Recipe #315: Chicken Mole

Chocolate? Cinnamon?  Cloves?  Raisins?  With chicken and tomatoes and onions?  YES.  Trust me.  It's WONDERFUL!  Allrecipes.com again for this winner.  I didn't have sesame seeds, unfortunately.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 (3 pound) chicken, cut into pieces 1 bay leaf 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes 2 teaspoons brown sugar 1 cup chicken broth 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1/4 cup raisins 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken pieces in the hot oil until golden brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Reduce heat to medium, and stir in the bay leaf, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, cloves, and cinnamon until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes.

2.

Stir in the tomatoes, brown sugar, and chicken broth, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once simmering, stir in the chocolate chips until melted, then return the chicken pieces to the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken is tender and no longer pink at the bone, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the raisins, and cook 3 minutes longer. Sprinkle with sesame seeds to serve.

Recipe #314: Braised Chicken and Brussels Sprouts

This is definitely going into my regular rotation.  It's is a Martha Stewart recipe that I modified based on what I already had in the kitchen, and I love how it turned out- I would keep my version of the recipe for next time.  Feeds two and is an easy but delicious one-pot meal.  I made this in my French pot, my favorite cooking tool in the kitchen!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), cut into 10 pieces  (I used four bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
• 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced  (I used a bunch of minced garlic)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard  (I used whole grain mustard that I bought in Paris!)
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large ovenproof skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In batches, cook chicken until browned, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, then add brussels sprouts and shallots to pan. Saute until golden brown, 3 minutes. Stir in mustard and cook 1 minute. Add vinegar and broth, return chicken to pan, and bring to a rapid simmer.
2. Transfer pan to oven and braise until chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Add cream to pan and swirl to combine; season with salt and pepper.  (I removed the chicken before adding the cream, and then spooned it over top once plated.)

Recipe #296: Crispy Braised Duck Legs

After five days in Paris, eating their delicious food, I couldn't come home and make something mediocre!  Here is a great recipe for super tender, flavorful duck legs.  I made a special trip to West Side Market to get these delicious things.  You could sub out chicken legs for this if you can't find duck- just adjust cooking times as needed.

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 duck legs
• 1 14.5 ounce can of organic diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped into 1/2” dice
• 2 carrots, sliced in 1/2” rounds
• 1 celery stalk ,cut into 1/2” pieces
• 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 large sprigs of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 2/3 cup dry vermouth or white wine
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Trim excess fat from the legs, being careful to not pierce the skin.  Salt and pepper both sides.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large dutch oven/French pot, brown duck legs in a single layer, skin side down 7 minutes, then flip and brown another 2-3 minutes until all legs are done.  Set aside.  I browned it in butter and reserved duck fat from a previous meal.

Pour out most of the grease, then add oil and butter if desired.  Salt and pepper and then brown the garlic, carrots, celery, garlic, and thyme for 6 minutes.  Add wine and reduce by half.  Add broth and reduce by half.  Add the tomatoes and heat through.  Layer the duck, skin side up on top of the mixture and nestle in the bay leaves.  Cover and put in the oven for 2 hours.

Recipe #290: Braised Chicken with Kale

Finally, a new recipe made recently (tonight!)  I went to the store with no clue what I'd like to make, and I just bought a few things that grabbed my attention- whole chicken legs (thigh and drumstick) and kale.  I went online to find a recipe and this one was PERFECT!  I had everything on hand, plus my new purchases, and it turned out delicious.  The chicken is very moist and the kale still maintains a good texture despite all of the cooking.  This is from Cooking Light's website.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided  (next time, I'm using all butter- I set off my smoke alarm!)
• 4 chicken leg quarters, skinned  (I didn't notice the skinned part and left that on)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1.1 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/4 cup)
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 (16-ounce) package cut prewashed kale (I used two whole heads of kale)
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained (I used unflavored)
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth (I used mostly Chardonnay)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Directions:

1. 1. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. 2. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons canola oil. Sprinkle the chicken with black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place flour in a dish, and dredge chicken. Place 2 leg quarters in pan, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure with 2 teaspoons oil and remaining 2 leg quarters. Remove from pan.
3. 3. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add garlic; cook for 20 seconds. Add half of kale; cook for 2 minutes. Add remaining half of kale; cook 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Return chicken to pan. Cover and bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove chicken from pan; stir in vinegar. Serve chicken over kale mixture.

Recipe #283: Carbonnades À La Flamande (Beef and Onions Braised in Beer)

After several weeks of travel and then time spent catching up with friends after, I finally had time to cook again!  Back to my dear Julia Child and her Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  This one is found on page 317 of volume one.  The meat is so tender and the sauce is savory and sweet.  I think the leftovers are even going to be amazing.

Mmmmm... This would be good with mashed potatoes too.

Browning the beef

Cute little herb bouquet (parsley, thyme, bay leaf)

Ready for the oven

2.5 hours later... the house smells so good...

Recipe #264: Boeuf À La Mode (with Carottes Étuvées Au Beurre and Oignons Glacés À Brun) (Child)

A new Julia recipe!  Basically it's like pot roast, but more fun to make!  Here's where I found the recipes in the book:

Boeuf À La Mode- page 309 of Volume I
Carottes Étuvées Au Beurre- page 477 of Volume I
Oignons Glacés À Brun- page 483 of Volume I

What does this translate to?

Beef braised in red wine
Carrots braised in butter
Brown braised onions

I served this with rice so something could catch the extra gravy.  Delish!  I was getting nervous about the roast finally breaking down and becoming tender, but it did happen.  I roasted it for a little over 3 hours.

In the marinade

After marinating, ready for browning

Browned, ready for braising liquid

All ready for roasting

Carrots after braising

Roast, completed

Serving dish

Plated

Recipe #246: Braised Lamb Shoulder

The little grocery store at the end of my street doesn't often carry lamb, and I have to make special trips to bigger stores to get it when I want it.  Luckily, though, when I was there earlier this week, they had cuts of lamb shoulder, which I gleefully bought with no recipe in mind.  I did a little research and found this recipe on a new (to me) site, amateurgormet.com.  It looked delicious, but I was honestly blown away by how good this turned out.  Moist meat, really hearty sauce, served over some leftover rice I already had.  This would be great with stew meat or cut up lamb, too.  I changed the recipe just a little bit.  I'm going to have to check out that website more often....  Ingredients are approximate/what I used/adaptable due to the style of her site.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cuts lamb shoulder steaks
1 carrot, chopped fine
2 small ribs celery, chopped fine
1/2 red onion, chopped fine
Small handful of fresh parsley, minced
Tablespoon minced garlic
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Can of peeled plum tomatoes
1 cup white wine (or, in my case, a mix of chicken broth and red wine)

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oil in a pot that will give you some good browning (meaning, NOT a non-stick).  Pat lamb steaks dry and season with salt and pepper.  Brown both sides in the pan, then move to a plate.  Into the pan, put carrot, celery, onion, parsley, and garlic.  Saute until lightly browned, bringing up the browned bits from the lamb.  Add the broth or wine and reduce until almost gone.  Add the tomatoes and sauce they are in, and then the lamb, and cover the lamb with the sauce.  Cover the pot and reduce to a simmer and cook until lamb is tender, about an hour.  Serve over rice, potatoes, or pasta.

Browned lamb

Cooking veggies