If you make up a batch of Moroccan-style Preserved Lemons (see last post) now, you'll be making this fragrant dish many times next year. A great dinner party dish, Moroccan Chicken with Lemons and Olives fills the house with the some of my favorite aromas:  Cinnamon, cumin, ginger, paprika, garlic, and onions.  But most of all lemons.  

All you need to make a stash of Moroccan preserved lemons is Kosher salt, lemons, and a little bit of time.  If you don't have time (they take about 3 weeks to preserve), see the Sources at the end of this post.  

Moroccan Chicken with Lemon and Olives has a lot going on, with currants, olives, warm spices, and the tangy, intense flavor of the preserved lemon. It is traditional to serve with couscous, but it also goes well with polenta, rice pilaf, or farro.

The chicken pieces are coated with the spice mixture, then left to absorb the flavors for about an hour. Then the chicken is sauteéd on the stove, and simmers in the rest of the ingredients for another hour. It's even better if made ahead of time, which makes it my favorite dinner party dish. 

 

When I make this for my family it is a one-dish meal, served with a small pitcher of pan juices on the side. No matter how much I make, we always seem to fight over the pan juices. 

This recipe is from Mary Woollen's French cooking class.  Thanks Mary!  If you are expecting more than 4-6 people for dinner, buy a few more chicken pieces and throw them in the pot.  

All you need to make Moroccan-style Preserved Lemons is lemons, salt, and a little bit of time.  Packed cozily into pretty jars, these Moroccan-inspired condiments make a budget-friendly gift for anyone who loves to tinker in the kitchen.

I had never cooked with preserved lemons until I took a class from Mary Woollen, who had a cooking school here in Jackson.  She showed the class how to brine the lemons and use them to make a killer one-pot dish: Moroccan Chicken with Lemon and Olives.  The taste is a revelation--with time, the lemon rinds become intensely fragrant and sweet, adding layers of lemony flavor to savory dishes.  If you are a lemon-lover like me, soon you will be folding slivers of preserved lemons into Caesar salad dressing, whizzing them into hummus,  and stir-frying them with shredded Brussels sprouts to make Pasta with Brussels Sprouts, Lemon and Almonds.

If you are lucky enough to have procured a stash of morel mushrooms, you will find that morels and preserved lemons were meant for each other in Morel Smothered Chicken.

The lemons must soak in the brine for a minimum of 3 weeks before they are  perfectly pickled, but I have been known to cheat and pull one out sooner.  Sometimes a partially brined lemon is better than none at all.  

Moroccan Chicken with Lemon and Olives is a great party dish that tastes even better the day after it's made.  If you make some preserved lemons now (it only takes about 15 minutes), you'll be cooking up Moroccan Chicken next month.

Search out the freshest lemons you can find, and you'll likely want to choose organic since you'll be eating the rind.  

You'll also need a box of Kosher salt,  a sharp knife, and a few jars with airtight lids.  I am currently addicted to putting all sorts of food in Weck jars, those vintage-looking yet highly practical canning jars. 

I acquired this recipe from  Mary Woollen, after taking her  "Into the Kitchen" French cooking class.  This recipe makes about 2 quarts of preserved lemons, divided any way you like into airtight jars. 

The jars should be impeccably clean.  Wash them in hot soapy water and let them dry completely before using, or sterilize the jars in the dishwasher.

• 12 organic lemons
• 1 -1 1/2 cups Kosher salt

1.   Scrub the lemons well, and dry with a kitchen towel.
2.   Cut them in half through the equator, and juice 4-6 lemons to get 1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice, strained of seeds. Cut the rest of the lemons into halves or quarters, depending on the size of your jars. Remove as many seeds as you can with a knife.
3.   Using a sharp knife, cut the lemon halves to the stem end without going through the stem.  Cut between the flesh and the rind, without going all the way down to the stem. The stem end should remain intact to hold the lemon half together. 

4.   Rub kosher salt between the lemon rind and the flesh. Stuff as many salted lemons as you can into a jar, then fill with lemon juice. If you run out of lemon juice, add water so that the lemon pieces are completely covered.   Leave a little room at the top, so that when you turn the jar over it mixes a bit. Cover tightly.

5.  Every day or so for the next 3 days turn the jar over to mix and mingle the brine and the lemons.  This is a good job for a kid to do while waiting for breakfast.  After 3 days, put them in the refrigerator.  They will be ready in 3 weeks, and even better after 3 months.

6.  When ready to use, take out a piece of lemon, rinse under cold water to remove the salty brine, and pull off the pulp.  Slice thin for Moroccan chicken, salads, stir-fries, curries, pan-fried vegetables, pasta with Brussels sprouts, or puree into your favorite Caesar salad dressing recipe. 

I have a cookbook problem.  My cookbook collection has outgrown my kitchen desk, spilled over into the spare room, invaded my bedside table, and is multiplying in my kitchen cupboards.  Sometimes it even wanders into the bathroom.

As my husband would probably attest, my love for cookbooks has taken over the house in such a way that we had to build an addition this summer.  He's an avid collector of travel, fishing, and hunting books , so he can't give me too much grief.

My very  first cookbook,  "The Peanuts Cookbook",  was acquired when I was 8, and still gets heavy use (see Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies in the sidebar).  I have handed that one down to 10 year old Nick.  He uses it to make Red Baron Root Beer and Security Blanket Cinnamon Toast.

When you start collecting something at a young age, by midlife it can be tricky to keep it all organized and accessible.  Over time, I have unofficially divided my cookbooks into the A list, the B list and the C list.


