Indonesian Chicken

I'm calling this "Indonesian Chicken," as it is based upon some recipes I've seen from that island nation. It is a good dish for a slow cooker. By the way, Indonesia is a group of islands; that is, it is an archipelago. It consists of more than 17,000 islands, although many of the islands are uninhabited. The best known islands are Sumatra, Java, Bali and New Guinea, although only Western New Guinea is actually part of Indonesia. Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta is located on Java, and that island's name was applied to coffee from there, and this was taken by American English to eventually become a slang term for coffee in general, as "Java coffee" arrived at West Coast American ports. Much of Indonesia was a Dutch colony (called the Dutch East Indies) until the area was overrun and occupied by the Japanese during World War Two, and the end of that war brought Indonesian independence. How many Indonesians died as a result of the Japanese occupation is unclear, but it certainly seems to have been in the hundreds of thousands, and perhaps even a couple of million. The long association between the Netherlands and Indonesia gave many influences to Dutch cuisine still in evidence to this day.

I highly recommend boneless chicken for this recipe, as when I first made this, I used whole chicken legs and it left small pieces of bone in the finished dish, and that's not fun.

Ingredients:

8 chicken thighs (preferably boneless) or whole chicken legs
1/2 cup ketjap manis (or substitute*)
1/4 cup water
1 heaping teaspoon sugar
4 garlic cloves, chopped
juice of 2 limes
6 green onions, chopped (with green)
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
1 chili pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons water
1/4 chopped parsley

Add everything, except the cornstarch and water and parsley to a slow cooker. Put on "high" for one hour, then turn the setting to "low" and cook for about another 3 to 5 hours. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and stir it in, as best you can. The liquid should begin to thicken almost immediately, but let everything cook for a few minutes before checking to see if the sauce has thickened enough. Serve with rice and with the parsley sprinkled on top.

* "Ketjap Manis" is Indonesian soy sauce, which is syrupy and sweet. Some supermarkets or Asian markets will likely have "ketjap manis," but the keyword here is, "some." You can substitute regular soy sauce with some molasses, or even brown sugar, cooked together for just a few minutes.

I had the chicken with rice, raw carrot pieces, tomato slices and fresh basil leaves...

WORD HISTORY:
Parsley-This is a compound word, with the first part related to the name "Peter," and the second part related to "celery," a word borrowed by English from French, which borrowed it from Italian, which got it from Latin, which got it from Greek (whew!). "Parsley" goes back to transliterated Greek "petrosélinon," which meant "parsley" (literally, "rock/stone parsley," because it grew on rocky slopes). This came from Greek "pétros," which meant "rock, stone," but where Greek got the word is unknown. The second part came from Greek "sélinon," which meant "celery." "Sélinon" is also a word of unknown history. Latin borrowed the compound Greek word as "petroselinum," which then became "petrosilium." This was borrowed into English as "petersilie," meaning, "parsley." Meanwhile, the Latin form was passed to Latin-based French in the abbreviated form "peresil," which heavily influenced the English form (essentially merged with it) in the 1300s. The other Germanic languages all use forms from the Latin; and in fact, German uses the same form as English once had, "Petersilie." 

Crockpot Swiss-Style Fondue

Fondue is a famous melted cheese dish from Switzerland, where it is the center of social and familial gatherings, as the melted cheese is served in a large "communal" pot or dish, with each person having a fork to dip bread chunks (or other items, at times) into the melted cheese mixture. Hardcore capitalists will likely never eat fondue again, since it may represent "socialism" to them, but, "let 'em eat cake," to coin a phrase. The popularity of fondue has spread to other parts of the world, including to the United States. If you have a mini slow cooker/crock pot, that would be great for this, but an average size slow cooker is fine (6 to 8 quarts). Of course, if you own a fondue pot, you're set. The thing about slow cookers is, especially the smaller types (often 1.5 or 2 quart sizes in the U.S.), they do not always have more than one heat setting. So, you'll have to make the recipe according to the type of slow cooker you have. Whatever your options, you may still need to use a pan for the basic cooking, which will require you to be very attentive to the cooking process. The preparation "device" and the serving means are the most complicated parts of this dish. I do not own a fondue pot, nor do I own a mini slow cooker, so I used my slow cooker (6 quart), which has two settings, "high" and "low" (hm, very imaginative), and my fondues have come out very well. I'm giving my preparation method and you can determine how you want to proceed for yourself.

There are various regional recipes in Switzerland for fondue, often having to do with the types of cheese used, but in some areas they add mushrooms, while in other areas they add egg yolks. The most common cheeses used are a mixture of Emmentaler* and Gruyère.** There are also non cheese types of fondue, with melted chocolate or hot oil and meat, also having gained in popularity. "Kirschwasser" (literally German for, "cherry water") is a type of clear, unsweetened cherry brandy common in southwestern Germany and in the German-speaking areas of Switzerland. It is also called by the shortened form "Kirsch." It is available in many liquor outlets in the U.S., both in imported and domestic brands. Kirschwasser is important to the taste of the fondue, so do try to use it. Regular cherry brandy is not a substitute, because it is usually sweetened. It is worth your while to buy a brand of Kirschwasser/Kirsch. Some Swiss actually dip the bread into Kirsch, before dipping it into the fondue. And hey, don't forget to sample the Kirschwasser to make sure you have a good brand, although this might take more than one sample to determine. 

