South of the Wall Sandwiches
Back in the late '80s or early '90s, I subscribed to Eating Well magazine. I was working in Nutrition and Dietetics at the time, and was actually starting to learn about food as fuel for the body and not just have it look pretty on a plate. I knew the science behind making a cake - flour and eggs for structure, sugar and fat for tenderness, and how different batters react to different pan shapes and temperatures - but didn't know the science behind the ingredients - and how they reacted in the body and how the body transformed and used them. For all intents and purposes, I still don't - but I have a better idea today than I did 30 years ago... I'm still a cook, not a Dietitian.
But... life is all about learning, and I wanted to learn healthier ways of putting things together. I ended my subscription because the magazine morphed into more of a woman's health magazine with recipes, but not before I bought the Eating Well Cookbook. I've been hauling this book around since 1992 and it's made the cut every time I've done a cookbook purge - there are a couple of recipes in it that I like. I probably hadn't opened it in 10 years, but it has always made the cut.
Today, I opened it.
I did a produce run to Gentile's after the gym, and saw some really nice tomatillos. And a perfect poblano pepper. I started thinking back to a chicken recipe in Eating Well and headed downstairs to get the book. I found the recipe. Naturally, it was nothing like what I had remembered, but it gave me a starting point for something else.
It also gave me a reminder about different cooking methods. Poaching a chicken breast in a pot with water and flavorful herbs and spices not only makes a flavorful piece of chicken - but it makes a flavorful broth that can be used, as well. It's all coming back to me, now...
I had rolls but no tortillas, so I made sandwiches. Next time I'll make the tortillas!
Shredded Chicken with Tomatillos
poaching liquid
- 8 oz chicken breast
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 4 cups water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp peppercorns
- 2 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1 tsp sweet basil
- 1/2 tsp salt
sauce
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large tomatillos, chopped
- 1 large poblano pepper, chopped
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- salt and pepper, to taste
directions
Place chicken breast, water, shallot, bay leaf, peppercorns, oregano, basil, and salt in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, partially cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through - about 15 minutes. Turn off heat and allow chicken to cool completely in the poaching liquid. When cool, shred chicken and reserve 1 cup of the poaching liquid.
In a medium skillet, saute onion and poblano pepper until vegetables are wilted. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add cumin and cook about a minute.
Add tomatillos and cook until they are broken down completely.
Stir in shredded chicken and heat through. Add additional broth as necessary to maintain desired consistency.
Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper, desired.
This easily made three hefty portions - more than we needed, tonight. Lunch portions for tomorrow!
I think it would have been great with a perfectly-ripe avocado. I did pick one up but it wasn't quite there... Fresh tortillas would have been nice, as well - and cheese... but we were being good.
I think it's going to be fun to revisit those thrilling - thinning - days of yesteryear.
And on a totally unrelated note...
Hard boiled eggs. They're good for you. I really like them. They're a pain-in-the-ass to peel.
I have tried every system under the sun - starting with cold water starting with hot water adding salt adding baking soda adding vinegar bringing to boil turning off heat letting sit... Every one of then will work sometimes. Every one of them won't work sometimes.
BUT... I have now steamed the eggs on two different occasions - different eggs from different cartons - and every egg has peeled perfectly.
We shall see how the third time goes...
Chicken and Polenta
Last night I spatchcocked a chicken and cooked it on the grill. I rubbed it liberally with Penzey's Ozark Seasoning and let it cook under indirect heat for a bit more than an hour. It was really good.
But, even with our hearty appetites, we ate less than half of it. That, of course, was the plan... Leftovers can be my friend, sometimes...
One of my favorite go-to dinners is something in a sauce with a bunch of olives. It's quick and easy - and always good without any fuss. At any given moment there are at least four varieties of olives in the cupboard or in the 'fridge - quick and easy. While I was shopping on Monday, though, I stopped by the olive bar at the grocery store to do a bit of a mix-and-match of things I didn't have. My original thought was to cook them with sausage and serve it all over pasta.