The A list gets the most use, and has an honored spot in the bookshelves of my kitchen desk.  As you can see, an A list cookbook is easy to spot.  My unscientific compilation of the A list consisted of pulling down the most ragged, splattered, stained and torn books.  The A list books are shelved by category:  Italian, Barefoot Contessa, Asian, Baking, Breakfast, and Mexican.

 

The B list cookbooks must be stashed in the spare room, but close to the kitchen in case I have a sudden urge to make food from the Middle East, spa cuisine, or a vegetarian feast.

As for the C list, those are the cookbooks that I just can't seem to part with, even though they get very little use.  Some are important reference books, such as "The Foods of Mexico" by Diana Kennedy, or "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child.


Others are nostalgic members of my collection, like "Budget Gourmet", the book I used in college to make Coq au Vin and impress my then boyfriend (now husband).  Or  the "Italian Cooking Class" cookbook that taught me how to make gnocchi in the 1980s when only the true Italians knew what gnocchi was.

Some C list books cannot be parted with because they are just too cool.  "White Trash Cooking" was a gift from my sister-in-law Lil.  You never know when you are going to need to make Cooter Pie or Peggy's Pig Eggs.

And what about "The Secret Life of Food" by Clare Crespo?  I may want to make flip-flop hors d'hourves out of potatoes and green beans next summer.  You just never know.

I chose the most battered and dog-eared books from my collection to share with you today. This is the best of my A list, the cookbooks that I can't live without, in no particular order. 

Any of these cookbooks would make a great gift for the cook in your life.  

3.  "The Sono Baking Company Book" by John Barricelli.  The brownie recipe is worth the cost of the book.  I'll put that on my List of Things to Blog.

4.  "The Barefoot Contessa" by Ina Garten.  This is the original cookbook and probably the best. You just can't go wrong with these recipes, they are all good.

5.  "The Barefoot Contessa Parties" by Ina Garten.  Also a great book for any collector.  Easy party food.  Don't be alarmed that Ina keeps getting larger with each book; you can cut back on the butter and cream, and the recipes will still be good.

6.  "Jamie's Italy" by Jamie Oliver.  Gorgeous pictures of Jamie traveling through the south of Italy cooking with the locals and soaking up the culture.  Pasta all Norma, insalata di farro, sausages with lentils.  Great to read and to cook from.

7.  "The Ski House Cookbook" by Tina Anderson and Sarah Pinneo.  Warm winter dishes for cold weather fun, right up our alley in Jackson Hole. Fast, east recipes to help you feed guests while maximizing your time outside.

8.  "The Italian Grill" by Mario Batali.  I was so hooked on this book last summer, that I grilled everything from polenta to radicchio to pizza.  His other book, "Multo Gusto" is also a lot of fun, especially if you want to master pizza for a crowd. 

9.  "Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures" by Rick Lanie Bayless.  My favorite Chicago chef and his teenage daughter have written a darn good cookbook, which would make a perfect gift for a teen.  Lanie provides musical playlists for cooking, and stories about their travels.  Many of these recipes have become staples in our family:  Chinese potstickers, Nutella crepes, Thai chicken and rice soup, Peruvian shrimp ceviche, Moroccan meatballs in tomato sauce.  This book gets used.


10.  "The Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates" by the Moosewood Collective.  Great holiday food like Chocolate waffles and pan de muerto.


11.  "Mexican Everyday" by Rick Bayless.  Since I don't live in Chicago any longer, I can't eat at The Frontera Grill whenever I want.  This cookbook is the next best thing and the recipes are easy, healthy, and kid-friendly.  Bayless talks about how he battled the midlife-bulge with yoga and changes in his diet.  Most of his recipes are designed to be thrown into a crock-pot or quickly sauteed.  


12.  "Quick and Easy Thai"  by Nancie McDermott.  I love this book because it makes Thai food easy. She also wrote "Quick and Easy Vietnamese" and "The Curry Book", which are great books for the Jacksonians who miss the ethnic take-out food of their former city lives. 


13.  "Giada's Family Dinners" and "Everyday Italian" by Giada de Laurentis. I know she is a big TV star, and there are gazillions of photos of her looking beautiful while she slaves over the stove, but her food is really good, really easy, kid-friendy, and mostly healthy.  


14.  "A Homemade Life" by Molly Wizenberg.    This is the book I should have written when I was too busy being a doctor.  In her memoir with recipes, really great recipes, Molly writes about her family's relationship to food, and how losing her dad impacted her life.  Molly and I should get together:  her Dad was a physician who died of kidney cancer; my Dad was a physician who died of kidney cancer.  (Neither of us have fully recovered).  Molly gave up an academic career to be a writer; I retired from my career in medicine, and find myself writing all the time.  Molly is obsessed with food, and so am I.  We both have a thing for brussel sprouts, cabbage, cookies, cakes and banana bread.  We both eat granola every day. I love her book, and her blog orangette.com.  Check it out.


15.  "The Breakfast Book" by Marion Cunningham.  Making breakfast is not may favorite thing to do, and this book gives me lots a new ideas.  A classic. 


16.  "Biscotti" by Mona Talbott and Mirella Misenti.  A primer  on making all sorts of biscotti from the American Academy in Rome, whose kitchen was revamped by Alice Waters.  My new favorite cookbook.


17.  "Favorite Recipes from the Fenn Ranch"  by Annie, Jon, Jack and Nick Fenn.  This is the book that I did write, with the help of online publisher Blurb.com.  I love this book because it has all my favorite recipes in one place, and I can throw it in my purse when I go to the grocery store.  It's falling apart and has a few mistakes, but I it still gets almost constant use at our house.