To ask what you can do with a chicken?

[KenAdams]

I've heard MNers can do wonderful things with a chicken

Is it roast dinner, curry, stock or do you all actually have amazing ways of feeding 18 people for 12 days with a single chicken?

[gordyslovesheep]

My mum did the following in the 1970's

1: roast chicken

1. Chicken Supreme - chicken, rice and a tin of condensed mushroom soup
   
2. Chicken butties
   
3. Chicken soup

[SaggyOldClothCatPuss]

Hold it in the air whilst sticking a deck chair up your nose?
Showing your age, Haraldlloyd
I think the nickname does that all by itself!
A roast bird does 4 of us. With maybe some small bits left for a sandwich!

[dayshiftdoris]

Marzipanned... Thank you

[grubb]

You can do something with mine. Buggers woke me up at 7am with their squawking. I had to let them out to shut them up and they are now devouring my raspberries and making massive dust bath craters next to my peas. Bastards.

[TempusFuckit]

Noodle soup stock tip - add some star anise, ginger and spring onions to your carcass when boiling it up :) And soy and rice wine towards the end.

Best cold roast chicken sandwiches (rochwidge?) have mayo, mango chutney and cucumber imo.

[marzipanned]

Sushiqueen for chicken lasagne, do you do the chicken in a tomato sauce and then basically make lasagne as usual? Or is it something completely different?

Tempus that sounds fab.

[littlemissmagic]

I keep all the little bits I can get off the carcass. Eat in a pita bread with salads and maybe oven chips for a bigger meal. Healthier than a kebab shop too!

[SoleSource]

One large chicken feeds me and DS. Sod all left.

[marzipanned]

SoleSource you can still make a risotto or soup of the stock though...

I think at least one of everyone's multiple meals here involves something stock related.

DH and I don't usually have enough meat for a second meal left either unless I've made masses and masses of sides.

[valiumredhead]

If you cook a chicken in the slow cooker you get every last bit of meat off it much more than if you roast it.

[SoleSource]

I will try making a risotto marzi. I have lots of juices left after cooking in the halogen oven. I hear risotto is hard to make, scares me a bit. I will try.

How do you make yours marzi with what ingredients?

[valiumredhead]

Risotto is piss easy especially if you use a stock pot

[bigTillyMint]

[SoleSource]

bigtilly I thought of that song too

Oooh will try that vallium :):):)

[marzipanned]

Yes, do, it will be so delicious with all those juices!

For the most basic one you need oil, an onion, risotto rice, stock and some sort of hard cheese (ideally parmesan/grana padano/pecorino)

Use one hob for keeping your stock warm (not crucial but makes the cooking process quicker).

On another, saute your chopped onion in the oil in a medium/large saucepan. When it's soft, add the rice and 'toast' it - basically cook for a couple of mins, stirring. At this point you can either add a splosh of white wine if you've got a bottle open/aren't cooking for little ones or you can just get going with the stock.

The basic principle is to add about a ladleful of stock at a time and stir until it's absorbed. Since I and no doubt you often have a bunch of things going on in the kitchen at one time, I tend to add a bit more liquid than I probably should each time and stir it a bit less often than I probably should. No matter, the rice will absorb it eventually.

I think this is why there's a misconception that risotto's difficult to make - like you have to stand over it and stir constantly. You don't really. It'll still be yum.

Carry on this process until the rice is cooked to your liking (al dente/soft) and there isn't any excess liquid in the rice pot. This should take between 15-20 mins.

Then take it off the heat, grate a ton of cheese over it and stir it in. An Italian friend told me you should also add a big pat of butter at this point but I find it rich enough anyway.

That's your very basic one - but you can really add anything you like - cooked veggies at the end or raw ones at the beginning, cooked meat, seafood, various cheeses (one of my faves - completely untraditional - is spinach and feta).

In winter I make at least one a week, it's so comforting and also filling and pretty cheap.

[SoleSource]

ooooh marzi thank you! :) you're so kind, I will copy and paste now into my email :) i'm trying new recipes soon.

[marzipanned]

Not at all! I hope it goes well! :)