But I ended up cooking the chicken, first. Ergo, lots of leftover chicken and a container of mixed olives, various hot peppers, roasted garlic... The sausage became chicken and the pasta became polenta.
One must maintain flexibility in meal planning...
I took about half of the leftover chicken and cut it into bite-sized chunks - the rest will become chicken salad with grapes and walnuts, tomorrow, for Victor's lunch.
Into a skillet it went with the olive mixture and about a cup of white wine. I brought it all to a boil, reduced the heat, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes to reduce a bit. The only seasoning I added was some black pepper - it didn't need anything else.
I cooked up polenta - with milk and a bit of pepato cheese - and served the chicken over the polenta.
Simplicity.
And there are biscotti for dessert!
Chicken Stew
We have a Freeze Warning, tonight. It's April 19th.
I am not amused.
I don't mind the rain, I don't mind the overcast or clouds. I'm really tired of the cold, though. Dank, penetrating cold that seeps into your entire being. And have I mentioned the wind? It's another joy to behold.
But with the cold weather comes more soups and stews. We should be starting up salads. But there's a Freeze Warning. There's a rule about eating salads during a Freeze Warning. Not that I'm necessarily a rule-follower, but I'll make an exception...
And tonight's exception was a throw-together stew of sorts. I pulled a couple of bone-in chicken breasts from the freezer this morning with the thought of grilling them, tonight. I had looked at the weather early this morning and was given the - obviously erroneous - impression that it was going to be in the mid-50s.
The grilled chicken morphed into a braised chicken with potatoes, carrots, onions, Seville and Kalamata olives, capers, white wine, chicken stock, garlic, and artichoke hearts. Started on the stove and then cooked, uncovered, in the oven for about 45 minutes.
One of those ridiculously good dinners that will never be quite replicated because this is how the stars aligned, today.
So be it. It was good.
I had pretty much planned to grill most of the week, but Mother Nature is just not going to cooperate. Plan B will be going into effect.
Stay tuned...
Pollo brasato con olive e patate
Tonight's dinner is brought to you by Google Translate. It was a throw-together dinner and Pollo brasato con olive e patate sounds infinitely more fancy than Braised Chicken with Olives and Potatoes, right?!?
I knew dinner was going to consist of chicken and potatoes - I just wasn't sure what direction it was going to take. There's a lot of stuff one can do starting with those two ingredients, from fried and mashed to soups and stews.
I decided to go mildly ethnic...
I had been shopping earlier and spent a bit of time at the olive bar picking up a few goodies. Those goodies became the defining factor in tonight's meal.
Pollo brasato con olive e patate
- 1/2 whole chicken
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pint assorted olives, cippolini onions, and various olive bar items
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 3-4 potatoes, thickly-sliced
- salt & pepper, to taste
Brown chicken on all sides in heavy-duty braising pan. Add garlic and lightly cook. Add red wine and bring to a boil. Add tomatoes, bring back to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer until chicken is tender - a couple of hours.
Remove cooked chicken from pan and cool enough to handle. Shred chicken.
Add olives to pan and stir in chicken.
Add potatoes, stirring in well, cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender - another 30-45 minutes.
Check for seasoning and add salt & pepper, as desired.
This really is my favorite sort of throw-together meal. The olive bar items added all of the herbs, spices, and flavors i needed - I didn't need to add anything else.
I served it up with a couple of slices of last night's bread, and all is right with the world.
Alsatian Potatoes
Tonight's dinner is brought to you by the recipe folder I have had on my computer for years. Literal years. I found recipes dating from 1997 - and I haven't finished looking at them all. I'm just a bit of a pack rat when it comes to recipes. I have them on my computer, I have them in file folders, in manila envelopes... If I cooked three meals a day for the next 40 or so years, I couldn't go through all of them.
And then I find another one.
I think I saved a goodly portion of the recipes when we were creating different recipes at work. That's pretty much the only reason I can think of for all of the edamame and tofu recipes. Neither item is on my normal pantry list...
