Chicken Thighs and Onions in Mustard-Tarragon Wine Sauce

Chicken thighs and red onions cooked in wine, mustard and tarragon. 

I made this for dinner on a Tuesday night, and it was exciting for two reasons--1. it was a new recipe, and came out excellently--certainly something I'll be making again and again2. it was the first night of the year warm enough to eat on the deck. In the summer, we eat dinner on the deck every night we eat at home. Eating outside made me want to move from ski season to gardening season (and especially gardening-and-not-working season). 

Anyway--this recipe was great. Very big flavors with the wine, mustard and tarragon--and very easy, too. Would have gone perfectly with just a baguette--next time I make it I'll bake some bread, too. This chicken, good bread, and a salad would be a completely perfect weeknight dinner. 

I originally found this recipe on the NYtimes website, where it called for shallots. I stopped at the grocery store by my school after work for ingredients--and at this store they don't carry overpriced white people ingredients like shallots, so I just used red onions. It was still fabulous. I would use them again next time, too.

OK it looks much prettier in the Times' picture.

Another thing--if you spend the money to buy one of those plastic packets of herbs, just go ahead and use ALL the tarragon. Put half in the sauce and sprinkle the other half on top when serving. It drives me nuts spending money on tiny amounts of herbs in plastic packages--another reason I'm excited for gardening season.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 bone-in chicken thighs
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 12 to 15 whole medium shallots, peeled
• 2 cups white wine
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 sprigs tarragon
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half.

PREPARATION

1.

Rinse chicken thighs in water, and pat them very dry with paper towels. Sprinkle over them the flour, salt and pepper.

2.

Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or skillet set over medium-high heat. When the butter foams, cook the chicken, in batches if necessary, until well browned and crisp on all sides. Set aside.

3.

Add the whole shallots to the pot and sauté them in the butter and chicken fat until they begin to soften and caramelize, approximately 10 to 12 minutes. Add the wine to deglaze the pot, stir with a large spoon, then add the mustard and tarragon, then the chicken thighs. Cover the pot, turn the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

4.

Remove the lid, and allow the sauce to reduce and thicken, 15 to 20 minutes.

5.

Add the cherry tomatoes to the pot, stir lightly to combine and serve immediately.

The whole dinner--enjoyed on the deck! Chicken, roast carrots, potato gratin. 

Enjoy!

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

Amazingly tender chicken covered in garlic sauce. 

This recipe was another one from my new Gourmet cookbook--I'd been thinking about it for awhile. It was first published in Gourmet in 1967, and has been sort of a retro classic in the US ever since. I modified the recipe slightly to make it easier (no bouquet garni, no browning the whole chicken ahead of time).

I'd never cooked a chicken this way--essentially a slow semi-braise of the whole bird on the bone, then quickly broiled right at the end for crisp skin and color.

As the name implies--there are literally 40 cloves of garlic in this recipe (or more, I never count things). Two or three large handfuls of whole garlic cloves. Yet it doesn't taste remotely sharp or garlicky--it's very mellow, balanced, silky and rich. 

The chicken cooks very slowly in a covered pot--the garlic mellows and softens and sweetens and cooks gently in the chicken fat. You essentially make an on-the-bone chicken confit and loads of garlic confit all together at once. 

The chicken could be carved off the bone with a spoon--it's insanely tender, with crisp golden skin. You smother the chicken with the rich, lovely, garlic gravy. This was a perfect, satisfying Sunday night dinner. I made some bread and salad to go with the chicken--totally perfect. 

Not to mention--the ingredients for this added up to about eight dollars (chicken was on sale) plus seven for the wine ( Yellowtail is fine with me). 

Lovely end to the weekend. 

Ingredients 

1 whole chicken

40 cloves of garlic (specifics are unimportant--a few handfuls of garlic cloves) 

2 springs of rosemary

1 lemon 

2 carrots

1 rib of celery

2 bay leaves 

1 cup white wine 

salt and pepper 

What to do 

Pat your chicken completely dry with paper towels. Sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper. Set aside. 

