Good Food : Slow and Easy

How often have you gone to a friend’s home for dinner only to be greeted, handed a drink and told by your hostess: “I’ll be in the kitchen just a minute.” Then for hours no one emerges. It’s even worse when you invite friends to dinner and you’re the one stuck in the kitchen.

Today, with everyone working, time is scarce. Back in the ‘50s, something came along called “casserole,” and it was exactly the solution cooks needed to get out of the kitchen. The idea that almost a whole meal could be made in one dish and popped in the oven meant that the person giving the dinner could become a guest instead of being a servant.

These days, a lot of cooks are turning to another old technique for one-pot main-course cooking--braising in a Dutch oven. Recently, I served friends chicken braised with ginger and onions--and the results were terrific. It was not only convenient to make, but the braising developed the sort of deep flavors in the chicken that only long cooking can capture. And the leftovers were even better the next day.

Serve the chicken with baking powder biscuits or a homey, fresh bread with butter and honey. Start with a fall salad--it’s terrific for Thanksgiving too--made of slices of fuyu (the firm variety of persimmon that is shaped like a tomato), avocado and walnut halves arranged on butter lettuce.

For dessert, apple cobbler is easy to make--it takes about a half hour to mix and assemble and then it bakes for about 40 minutes. Ripe pears instead of apples make a lovely, delicate cobbler. The crust is a cross between pie crust and cake. It may be called cobbler because when the dough bakes, it drapes over the irregular pieces of fruit and looks like a cobbled street.

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Any broth and onions left over from this dish make a wonderful soup when added to more chicken broth and noodles. Never throw away the makings of another good meal.

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CHICKEN WITH GINGER AND ONIONS

6 large yellow onions, sliced about 1/8-inch thick 1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger 2 teaspoons salt 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper 3 pounds chicken pieces, preferably legs and thighs 1 cup water Chopped parsley, optional

Put half of onion slices in bottom of Dutch oven, or any large heavy-bottomed pot with lid.

Mix ginger, salt and pepper, and spread out over piece of wax paper. Roll each piece of chicken in ginger mix, shake any excess seasoning off and place chicken pieces over layer of onions. Cover chicken with remaining onion slices. Pour water over all and cover pot with lid. Braise over medium-low heat 2 hours. Serve in bowls and garnish with parsley. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

362 calories; 1328 mg sodium; 154 mg cholesterol; 23 grams fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 34 grams protein; 0.18 gram fiber.

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PERSIMMON, AVOCADO AND WALNUT SALAD

4 fuyu persimmons, firm but bright-orange-red 1 large or 2 small firm, ripe avocados 1 head butter lettuce, leaves separated 1/4 cup Honey Dressing 1 cup walnut halves

Peel persimmons and slice about 1/4-inch thick and set aside. If salad won’t be served within 1 hour, refrigerate persimmons.

Just before serving salad, peel, pit and slice avocado lengthwise. Put several lettuce leaves on each plate. Arrange slices of persimmon and slices of avocado on lettuce. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon Honey Dressing on each salad. Sprinkle some walnuts on top. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

372 calories; 95 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 30 grams fat; 26 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 3.38 grams fiber.

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Honey Dressing

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 3 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoon oil 1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine vinegar, honey, oil and salt in small jar with lid. Seal lid and shake until well blended. Reserve dressing not used in refrigerator. Makes 1/2 cup.

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APPLE COBBLER

Flour 1 1/4 cups sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup shortening 3 tablespoons milk 1 large egg 7 to 8 Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled and sliced Half-and-half, optional

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt in large mixing bowl. Stir dry ingredients with spoon to mix well. Toss shortening in dry ingredients. Then break up into 5 or 6 pieces. Lightly rub flour and shortening together between fingers until shortening is in little bits.

Mix milk and egg together in small bowl with fork until well blended. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir with fork until dough is in rough mass. Sprinkle work surface with flour. Put dough on floured surface and let stand briefly.

Stir 3 tablespoons flour and 1 cup sugar together in bowl and add to apple slices. Toss slices to coat with flour-sugar mixture. Spread apples in ungreased, shallow 13x9-inch baking dish.

Roll out dough, lifting from work surface from time to time to flour underneath, so dough doesn’t stick. Dough is sticky, so keep using flour as needed to handle. Roll out dough until big enough to cover top of baking dish. Cover apple mixture with dough, making edges neat.

Bake at 350 degrees, about 40 minutes, or until fruit juices are bubbling and crust is golden. Serve warm with half-and-half to taste poured on top. Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

533 calories; 317 mg sodium; 36 mg cholesterol; 19 grams fat; 89 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 0.90 gram fiber.