I started going through the recipes because our friend, Bonnie, was talking about a recipe app she had gotten called Paprika Recipe Manager. It can be used for grabbing recipes from the web - I have a browser bookmark folder of a bazillion of them - as well as adding recipes of your own, so I bought it and started entering them. I did a few and all of a sudden decided what I really needed to do was create another cookbook on the website and post them all here. Share the craziness that has been collecting electronic dust for years.
The Other Stuff Cook Book was born.
The interesting thing about all of these recipes is I really don't know where most of them came from. They're mere text files for the most part without any attribution. They were really more for inspiration than actually making. That being said, a few of them - like tonight's potatoes - are easily attributable. Martha Stewart's fingers are all over this one! Others... not quite so easy.
I have just started getting them done, so check back now and again for more...
In the meantime... the potatoes were a lot of fun. The recipe takes time and lots of pots - that's pretty much how I figured it was probably Martha and not Jacques Pepin - but the end result was really good. I scaled the recipe way back and then made it as two separate pastries. If I revisit this one, I may add the chicken right into the pie and make it as a one-pot meal.
I used an onion instead of leeks and russets instead of yukon golds, and just a pinch of nutmeg.
Alsatian Potato Pie
INGREDIENTS
- 3 (about 1 1/2 pounds) Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
- Coarse salt
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 5 cloves garlic, crushed with the flat side of a large knife
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium leek, white and light-green parts only, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise, and washed well
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 (14 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed
- All-purpose flour, for work surface
- 1 1/2 cups grated Comte or Gruyere cheese
DIRECTIONS
STEP 1
Cover potatoes with water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add a pinch of salt; cook until just tender, 13 to 15 minutes. Drain. Let cool.
STEP 2
Bring 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons cream, the garlic, and nutmeg to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook mixture until reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.
STEP 3
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add leek; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in parsley; season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
STEP 4
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk egg yolk and remaining tablespoon cream in a small bowl; set aside. Divide puff pastry on a lightly floured surface into two 6-by-13-inch rectangles. Set 1 rectangle on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Add half of the potatoes, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around and overlapping potatoes slightly. Top with half of the leek mixture and 3/4 cup cheese; season with salt and pepper. Repeat layering with remaining potatoes, leeks, and cheese. Brush edges of dough with egg wash. Cover with remaining dough rectangle; gently press edges with a fork to seal. Cut 2-inch slits lengthwise in center of crust, 2 inches apart. Brush with egg wash. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.
STEP 5
Bake pie until golden brown and puffy, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven. Pour cream mixture into pie vents with a funnel. Bake 10 minutes more. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
And then we had the chicken...
This is a New York Times recipe.
Chicken in Vinegar Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups chopped onion
- butter
- 8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- ½ cup tomato puree
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup chicken stock
- ½ teaspoon dried tarragon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method
Chop onion.
Heat nonstick pan over high heat, reduce heat to medium-high and add butter. Add onion, and saute until it begins to brown and soften.
Add chicken breasts, and brown on both sides.
Reduce heat to simmer, and add tomato puree, wine, vinegar, chicken stock and tarragon.
Cover, and continue cooking until chicken is tender, about 10 minutes total. Season with salt and pepper.
Don't be put off by the amount of onions! It seems like a bazillion, but it works! I used my Passata for the tomato puree and cut back on the balsamic because I was using a thick, aged bottle that is pretty potent.
We only ate half of them, so there's leftovers for lunch or dinner tomorrow night!
Oh... I decided I'm going to use the Paprika Recipe Manager for my bazillion bookmarked recipes. That's another chore for another day...
Chicken Parmigiana
Thursday, I made polenta with a really meaty ragu. It was pretty good, if I do say so, m'self, and we had plenty of the sauce left over. Victor was going to freeze it for another day - but I had other plans. Nefarious plans that finagled him into cooking dinner, tonight.
This was what we had Thursday...
There are two things I do pretty regularly on workdays... the first is take something out of the freezer for dinner, the second is to call home during my lunch break. I took out thin-sliced chicken cutlets this morning, thinking chicken parmigiana would be a fitting dinner, tonight.