Place carrots, celery, one of the rosemary sprigs and 10 of the garlic cloves into the food processor and pulse into a coarse grind. 

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

This recipe calls for no chopping!

Then, place the chopped veggies into the bottom on your dutch oven or roasting pan. Add the bay leaves.

Stuff about ten garlic cloves into the chicken cavity. Cut a lemon in half--add the half lemon the the cavity, then truss the chicken (tie its legs together with kitchen twine). 

Full frontal chicken porn. 

Place the trussed chicken on the chopped veggies, and scatter the rest of the garlic cloves (leave them whole) and add the remaining rosemary sprig and half lemon. I also added the chicken neck to the pot for extra flavor.

Cover the pot and place into the 250 degree oven. Slowly bake, basting occasionally, for five hours. 

Carefully remove the chicken from the pot (it will be nearly falling apart) and place on a cookie sheet. Set aside.

Skim the fat off the liquid left in the pan. Use a potato masher to smash the garlic cloves. Add the cup of wine and reduce, whisking regularly, over high heat until the consistency of gravy. Taste for salt. 

Crank the heat up to 550. Put the chicken back into the over and roast until golden brown and crisp all over. 

Golden and falling off the bone. 

Pour the sauce over the whole chicken, and serve extra on the side. Carve the chicken, or just pull pieces straight off. 

This was delicious. I can't recommend it enough!

Enjoy

Massaman Chicken Curry

A bowl of sweet, creamy, spicy, peanut-studded, herb-topped perfection.

Sometimes, around Denver or in the ski towns, one sees restaurants advertising themselves as "Colorado Cuisine." Generally these fall into three categories.
1. 'Colorado-style' pizza. 
I'm from California, where there also exists a bullshit regional pizza style--'California pizza' sometimes has avocados and grilled chicken breast on it. Or pesto and shrimp.
So Californians have no legitimacy when criticizing another region's pizza. But I'll say it: California-style and Colorado-style pizza both suck. From what I can tell, Colorado pizza means it has a thick, bread-y crust and a soggy, saucy middle, and you're meant to pour honey over the leftover crust and eat it as dessert.
Not a fan.
2. Anything smothered in pork green chili.
I have no idea why all burritos purchased in this state come covered in gray-green, not-spicy, slightly viscous sauce. Why do you want your burrito soaking wet?
3. "Colorado Cuisine".
These restaurants tend to be more expensive. Usually this means there is Colorado lamb and trout on the menu, bison steaks, and various food that connotes the mountains, like juniper berries. These restaurants seem more like a gimmick---the flavors are more about the theory than the taste, and nobody eats this way at home. You see restaurants like this near the gondolas at Vail or Beaver Creek, catering to rich gapers from Dallas.

So as far as I'm concerned, there is no existing definition of Colorado cuisine worth respecting. Thus, I think I have as much claim as anyone to define it myself.

So, in my opinion, true Colorado cuisine must meet two criteria--
a. Something you'd want to eat in a blizzard. Warm, hearty comfort food.
b. Something you'd want to eat when you're really high

That's it!

A wide range of things would qualify---French-style wine-braised short ribs, chorizo black bean soup, shrimp etouffee over rice, etc. Something delicious, comforting, unpretentious. What you want to share with the people in your ski house and eat in your socks and thermals, while everyone is utterly and legally stoned.

Well, this massaman curry is a shining example of the genre. Very rich and sweet from the coconut milk, salty and funky with fish sauce, a slight burn from chilies. The sauce is studded with crunchy peanuts, and the potatoes soak up the sauce, becoming soft and lush and completely, totally delicious.

I got this recipe from BonAppetit, but altered it. My version is certain to be better--theirs, egregiously, omitted peanuts.

