Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas

The Emergency Food Hotline has been excited to receive some holiday themed calls the past few days! One caller had a question about thawing poultry, one about melting chocolate, another about meat temperatures, and the most challenging was a question about how long to slow-roast 20 lbs of pork shoulder. Now THAT is a lot of pork. We came to a few conclusions and hopefully everyone's dinners will turn out magnificently today. I'll provide details on all the questions and answers very soon.

Oh, and here is what I'm making today for my dinner:

Christmas Chipotle Chicken Rub
(with roasted vegetables)

3-4 canned chipotle peppers
1/3 c brown sugar (firmly packed)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp chile powder
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ onion, minced

3-4lb whole chicken
various wintry vegetables, quartered

Sauté the minced garlic and onion in a dash of olive oil until golden. Set aside to cool. Chop the chipotle peppers. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir into a paste with a wooden spoon. Work rub into chicken and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Quarter vegetables of your choosing (I have bell peppers, onion, sweet potato and yellow potato) and mix with a few chunks of butter and a bit of salt and pepper.

Roast veggies and chicken together in a large baking dish at 325˚ for about an hour to an hour and a half (or internal temp of bird is above 160˚). If chicken is getting too crisp on top but is uncooked in the center, cover with foil for 20 minutes and check again.

Happy Holidays!

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