When I called home, I casually asked if the sauce had been frozen and mentioned chicken parm. My clever ruse worked! Victor started planning dinner and when I got home there were breaded cutlets in the 'fridge and a baked pasta being prepared.
The cutlets were fried and then topped with sauce and cheese and placed into the oven to heat through and melt the cheese. The pasta was mixed with the sauce, topped with cheese, and baked until hot and the cheese melted. The sat one atop the other in a 350°F oven.
And it was a great dinner! The chicken perfectly crispy-crunchy and saucy and cheesy and the pasta was perfectly cooked, meaty and cheesy, too. Meals just do not suck at our house.
My contribution is a Pineapple Upside Down Cake.
More on that from the link.
Clean Out The 'Fridge Pasta
One of my more favorite things to do is clean out the refrigerator to make dinner. It's fun to see how I can take often disparate items and pull them together into a tasty meal.
Tonight, I was lucky - everything I had on hand went well together without having to think too hard.
I had a half chicken in the freezer from a month or so, ago, that I wanted to use. And there was a fennel bulb. And celery. And a leek. Carrots. Mushrooms. 1 lone red pepper and a dozen freshly roasted. A container of mushrooms.
Definitely pasta night!
I started by browning the chicken in a braising pan. Out it went and into the pan went the chopped fennel, celery, leek, red pepper, and carrots. And garlic. I sauteed them all and then added a cup of red wine, let it cook a bit, and then added a can of diced tomatoes and the whole mushrooms. I kept the mushrooms whole so I could fish them out of Nonna's plate. She doesn't like mushrooms, this week.
I nestled the chicken into the concoction, sprinkled on some salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and dried oregano, put a lid on it and into the oven at 325°F for a couple of hours.
After a couple of hours, I removed the chicken to cook a bit and put the pan back into the oven. When the chicken was cool enough to handle, I pulled all the meat from the bones and chopped it up a bit and added it to the pot.
Back into the oven, because... why not? I wanted the vegetables to more or less collapse into a sauce. And, they did!
I cooked up some Caputini pasta, mixed it all together, and sprinkled on some cheese.
Dinner was served!
The pasta is a fun shape. Victor has made it before - it's a royal pain-in-the-ass to do - and it went really well with a totally throw-together-slow-cooked sauce. I'm sure we will be seeing it again.
Chicken Cutlets
Back in what seems like a lifetime ago, we'd go over to Victor's mom's house for dinner and she would invariably have chicken cutlets for us. Actually, it was chicken cutlets, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a nice salad.
And a nice salad has become a bit of a joke with us over the years with one or the other making the comment after describing what's for dinner on any given night. Of course, it has to be said just right with the slightest bit of Northeast Philly twang. Way back in the day, before getting married and heading to Jersey, Nonna was an Adams Avenue girl.
A nice salad was always iceberg lettuce with a nice Kraft dressing with maybe Hidden Valley Ranch and tomato and cucumber for a special occasion. My father's go-to dinner for us was veal cutlets with dirty potatoes and cole slaw with apple. The man was a great cook and could cook absolutely anything, but this was his go-to.
It's been many years since either of them cooked for us and I would truly love to see either of them in the kitchen cooking away. But... it's all memories, now. And a bit of humor. I mean... ya gotta laugh because it really isn't fun watching them get old and it really sucks when they're no longer around, at all...
So enough of the good ol' days - on to today.
I pulled some chicken breasts out of the freezer before heading off to work this morning and when I got home, there was a plate of - you guessed it - chicken cutlets - in the 'fridge just waiting to be fried up! I seriously love Victor being retired!
He mentioned he had a hankerin' for a baked potato, and the next thing I knew, he was in the kitchen cooking the complete meal. Did I mention I love that he's retired?!? Chicken cutlets, baked potatoes with sour cream, fresh steamed broccoli... and no nice salad. We had nice homemade rolls, instead.
And there are cutlets left over for sandwiches!
