November 13, 2004
Kitchen Adventures
I just got back from dinner at my sis's. 
Nothing special about that, except that I cooked almost everything we had to eat :) I made the main dish the night before and kept it overnight to let the flavours develop. And yes, I jogged home to try and work off some of the dinner. It took me 21 minutes to run 2.9km and I shaved about a minute off my previous time. Still slow but hey, I'm improving at least!
The menu
Starter: Buttered Baby Carrots and Broccoli with Toasted Almond Flakes (own recipe)
Main: Coq au Riesling from the NYTimes
Dessert: Madelienes with Ice Cream (courtesy of Delifrance and Ben & Jerry's)
I felt the vegetables were pretty good, but they could have done with a tad more butter. The toasted almond flakes provided some crunch to the dish. (Good idea June!)
The main dish was quite yummy, but I would have preferred it to be of a thicker consistency; the end result was more watery than I anticipated. If I do make this dish again I would probably thicken it a little. Also, to save an extra step I may decide to just add vegetables into the chicken the next time.
Another tip: when browning meat, gloves are pretty handy to have around. As I was browning the chicken, the oil kept spattering onto my hands, making me yelp everytime it happened. I didn't think to put on the gloves (and my sister didn't remind me either) until I was browning the last batch...
Recipes are included below. Sadly, we forgot to take photos of the meal before we sat down to eat. It was only when we were cleaning up that I realised... I hope that in itself is a testament to the success of the recipe! All in all, I'd probably make this again.
Recipes:
Buttered Baby Carrots and Broccoli with Toasted Almond Flakes
Time: 20 minutes
1 packet baby carrots
1 head of broccoli, cut into bitesize chunks
50 g almond flakes, toasted
Small amount of chicken stock or white wine (I'd say about 200 ml)
50 g butter, cut into pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat oven to 150C. Blanch the baby carrots and broccoli pieces in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a cooking pan, add in the chicken stock or white wine. Add in butter, salt and pepper to taste. Toss the vegetables in the mixture. Cover the cooking pan with aluminium foil and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven, scatter on almond flakes.
As with homegrown recipes, you can adjust the proportions to your own desires. I'd go with adding a bit more butter before serving, to give some taste and sheen to the vegetables.
Coq au Riesling - serves 4 to 6 (taken from the NYTimes)
Time: 1 1/2 hours plus overnight refrigeration (optional)
8 ounces sliced bacon, sliced crosswise into 1-inch pieces
3 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
10 chicken thighs, with skin and bone (breast meat not recommended as it will be too dry)
8 ounces button mushrooms, halved
2 large or 3 small cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley (2 packets from Cold Storage is enough)
3 tablespoons chopped tarragon (1 packet)
1 bottle dry or off-dry riesling wine (I used Jacob's Creek)
1. Place large flameproof casserole or other heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add bacon, and stir until it begins to release its fat. Add onions and sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer mixture
to plate, leaving behind as much liquid fat as possible.
2. Place pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches (do not overcrowd pan), brown chicken pieces on both sides, transferring them to a plate after they are browned.
I found that extra oil was needed for this step as there was not much fat left in the pan after Step 1.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add mushrooms, garlic, 3 tablespoons of parsley and 2 tablespoons of tarragon. Sauté until mushrooms are coated in fat, about 1 minute. Return chicken pieces, onions and bacon to pan. Add wine, and raise heat to bring to a boil. Partially cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour.
Another option is to bake in the oven at 175C for about 1 1/2 hours. After taking it out, taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary.
4. To serve immediately, sprinkle with remaining parsley and tarragon. For best results, cool, and refrigerate overnight. The next day remove any chilled fat on surface with paper towels. Reheat gently, sprinkle with parsley and tarragon, and serve.
Posted by scrabbyfoo at November 13, 2004 11:48 PM