Tonight's dinner was another rousing success. The children were even asking for seconds. The chicken recipe is from "The New Best Recipe" cookbook from the folks at Cook's Illustrated magazine. Everything we've made from that cookbook has been very good.
Pan Roast Chicken w/ Shallot-Sherry Pan Sauce
- Cut up whole chicken into thighs, legs, breasts. Cut each breast in half. You'll have 8 pieces
- Brine chicken in 1 quart of water and 1/2 cup of salt for 30 minutes
- Pat chicken dry with a paper towel
- Heat oven to 450
- Heat oil in 12 inch oven safe skillet (NOT non-stick) on the stove
- Cook all chicken pieces skin side down for 5 minutes
- Flip chicken and cook on other side for 4 minutes
- Flip chicken again to skin side and down and put in oven for about 10 minutes
- Take out of oven and put chicken on a platter to rest
For the Pan Sauce
- Pour off fat from the pan (be careful, that pan handle will be smokin' hot)
- Sautee one shallot that has been finely diced
- Deglaze pan with 3/4 cup chicken stock and 1/2 cup sherry
- Throw two rosemary sprigs in the pan
- Bring sauce to simmer and reduce, about six minutes
- Pour collected chicken juice in to the sauce
- Add 3 tbsp of cold butter (one tbsp at a time) to the sauce
- Remove rosemary sprigs
- Add chicken to the sauce to reheat (about one minute)
- Serve chicken with sauce over the top or on the side. The sauce is very strong, so a little goes a long way
Mashed Taters with Asiago Cheese
- Make mashed taters Eva style (lots of butter and cream)
- Add grated Asiago cheese
Roast Brussells Sprouts w/ Walnuts (Matt's creation)
- Quarter the Brussells sprouts
- Rough chop some walnuts
- Toss sprouts and walnuts to coat with olive oil, the juice of half a lemon and salt
- Put on baking sheet
- Put in same 450 degree oven as the chicken
- Cook until sprouts are nicely dark and cooked through
- Sprinkle with juice from other half of the lemon.
Cooking the chicken this way honestly made for the juiciest tastiest chicken I haver ever had. Coupled with the pan sauce, it was ridiculous. I think Jack would have eaten the whole bird if we let him. Once again, the only canned item was the chicken stock.
Mattie, I'd like you to come back home now that you're all growed up and can cook. Who'dda thought - roasted brussels sprouts with walnuts from the guy who gagged over green beans and worried a poor little carrot until it flopped around like a noodle.
ReplyDeleteGreen beans are still gross.
ReplyDeleteYeah, well I ate a bite of hamburger with a little mustard on it and didn't throw up. I am making progress, granted after the bite I wretched and wretched and wretched while shaking pepper on my tounge. But I did not puke.
ReplyDeleteMustard is also gross.
ReplyDelete