Victor did dinner, so I did dessert. I made a Pumpkin Pie - because we had not one, not two, but three cans of pumpkin in the cupboard. And we had all the ingredients to make the crust and the filling.
And whipping cream.
Santas and Spicy Jambalaya
We started taking down Christmas, today. It was 2°F outside - absolutely no reason to step outside and do anything.
I have to admit that I just don't get the concept of always having to be out and about. I just can't think of anything worse than always being in the car, running into this store and that, standing in line for coffee, for mediocre service, hurrying here and there...
I think I'm getting old.
Because I think that once upon a time that was me. Now?!? I leave the house to go to work and go grocery shopping. I brew my own coffee and if I can't buy something online, I don't buy it. Life has gotten a lot less complex. And I love it.
Our big decision, today, was whether to take down the tree or leave it up for one more night and take it down tomorrow. We packed away everything else. The tree stayed.
We have a pretty good system. The linens all get collected to be washed, and then we start loading the table with Santas. Lots and lots of Santas.
The bins come back up from the basement and I start wrapping and packing while Victor disassembles the smaller trees, wreaths, and garlands, and brings things into the kitchen. It's a great system.
We stop for sustenance - today was coffee and Kolaches - and then carry on until we're done.
And then there's dinner.
Tonight, it was a jambalaya of sorts. Of sorts, because I didn't use any shrimp.
I did use chunks of chicken and andouille sausage - and thyme and hot pepper sauce - so it had a great kick. It just wasn't New Orleans authentic.
Jambalaya
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 oz andouille sausage, sliced
- 2 cups chicken, cubed
- 1 can diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 cup rice
- 3 cups broth
- 1 tsp thyme
- Tabasco sauce (I used our homemade hot sauce)
- Salt & pepper
Saute onion and pepper. Add garlic and saute. Add chicken and cook. Add andouille and brown.
Add rice, tomatoes, broth, thyme, a few healthy shots of Tabasco, and a pinch of S&P. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and let simmer about 15 minutes.
Stir everything well. Cover, again, and cook another 10 to 15 minutes or until rice is cooked.
Add a few more healthy shots of Tabasco and enjoy.
It's pretty no-brainer easy and it doesn't take a lot of watching. And on a freezing day, it warms the old body right up. I was going to make cornbread to go along with it, but completely forgot. We ended up watching a PBS/Broadway special of Holiday Inn after taking the last of the bins downstairs and it completely slipped my mind until we were sitting down to eat.
Oh well... we really didn't need it!
Chicken Pot Pie
When the weather gets rough, the formerly-tough get cooking.
We didn't get anything like the folks along the Atlantic, but it's been enough for me. I have ventured out in blizzards in my youth. Hell - the Tahoe years would find us driving down into Kings Beach in blinding snowstorms to hit the liquor department at Safeway. Or Kings Beach Liquors. We always tried to be prepared for catastrophes, but sometimes we consumed everything we had before the catastrophe was over. I've been through typhoons, tornadoes, earthquakes - and blinding snowstorms. As with many things, today, I can say I've been there and done that - no need to do it, again.
Nah... if it's snowing outside with winds gusting like hell, I'm more than happy to be indoors - and even happier to be in the kitchen where it's always warm. I am no longer compelled to go out and embrace Mother Nature at her fiercest. At some point, the wisdom of old age has to kick in. Besides, I want to be around long enough to start collecting my Social Security before those bastards in Washington figure out more ways to take it away. [countdown date=2018/06/30-16:00:00] Only [timer] until that first check![/countdown] But who's counting?!?
One thing I did this morning was organize the freezer. It's been a while since any attention was paid to it - and it showed. It's not all that big - which is good - because if I had more freezer space I would use more freezer space. And then I'd have even more stuff to try and organize. I knew I had a pie crust in there, and in my cleaning, I found another. That settled the dinner question - a double-crust Chicken Pot Pie! And there was a small Maple Walnut Cheesecake in there. Dessert is ready, too!
Looking back over past entries, it seems I always make a Chicken Pot Pie when it's snowing outside. It's pretty much the ultimate comfort food - and they're so easy to throw together.