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded Emmentaler cheese
2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese
1 clove garlic, halved
1 1/4 cup white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup Kirsch (aka Kirschwasser)
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (black pepper is fine too)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Italian or French bread (better if a day old and not totally fresh)

The Swiss typically rub the cut garlic over the pan they will use to cook the fondue, and then discard the garlic. I put the garlic into the slow cooker with the wine and the lemon juice, which I set on "high." Put the lid on. When the wine begins to bubble, remove the lid, then begin adding handfuls of cheese to the hot wine, stirring constantly, until all of the cheese is melted. Mix the Kirschwasser and the cornstarch together well. Make sure the cheese is still bubbling, as it must be hot in order for the cornstarch to help thicken it. Gradually stir in the cornstarch/Kirschwasser mix. Maintain the heat and allow the fondue to thicken somewhat, which may take a minute or two. It should be thickened and smooth like a sauce, and not runny like soup. Stir in the nutmeg and pepper. Turn the slow cooker down to "low." If you have a mini slow cooker, you can use it for serving, of course, but I simply warm some small dishes and put a ladle of fondue into the warmed dishes for serving. You will need to stir the remaining fondue to keep it from becoming too thick or lumpy (keep the heat on "low"). In Switzerland, the people actually stir the cheese in the communal pot with the bread chucks when they dip. They use long forks for dipping the bread, and of course, they use a fondue pot for serving, kept warm by a little burner or candle. 

* "Emmentaler" (German meaning, "of the Emme valley") is what Americans call "Swiss cheese" (there are many domestic brands in the U.S.), but if you would say to them, "Emmentaler," they would say, "Huh?" The name "Emmentaler," also spelled both "Emmental" and "Emmenthal," in English, never caught on in the U.S., in spite of the large number of German-speaking immigrants to the United States. The neighborhood where I grew up saw a large influx of German immigrants, including my own relatives from Hessen in Germany, from the time around the Civil War until World War One. I believe I've mentioned this here before, but meatpacking companies and sales outlets in the neighborhood were all founded by German immigrants, and the name "Swiss cheese" was NEVER used. Everyone in the neighborhood called the cheese by the German form, "Schweitzer." I was a teenager before I remember hearing the term "Swiss cheese," and then I had to ask exactly what that meant (remember, no Internet back then to look something up with a couple of clicks). One of the bars in the neighborhood was somewhat famous for selling "Schweitzer cheese sandwiches," made with a nice slice of domestic Schweitzer, onion and mustard, on rye bread. In the mid 1960s they charged twenty-five cents for the sandwich. Nowadays, you couldn't even get to smell a sandwich like that for twenty-five cents.

** "Gruyère" is another type of firm whitish to light yellowish cheese produced in Switzerland, more so in the French-speaking areas, but like "Emmentaler," it is more of a national type of cheese, crossing the ethnic/linguistic areas of Switzerland. 

My preference: Italian bread chunks, Swiss fondue and a shot of Kirschwasser, not necessarily in that order ... 

WORD HISTORY:
Found-There are other words of this spelling in English, but this is the word meaning, "to melt (usually of metal), to cast/pour melted metal," and it is distantly related to "gush," a word of Germanic derivation with a form originally in English, but then likely influenced by its relative from Old Norse. It goes back to Indo European "gheud," which meant, "to pour, to let flow." Its Latin offspring had the altered beginning to "fundere," which meant, "to pour, to melt, to pour out melted substances." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "fondre," with the same general meanings. This was borrowed into English in the second half of the 1300s.

Chili

 (Added note about chili and beans: 11-29-23)

"Chili" is a type of stew, based around "chilies," that certainly shows the Mexican influence on the cooking of Texas, and a dish which spread throughout the United States. It became a staple of corner diners and roadside restaurants and its popularity led to canned versions that came to be offered in supermarkets and neighborhood grocery stores. (Note: There are lots of "purists" who say chili doesn't have beans; in fact, there is even an episode of the popular comedy "The Big Bang Theory," where Sheldon, who was from Texas and played by Jim Parsons, tells everyone about chili not having beans.)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds Mexican-style chorizo (bulk or removed from casings)
2 cans (15 to 16 ounces each) dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 cup chopped onion (red or yellow)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
(optional) 1 fresh jalapeño chili pepper, chopped
1 or 2 dried red chili peppers
2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dry adobo seasoning*
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Spanish paprika (smoked)
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup ground tortilla chips
2 teaspoons brown sugar

In a crock-pot/slow cooker, add all of the ingredients, except the brown sugar, the ground tortilla chips and the kidney beans. Cook on high for 75 to 90 minutes, then turn setting to low or regular and cook for another 4 1/2 to 5 hours, or until the onion is tender. Add the brown sugar and the beans at the 3 1/2 hour mark, and stir. Add the ground tortilla chips at the 4 hour mark and stir well. You can serve the chili when done, OR, to be quite honest, I think this gives the chili a far better flavor, let the chili cool down, then refrigerate it until the next day. Heat the chili again, or heat individual servings and serve with crumbled Mexican cheese (I use "cotija," which is similar to "feta"), good bread or tortilla chips.

* To make your own abobo seasoning, this is the link:    http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/11/adobo-seasoning.html

Served with some crumbled "cotija" cheese as a topping and some bread/roll pieces on the side

WORD HISTORY:
Orchestra-This word goes back to Indo European "ergh," which had the notion of "put something into motion." This gave its transliterated Greek offspring "erkhomhai," which had the meaning "to go, to come, to move." This then produced transliterated Greek "orcheisthai," which meant "to dance," which gave Greek "orchestra," which meant, "the specific part of the stage used for singing and dancing by performers." Latin borrowed the word from Greek and English borrowed the word from Latin in the early 1600s, by which time the meaning had altered to "the part of a theater for the chorus." The meaning then altered to "area of a theater where musicians performed," and from that also came the name for "the musicians who performed."