This is so, so fabulous.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
• Kosher salt
• 4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1½ lb.), cut into smallish pieces 
• 2 medium red onions, chopped into large pieces
• 4 large carrots, chopped
• ¾ cup Massaman Curry Paste (click for recipe)
• 12 oz. Belgian-style wheat beer
• 3 13.5-oz. cans unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or water)
• ½ cup fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoons palm or light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 hot chilies (I used thai chilies, but any kind is fine. Or you could use chili oil or chili powder)
• 3/4 cup whole unsalted roasted peanuts
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Cilantro, scallions, and cooked rice (for serving)

• Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and cook in batches until golden brown (do not turn), 8–10 minutes.
• Add onion, carrot, chilis, and potatoes to the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes (everything will simmer to doneness once the liquid has been added, so things don't need to be cooked through now)
• Add curry paste to pot and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add beer. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until reduced by half, 5–7 minutes. Add coconut milk, peanuts, and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until chicken is very tender and potatoes are cooked through, about 20 minutes.
• Remove from heat and mix in fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, and soy sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning. Top with cilantro and scallions. Serve with rice.

Oven "Fried" Chicken and Collard Greens

A crunchy, juicy oven-fried chicken thigh. 

I was surprised at how fantastically this recipe turned out--I've made fried chicken before (for a chicken-and-waffles party) but never baked "fried" chicken. I invented the recipe, basically just doing everything the same as I would for fired chicken but subbing baking for frying.
It was GREAT. The outside was crunchy and salty, the inside juicy and perfect. Plus, the recipe is really easy and far less messy than frying chicken on the stove.
To go with, I made collard greens--a delicious, super easy side that braises for the hour when the chicken's baking.

Oven "Fried" Chicken

Ingredients
6 chicken thighs (or a whole cut-up chicken). Make sure it's on the bone, with skin.
1 cup lowfat cultured buttermilk
5 cloves of garlic
juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
2 teaspoons of cajun seasoning (or just salt and pepper if you don't have it)
2 cups Panko bread crumbs
a little bit of olive oil for greasing the pan

What to do
Combine the buttermilk, garlic, lemon juice, paprika and cajun seasoning (or salt and pepper) in the blender. Blitz it up to combine.
Place the chicken thighs in a bowl and cover them with the buttermilk mixture. Allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes, or up to overnight.

Marinating chicken

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a baking pan or cookie sheet.
Pour the breadcrumbs into a bowl. Dredge each chicken thigh in the breadcrumbs, covering completely.
Place skin-side up on the greased baking sheet. I like to tuck the skin underneath, forming a little roll.

Before

Bake at 375 for about an hour--until skin looks golden brown and feels crisp when you poke it.

After

I like my fried chicken drizzled with hot sauce and honey.

Collard Greens

Ingredients 
2 bags of cut, cleaned collard greens (available by the bags of salad in all grocery stores)

I buy pre-cut bags like this 

4 strips of bacon

1 red onion, diced 

water

salt

1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar 

1/8 cup packed brown sugar

What to do 
Dice the bacon and add it to the bottom of a large pot with a lid. Fry the bacon until crispy. Add the diced onion and cook for a couple minutes in the bacon fat.
Add the greens and stir, coating the greens in the bacon fat. Cover the pot--the greens will reduce considerably.
Add about a quarter cup of water, a dash of salt, the vinegar and the sugar. Mix everything together.
Cover the pot and turn the heat to low. Cook gently for an hour.
Before serving, taste for salt and acid--add more salt / vinegar / sugar as needed.

Chicken and collard greens, with some leftover spicy corn relish. 

Enjoy!

Thai Wings

My absolute favorite thing to order in a restaurant is the Pad Thai Pig Ears from Euclid Hall in Denver. All the flavors of pad thai--but intensified. And instead of rice noodles--fried pig ears. Amazingly delicious and totally inappropriate--dirty food in the best way.
This recipe is my attempt to copy that dish--but cooking pig ears at home seems like a recipe for disaster. So I copied the sauce and used it for chicken wings.
These were phenomenal! Totally the best wings I've ever made.  I brought them to a co-worker's surprise bachelor party. I would serve them as hot as possible--mine got a bit soggy while we waited for him and his fiance to show up.