I don't really use a recipe for a pot pie of any sorts, but our friend Ann sent hers down a while back, so here it is. I made a bit of a variation on this. I had turkey stock in the freezer, so I used it. And fresh carrots, celery, and peas in place of the frozen mixed.
Here is Ann’s recipe. It’s pretty classic.
Nursie’s Pot Pie
Nursie said she originally got this from a pie crust box.
- 1/3 c butter
- 1/3 c flour
- 1 very small chopped onion (or to taste)
- 1/2 c chopped green pepper, leave this out if you want to
- 1 1/2 c broth, chicken for chicken pie, beef for beef pie, and I use veggie broth for pork pie
- 1/3 cup milk
- 2 c frozen mixed veggies
Cook the onion and green pepper in the butter for a bit, whisk in the flour and add the liquids, cook until thickened. I season with salt, pepper, herbes de Provence, but you can use what ever sounds good. A little celery seed isn’t a bad addition, and with beef I use garlic and mushrooms instead of the green pepper. Add 2-3 cups chopped leftover roast whatever and the vegetables. Mix well and dump into the pie crust.
Bake in a two crust pie at 425 for 30-40 minutes and enjoy.
No shit, this is delicious. You can use whatever veggies you have around including leftovers. It is a great end of the week and I don’t want to cook sorta dish. But it is good enough for company! Anyone want to come to dinner?
Tomorrow is just going to be freezing cold and windy. No snow in the forecast. It's back to work and back to reality. And I should be able to drive right over the snow in the driveway.
Life is good!
Sicilian-Style Chicken Agrodolce
Since the demise of the US version of La Cucina Italiana, my go-to recipe magazine has become Fine Cooking. It's an easy-to-read magazine and they actually treat their readers like they have a bit of intelligence. Not a bad start.
They also come up with some interesting ideas for food. Tonight's dinner is compliments of two past issues.
I had a whole chicken in the 'fridge and just wanted to cook up half of it and freeze the other half for another day. I thought braising the chicken would be an easy dinner and set out to look for a recipe.
I have - or, rather, had - a few hundred recipes bookmarked under a "food" folder in my browser. It's my new way of finding and keeping recipes I'll probably never make. I was actually going through them and organizing them a bit - and deleting all of the dead links from who knows how long ago - when I came upon a Fine Cooking recipe I had bookmarked for a Sicilian Pollo Agrodolce - Sweet and Sour Chicken. I decided it was kismet and I printed it off.
A little further down the list was a recipe for Potatoes Boulangère - a potato gratin without the cheese and cream. I think that on any other day I would have made one or the other, but today, I decided to make both. It's a holiday, after all, right?!? Right!
I spent some time going through and deleting things I know I'll never make and creating folders for the other stuff I probably will never make but aren't ready to delete and then it was off to the kitchen...
Chicken Agrodolce
- 1/2 chicken, cut into 5 pieces
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Flour for dredging
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 small onion, cut into small dice
- 1 small rib celery, cut into small dice
- 1 small carrot, cut into small dice
- 2 Tbs. sugar
- 2 Tbs. good-quality white-wine vinegar (I used an aronia berry wine vinegar from Jalma Farms in Cape May)
- 1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 18 grape tomatoes
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
- 2 Tbs. capers
Pat the chicken pieces dry, season them with salt and pepper, and dredge them lightly in the flour.
Heat a-large sauté pan fitted with a lid over medium-high heat and add the 1/4 cup olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces (in batches, if necessary), browning them very well on both sides. When browned, remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
Turn the heat to medium and add the onion, celery, and carrot. Sauté until they’re soft and fragrant, about 6 or 7 minutes. Add the sugar and vinegar to the pan and let it bubble for about 1 minute. Add the peppers and tomatoes.
Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them over in the vegetables once or twice to coat them. Increase the heat to medium and add the wine, letting it boil until almost evaporated. Add the chicken stock and bay leaf, cover the pan, and simmer on low heat until the chicken is just about tender, 30 to 35 minutes, turning the pieces once or twice during cooking.
