, chicken broth, thyme, tarragon, black pepper and salt (if using). Keep the heat on low and let the mixture come to a simmer, then add the browned chicken pieces to the skillet, cover the skillet and let the chicken cook for about 50 to 60 minutes, until tender, stirring the liquid several times during the cooking process and spooning the sauce over any exposed chicken. Remove the chicken pieces to a plate and add the cream to the sauce, mix well and let the mixture just start to bubble and simmer over low heat for about 8 to 10 minutes, during which time the sauce should cook down to thicken the sauce a little. Return the chicken to the sauce to reheat it, then serve. 

 

With mashed potatoes and salad ... 

WORD HISTORY:

Opus (Opera)-These words are related to "operation," "copy" and "optimism," all Latin-derived words borrowed by English via French, and to "optimum," another Latin-derived word borrowed directly from that language by English. "Opus" goes back to Indo European "op," which meant "to work, to produce;" thus also, "to have ability to do (something);" thus also, "to have skill." This gave Latin the noun "opus" (perhaps via Italic "opis/opi/ope?" ^) meaning, "a work, a work of skill;" thus also, "a work of art or a composition of music or writing;" also in religious belief, "a miracle" ("a special work or deed beyond belief"). English borrowed the word from Latin circa 1810. Latin "opus" produced the verb "operari" (seemingly via the genitive case of 'opus,' which was 'operis') and meaning, "to work." This spawned the noun "opera," meaning, "a work, an effort," which carried over into Italian with the same general meaning, but also, "a composition." The specific meaning, "a dramatic work presented with orchestral music and vocals," seems to have developed in Florence (Italian: Firenze) in the latter part of the 1500s. English borrowed the word and this meaning from Italian in the mid 1600s.

 
^  Italic is a branch of the Indo European family of languages and includes Latin, Umbrian, Venetic, and others, most of which have died out. Latin's own limited use today is mainly because its dialects evolved into several modern languages: Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Rumanian, Catalan, Sardinian, and several others.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala is a curry that "may" have been developed in the United Kingdom in the 1960s or early 1970s, but no firm history of the dish is available, and it is certainly similar to dishes from the Indian Subcontinent, namely Butter Chicken, a dish that originated in northwestern India, and one of the "stories" about the origination of Tikka Masala has it developed by a man in the UK from East Pakistan, a region that was then becoming the independent modern country of Bangladesh. I checked at least 20 recipes, and almost all included some amount of paprika, a spice and coloring agent not "commonly" found in recipes from the Subcontinent; so, that gives the possible UK origin of Tikka Masala a boost, but the dish is certainly heavily influenced by the cuisine of the Indian Subcontinent. It consistently ranks as one of the most popular dishes of all in the United Kingdom. The chicken is traditionally cooked in tandoori ovens, at least in restaurants, giving it some blackened spots and a somewhat smoky flavor, but most of us are usually confined to using a regular oven, or a good skillet, something that shan't see you banned from the Indian restaurants nearest you.  

Serve with rice and naan bread.

Ingredients:

Seasoning and tenderizing the chicken:

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
3 tablespoons Greek or Indian yogurt
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt

For frying the chicken:
2 tablespoons butter + 1 tablespoon olive oil 

Sauce:

1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
2 tablespoons butter + 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 to 2 teaspoons ground red pepper (if you have ground Kashmiri chili pepper, definitely use it, but cayenne is fine) 
1 1/2 cups pureed tomatoes (use a stick blender on some diced tomatoes)
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2/3 to 1 cup heavy cream 
fresh coriander, also known as cilantro, chopped for garnish

To a bowl, add the chicken seasoning/tenderizing ingredients, mix together well, then mix in the bite size chicken pieces to coat them. Cover the bowl, refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but 6 or 8 hours is better. Prior to cooking the chicken, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to warm a bit. Add the butter/oil to a skillet over medium heat. When the butter/oil is hot, add the chicken pieces and cook on both sides until the pieces are well browned, with some deep brown color on some pieces. Best to cook the chicken pieces on one side then use tongs to turn them to the other side. All together, this should take about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the chicken to a separate dish and set aside. Wipe the skillet of any dark residue, then add another 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger, stir and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the paprika, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cardamom and ground red pepper, stir to mix well, then add the chicken pieces (with any of the juices collected while it's been sitting), the pureed tomatoes and 1/2 cup water, stir well again, let come to a simmer. Adjust the heat downward to just maintain a steady gentle simmer for about 6 to 8 minutes, until the sauce reduces and thickens a bit. During this time, stir in the black pepper, then gradually stir in the heavy cream and the chopped coriander (cilantro). Let the mixture come back to a bare simmer, then remove it from the heat. Sprinkle each serving with a little chopped fresh coriander. Serve with rice and Indian naan bread.

     

WORD HISTORY:
Feral-This word is related to "fierce" and "ferocity," both words of Latin derivation borrowed by English via French, and to "ferocious," borrowed by English from Latin. It goes back to Indo European "gwher," which meant, "wild animal, wild beast." This gave Latin the adjective "ferus," meaning "wild, untamed, savage," from a "likely" Italic form of "feros" (wild, savage).^ This gave Latin "fera bestia," meaning, "wild animal." French took the word as "feral," meaning "wild," but why French added the "l" or "al" is unclear to me. "Perhaps" a mistaken notion that the Latin word "feralis" was a derivative of "fera" or "ferus?" But "feralis" was an adjective meaning, "having to do with death, fatal." Whatever the explanation, English borrowed the word from French circa 1600 with the meaning, "wild, untamed, undomesticated."      

^  Italic is a branch of the Indo European family of languages and includes Latin, Umbrian, Venetic, and others, most of which have died out. Latin's own limited use today is mainly because its dialects evolved into several modern languages: Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Rumanian, Catalan, Sardinian, and several others.