This is a summer re-read, although I swear I got this mixed up with a William Gibson book.
Like all of Stephenson’s recent fiction, this is a big, sprawling, rambling book. Sometimes you think “where was the editor?” but perhaps this is something stylistic.
There are two basic stories, one taking place during WWII, the other in present day. Both stories involve the impact of cryptography — fundamentally altering the progress of the war in the one, and enabling the events in the other. But its not a history lesson: Stephenson’s characters are funny, the plot usually moves along, there’s lots of adventure, a little bit of romance (these are boy books so you only get so much) and we’re treated to wry observations and musings, and introductory lessons in all sorts of geeky tech, both old and new.
There are probably about 100 too many pages here, but perhaps this book is trying to be like its eponymous namesake, and has a little of everything for everyone. The drawing together of the narrative at the end, while slightly hurried, does provide a satisfying punch.
Stephenson has most recently written a trio of books on the birth of the modern world (18th-century style), which are similar in structure and tone, but much longer. However I gave up on the third book about 200 pages into it, as I just couldn’t recover enough of the narrative threads from the previous two books (it had been over a year) and I couldn’t remember who the hell these people were and why I cared.
The weather has turned decidedly cool and rainy this week, which got me hungry for some good, old-fashioned comfort food. So I whipped up a yummy Shepherd’s pie (with meat this time) and this Chicken and Biscuits recipe. It was quick, easy, and pleased the hubby. It looks like a lot of items, but I usually have most of this stuff in the house so its just using up odds and ends.
Items
- 8 (or more) store-bought frozen biscuits
- 3 whole chicken breast tenderloins
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp flour
- salt, pepper, and paprika
- 1 1/2 + 1 Tbsp butter and 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 large stalk celery, finely chopped
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- 1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- juice of 1/2 lemon
Method
- Pre-heat the oven and cook the biscuits according to the directions. When done, turn off the oven, let cool, and put back in the oven to keep warm. Everything else can be done while the biscuits cook.
- Season the chicken breasts in salt and pepper, and then dust in flour mixed with a little paprika, being sure to press it firmly into the flesh and under the tenderloins.
- Melt the 1 1/2 Tbsp butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. The goal here is to keep the pan as hot as possible without burning the butter (the olive oil raises the smoke point of the resulting fat mixture) — this will give the chicken a nice crispy outside without taking so long to cook that it will be dry and tough. Place the breasts tenderloin side down in the pan and cook for four minutes.
- Turn the breasts over and cook on the other side for another 4-6 minutes depending on the thickness of the meat. You’ll know its done when milky juices start coming out of the top, or the internal temperature is about 155F. It will “coast” the rest of the way, and is going to heat a bit more in the sauce, so no need to get too excited about totally cooking the meat. I’m shy about undercooked meat, so my tendency is to overcook chicken. Resist that temptation.
- Take the breasts out of the pan and put them on a plate to cool. When cool, chop into bite-size chunks.
- Keeping the pan on the heat (and the yummy fond in the pan) turn the heat down to medium-low, let cool for a minute or two, and add the remaining pat of butter.
- Add the onion, carrot, and celery with a little salt, and sweat over low heat until the veggies are almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
- Add the broth and the herbs, turn the heat up to a boil, and then turn down to simmer another five minutes. I add a little more paprika here as I like the flavor.
- Add the peas, cream, and chicken chunks, and let everything warm up together. Keep the heat under control, as we don’t want to boil the dish at this point, or the cream will curdle and the chicken will get tough.
- Finish with the lemon juice and parsley. Check seasoning and add some freshly ground black pepper.
- Serve alongside or over the biscuits.
Serves 4. Doubles easily.