Bresse chicken is the unrivaled poultry of Bresse, France, in the Rhône-Alpes. This is a highly prized and not inexpensive bird beloved for its rich flavor, tender pink flesh and bright yellow fat.
Poulet de Bresse varieties include the red-crowned, blue-footed, white-feathered Bény, decked out in the colors of the French flag, as well as the black Bourg and gray Louhans.
Not any old chicken can call itself a poulet de Bresse, and the real thing, farmed according to exacting standards in a designated area, was the first poultry to be granted AOC protection in 1957.
France is so fond of the Bresse chicken that it hardly exports any of its stock. Nevertheless, the American blue-foot chicken, grown from French stock in the 1980s and raised with the same strict diet controls and regulation about the amount of roaming space for the animals, can be found at a price in the U.S..
Tongs are the most useful tool in the kitchen.
Having a good pair of tongs is like having a heatproof robotic arm in the kitchen. Consider a partial list of things you can do with a pair of tongs: stir something in a sizzling pan; flip something in a sizzling pan; move something around in a sizzling pan; spear something in a sizzling pan; push something in a sizzling pan to check for doneness; hold something above a sizzling pan to taste it; take something out of a sizzling pan. And that's just around a sizzling pan. Standing around a grill or reaching inside an oven, tongs are critical.
You can spend a small fortune on specialty tongs, but you don't have to. OXO's Good Grips stainless steel tongs are inexpensive and probably as special as you’ll ever need.
So here's our public service announcement - buy tongs now.
what you should know
Poor thyme. It deserves better than to be perenially butchered by pun-prone copy editors (and root source writers). "The thyme has come!" "Big-thyme flavor!" "Only thyme will tell..."
A woodsy, stimulating herb, thyme has a warm taste with a light whiff of a minty antiseptic. It's a friend to roasts and stews; unlike many other fresh herbs, it stands up well to long cooking times. (In this osso buco, we add it at the end for a stronger jolt of thyme, but for a subtler, more diffused flavor, you could add it much earlier.)
serving thyme If you've got t-t-t-too much thyme on your hands, try using it with eggs, tomatoes and lamb, three ingredients with an affinity for thyme.
thyme waits Thyme takes to drying as well as any herb. If a recipe calls for fresh thyme, use 1/3 of that amount in dried thyme. Many popular herb-spice blends call for thyme, notably Za'atar, Herbes de Provence and bouquet garni.
all in good Thyme was also used by various ancient Mediterraneans as a cleansing agent, embalming mix and symbol of courage for soldiers going off to battle.
what you need
Books on herbs often lean too heavily towards the non-culinary uses. With Herbs and Spices: The Cook's Reference, this isn't an issue.
Same goes for The Mediterranean Herb Cookbook, which focuses on the many cuisines -- Southern European, Middle Eastern, Northern African -- in the region where thyme originated.
Chip's favorite way to end a big meal is with the thyme-infused liqueur called farigoule.
The Vermont Country Store sells a beautiful maple bowl and chopper that's perfect for prepping lots of herbs.
what you do
Brys loves an orange- thyme vinaigrette as a simple highlight to the concentrated flavors of a roasted fennel and tomato salad.
In a simple penne, the tart sweetness of the tomatoes complements the farminess of the goat cheese. Everything benefits from the intense perfumey studs of chopped fresh thyme.
Roasting potatoes on high heat makes them crisp on the outside and pillowy and steamy on the inside. Lemon and thyme brighten the earthy potatoes.
For a classic fall side dish -- maybe alongside grilled flank steak with chimichurri marinade -- try these creamy white beans with garlic and thyme.
Roasted lamb with black olives, thyme and orange zest is a nearly perfect balance of flavors. Really. Nearly perfect.
Marjoram is oregano's calmer, sweeter fraternal twin. Oregano = zesty + peppery + lemony. Marjoram = delicate + floral + round. The two are often used interchangeably but if you get up in their mix you'll see some big differences.
Want to test the difference? Get a fresh sprig of marjoram and a fresh sprig of oregano. Tear an oregano leaf in half. Hold it up to your nose. Smell that piney resin? That jolt? It's sharp, isn't it? Almost one note.
Okay, wait a few minutes, then do the same thing with the marjoram. Smell the complexity? The spice is still there but it's perfumed, heady. Almost soapy. (If you use too much of it, that soapiness can take over a soup or sauce.)
So, can you use one in place of the other? Sure. If you use oregano when a recipe calls for marjoram (or vice versa), the flavors of the dish won't be wildly different. Still, we like to honor and explore the subtle character differences between the two.
Try some of our marjoram recipes or oregano recipes on Cookthink.