Thai Wings 

A dozen chicken wings (or more) 

1/2 cup of tamarind paste 

3 /4 cup water 

3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce 

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons brown sugar 

2 cloves of garlic 

2 tablespoons of chili-garlic paste (or any hot sauce--sriracha would be fine too) 

Garnishes 

chopped mint

chopped basil

chopped cilantro 

crushed peanuts 

(about half a cup of each) 

optional

lime wedges, chopped scallions, bean sprouts

Start by roasting the wings. Place them on a cookie sheet and roast on the oven's convection setting, at 400 degrees, for about 45 minutes, or until the skin is brown and crispy. 

While they're roasting, make the sauce. 

Place the tamarind paste in a small saucepan with the water and boil to soften up the tamarind. After simmering a bit, this should turn into mush. Smash with a fork or potato peeler to get it saucy.
When the tamarind is hot and liquefied, put it into a blender. Add the fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and chili-garlic paste. Blend!
When the wings are done, take them out and place them in a big bowl. Pour the sauce over them, and toss to coat.
Place on a plate and garnish with the chopped herbs and crushed peanuts.
Eat immediately!

I used tamarind paste that comes in a block. I bought it from the Asian grocery.

I made a small batch to test the recipe the night before the party. 

YUM.

Thai Chicken Soup

This recipe is an attempted copy of my favorite take-out soup of all time, the chicken-lemongrass soup from Swing Thai. My first year in Denver I ordered this at least three times a week (I hadn't adjusted to the winter yet, and really didn't want to leave my apartment. Once I ran out of dog food and ordered Consuela a "side of sliced beef" from Swing Thai to avoid walking to the liquor store for kibble.)
Swing Thai's soup is seriously the best Tom Kha I've ever tasted. I ordered bowls of it all over Bangkok a few years ago, and theirs was way better. I took a cooking class in Chang Mai where you learned the recipe--but it was nothing like Swing Thai's perfect, transcendent Tom Kha.

Cooking class, summer of 2009. I successfully unwound after my first year of charter-school teaching--but didn't find the secret to coconut soup.

So this recipe is a delicious, doable version--it doesn't have the same magic, but it's still incredibly good. Spicy, sweet, tangy, and rich. Loaded with crunchy veggies, soft chunks of chicken, fresh herbs. A really perfect dinner. I mean, how could any recipe with ginger, garlic, coconut milk and veggies be anything but fantasic?
I made a big pot tonight--Sunday--for dinner this week. I recommend making a LOT--you will want leftover, and if you're tackling a recipe with this many ingredients, one night of eating isn't a big enough pay off.

Soup over rice. 

This recipe makes a LARGE pot of soup--Serves 10, or 2 people all week. Use a large pot ( I used my 7.5 quart French oven)

Ingredients (in order of addition to the pot)

2 tablespoons olive oil (or any oil)
a 3-inch piece of ginger
2 shallots
5 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon Thai green curry pasty
2 tablespoons lemongrass paste
3 large chicken breasts, cut into half-inch chunks
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 32oz boxes of chicken stock (or homemade, if you have it---I was out. Must roast a chicken sometime soon. I also prefer the low-sodium)
2 cans of coconut milk (do NOT use "light"--if you're worried about fat, use just one can of regular)
2 red peppers, diced
3 jalapenos, diced (I left the seeds in, for heat. Either de-seed or omit jalapenos for a mild soup)
1 red onion, sliced into strips
2 handfuls of white mushrooms, cut in half
2 handfuls of snow peas, whole
1 bunch of cilantro
1 package of basil (gah it felt so sad buying basil--I miss the garden!) pick off the leaves and leave them whole
2 tablespoons fish sauce
soy sauce to taste
juice of 3 limes

(Whew! Lots of ingredients! But you won't have to cook again all week, and a delicious healthy-ish dinner will be ready to go. This could easily be made vegetarian by subbing tofu of a couple cans of chickpeas for the chicken--but I don't think you can omit the fish sauce--so this might only work for slacker / cheater vegetarians)

What to do
1. Start by making your flavor base. Put the shallots, ginger, garlic, curry paste, and lemongrass paste into a food processor. Blitz them into a smooth paste.