Add the raisins, pine nuts, and capers and simmer to blend the flavors, about 5 minutes. longer. The sauce should be reduced and thickened but still pourable. If it looks too dry, add a splash of chicken stock or water. Taste for seasoning. It should have a nice balance between sweet and sour but not be too aggressive. Add more salt, pepper, a splash of vinegar, or a pinch of sugar to balance the flavors.
Arrange the chicken on a large serving platter and pour the sauce over.
I like braised, saucy dishes and this one has a lot of future possibilities. I can see this with boneless thighs and served over creamy polenta...
Stay tuned.
And then we had the potatoes...
I do have to admit that these wouldn't be my first choice for serving with a dish like this - but I wanted to make them, so I did.
Potatoes Boulangère
- 1 Tbs. olive oil
- 3-1/2 oz. diced pancetta
- 2 cups onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- Scant 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick half moons
- 1 cup chicken broth
Heat the oven to 375°F. Heat the olive oil in a medium (9-inch) Dutch oven over medium heat.
When the oil is hot, add the pancetta. Sauté until it just begins to crisp and turn brown, about 4 min.
Add the onions, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally and more frequently toward the end, until the onions are deep golden, about 14 min.
Meanwhile in a small saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a boil and then remove from the heat.
Add the potatoes to the onions and cook, stirring for a minute or two. Pour the hot broth over the potatoes and onions and bring the pot to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Cover the pot, put it in the oven, and bake for about 15 min.
Uncover the pot, gently and evenly push the potatoes down with a spatula, and continue to bake uncovered until the potatoes are completely tender and have started to brown, about another 25 min.
The potatoes seriously rocked. They may become my new go-to!
So meals are completed for the first day of 2018. Well... other than dessert, that is.
It was a great day to be inside and in the kitchen. And that's where you will probably find me most of the year!
Feed A Cold
The Cold of 2017 is pretty much a thing of the past. More or less.
I'm feeling better, not quite the snot-factory I was, and only mildly sinus-headachy. Life is good and it's time to rejoin the land of the living.
One thing about feeling under the weather is I rarely lose my appetite. I'm lucky that way. Lord knows I wouldn't want to shed a pound or two whilst suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous head colds... Nope. I'll have another helping, thanks... and don't skimp on dessert.
Feeling better... I spent most of my not-feeling-well time in the kitchen, so there was no reason to change things, today...
Yesterday I made a few fruitcakes for Christmas. They went down to the basement, wrapped in cheesecloth and soaking in whiskey. They should be really good by December 25th!
Today was a simple one-pot chicken dinner.
Chicken thighs and orzo. Perfect combination and I didn't have to go to the store! The basic recipe comes from Bon Appetit.
Chicken and Orzo
adapted from Bon Appetit
- 6 chicken thighs
- salt & pepper
- 3 tbsp butter, divided
- 1 fennel bulb, chopped, plus fronds, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 8 ounces orzo
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
Preheat oven to 400°F. Sprinkle chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Place in oven-proof skillet and brown chicken on both sides.
Place in oven until cooked through - about 15 minutes.
Remove pan from oven, place chicken on a plate and set aside.
In same pan, add the chopped fennel and onion. Cook until both are wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the orzo and cook until the orzo begins to lightly brown - 3-5 minutes.
Add 1 cup white wine and stir up all the goodies (fond) in the pan. Keep stirring until most of the wine has been absorbed.
Add chicken broth a half-cup at a time, stirring in until almost absorbed. It's just like making risotto - only with pasta.
When the last broth is absorbed, stir in 1 tbsp butter, the reserved fronds, and the lemon juice.
Place orzo on plate, top with chicken thighs, and sprinkle with lemon zest.
It's the perfect one-pot meal - and it really only takes one pot!
Back to reality... planning the Halloween costume since I have to work, and starting to think about the Christmas decorations since we're going to have Christmas Dinner at our house this year. Can't wait!!
Yeah... I'm feeling better...