Before

After

I used my trusty tub of Mae Ploy. 2 lbs! Doubt I'll need to buy curry paste again in my 30's. 

Lemongrass paste.

2. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in the bottom of your pot. Fry the flavor base paste in the oil for a few minutes--this really brings out the flavors and fragrances. 

3. While the base is frying, cut up the chicken. Drizzle it with a few tablespoons of soy sauce (it just seems wrong to cook unsalted chicken). 

Raw chicken looks weird. 

3. Add the chicken to the pot and cook it with the flavor-paste, stirring regularly. 

4. Add both boxes of stock. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn the heat down. Leave for 15 minutes or so at a simmer. This will allow the chicken to cook through and for the garlic, ginger, shallot, and lemongrass to infuse the stock. 

5. While that's simmering, cut up your veggies--dice the peppers and jalapenos, slice the onions, halve the mushrooms. 

6. Open the pot. Add both cans of coconut milk and the veggies. You want the veggies to cook gently-poach--in the broth, so they retain flavor and crunch. Let the veggies bob around in the simmering broth for about 5 minutes, stirring. 

7. Turn the heat off. Add the fish sauce and lime juice. Taste--does it need more soy, lime, fish sauce? Season to taste.

8. Add the chopped cilantro and leaves of basil. 

9. Mix everything up. Serve over rice! I like mine with some extra chili-garlic paste, but that's because I love far more heat than the regular person. 

Finished!

This is a wonderful, perfect dinner.
Enjoy!

Chinese Chicken with Snow Peas and Broccoli

I adapted this recipe from an old copy of Everyday Food--the original recipe is for cashew chicken, but I couldn't find raw cashews at the grocery store, and I thought using the roasted salted ones would make it too salty. So, I just substituted veggies for the nuts and added a little more heat.
This was a great weeknight dinner: quick and easy to make, healthy, cheap. Three pounds of chicken thighs were only $6.50 and a head of broccoli was $1.I bought garlic, chicken broth and ginger but had more of the other ingredients on hand--soy sauce, sherry, hoisin sauce, cornstarch, and chili-garlic paste.
This was yummy. Next time I'll use zucchini, since the garden is producing an insane amount of it.
I made enough to last for a few dinners--halve the recipe if you only want a dinner for two out of it.

Ingredients
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch cubes
1.5 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
5 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
a 2 inch chunk of ginger, minced or grated
2 tablespoons sherry or Chinese cooking wine
1 can on chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce (or more, according to taste)
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon chili-garlic paste or Sriraccha
2 cups of snow peas
2 cups of broccoli ( 1 crown) chopped or broken into florets

What to do

Grate the ginger and garlic and chop the chicken.

Chopped chicken, grated ginger and garlic. 

Heat up the sesame oil and olive oil in a deep saucepan. Sprinkle the cornstarch over the chopped chicken. When the oil is shimmering hot, add the chicken and brown thoroughly. You will need to mix it around every few minutes. This will take about 10-15 minutes.

Chicken being browned in sesame oil. 

Then, when the chicken in browned all over, toss the grated ginger and garlic in and mix it around, cooking it a bit in the oil. Cook the ginger and garlic for about two minutes.
Pour in the chicken broth, sherry, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and chili-garlic paste. Mix, scraping the bottom on the pan to get up any bits that stuck while you were browning the chicken. Bring to a simmer then cover the pan. Simmer for 10 minutes to get the sauce thick, "melded", and infusing the chicken.

At this point, you can finish the recipe, or you can wait. The previous steps can be prepared ahead of time if that suits your schedule. Just turn the heat off and leave the chicken soaking in the sauce until right before you're ready to eat.
Right before you're ready to serve, turn the heat back up to high. Toss in the snow peas and broccoli and cover the pot. Allow the veggies to cook in the steam from the sauce for about 3 minutes. You want them to stay fresh-tasting and crisp, so don't overcook.
Open the pot and mix everything together.
Serve over rice.

Messy and yummy. 

I of course drowned mine in extra Sriracha.

This was a great, budget-friendly week-night meal. I will be making it over and over.
Enjoy!

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken tikka is warming, spicy, complex, and totally delicious.

I have always loved Indian food, and Chicken Tikka Masala was the first Indian dish I learned to cook at home. It is easy and fabulous. I originally got my recipe from the Pioneer Woman, but I've messed with it over time. This is a recipe I've made so many times I have it memorized. 

I made this for Bachelor Night--a tradition at my house. Turns out a lot of the teachers at my school have my same appalling taste in television--and also love drinking cheap wine and eating good food in the middle of the week. Our Tuesday night gatherings are a great excuse for me to cook for a crowd. 

Because I have so much free time--it being summer and all--I made an Indian feast! Chicken tikka, veggie masala, homemade garlic naan, and raita to cool the spice. Yum.

Here is the recipe. It's PW's, with my alterations: 

Ingredients

• 3 whole (to 4) Chicken Breasts or thigh (any boneless, skinless chicken is fine)
•  Kosher Salt
•  Ground Coriander
•  Cumin Powder
• 1 cup Plain Yogurt
• 6 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 large yellow onions
• 8 cloves Garlic
• 1 chubby 4-inch piece of ginger
•  Garam Masala spice powder (usually available at regular grocery stores)
• 1 large can (28 Ounce) Diced Tomatoes
• 1 jalapeno or other spicy element (like cayenne or red pepper flakes)

•  Sugar
• 1-1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• Cilantro
•  

What to Do:

Start by seasoning the chicken breasts with some kosher salt. Next sprinkle them on both sides with some coriander and cumin. Then coat the chicken breasts completely with the plain yogurt. Set the chicken on a metal cooling rack over a foil-lined baking sheet and place it about 10-12 inches below a broiler for 5-7 minutes per side. Watch carefully so as not to totally char the chicken. It should have slightly blackened edges. Remove from oven and set aside.

Next dice  the two  large onions. In a large skillet melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Toss in the onions and sauté until they are slightly browned, about 6 mines. As the onions cook, mince your garlic. Next, cut off the outer skin and mince or grate the big hunk of fresh ginger. Add the garlic and ginger to the onions. Also throw in about 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook for about 3 minutes.

Next you are going to add about 4 tablespoons Garam Masala spice. And if you like it hot, this is also when you will add your spicy element--jalapeno or chiles. If you don't want spice, just omit these. Let the spices cook in the butter for a few minutes, stirring constantly. 

Now add your can of diced tomatoes. Continue cooking and stirring, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Add about 1 tablespoon sugar. Let this mixture simmer on medium for about 5 minutes.

After the Tikka Masala sauce has had a chance to simmer for a little bit, add in the 1 ½ cups of heavy cream. Now, chop up your chicken breasts into chunks and stir them into the Tikka Masala sauce. A handful of chopped fresh cilantro is a nice addition if you like cilantro. 

Serve with naan or rice!

Note: make "Indian" rice by adding a few dashes of tumeric and a cup of frozen peas, then cooking rice as normal. 

Ingredients for the yogurt-marinated roast chicken.

Chicken before roasting. 

Roasted chicken. The yogurt gives it fantastic flavor. 

Finished Tikka! 

The whole meal: homemade garlic naan, cucumber-mint raita, chicken tikka masala, and fiery vegetable masala. Doesn't this make you want to drink boxed wine and watch bad TV? 

My plate. And a jealous chihuahua photo bomb!