French Chicken in a pot with Druken Au Jus

Are you ready? We're going on a recipe streak. I have several pictures of meals on my memory card. Because of our upcoming vacation, the card has gotta be emptied and I'd rather put the food pics straight to my blog. They're the biggest reason I take them in the first place! And Chad seems to like making fun of me ;)

So our first recipe is a French Chicken. Again this is from Rachael Ray's 5 in a day show. But instead of this being a make ahead meal, this is the reward for your day of cooking. The chicken was delish. I altered her potato recipe a little. I didn't use the cambert cheese, just butter and milk. I did use the turnip though. I gave the potatoes a nice flavor, but not too noticable. Also a great texture. The green beans I simply put in boiling water just short of being done, strained then sauteed with butter, salt and pepper very quickly.

Ingredients

1 (4-pound) whole chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 rib celery and green tops, chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
1 head garlic, cloves peeled and sliced
2 small sprigs fresh rosemary
1 large fresh bay leaf
2 pounds starchy potatoes, peeled and chunked
1 medium turnip, trimmed and chunked or 2 parsnips, peeled and sliced
1 cup milk or chicken stock, warmed
10 to 12 ounces ripe Camembert or 1 small individual wheel
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 bottle dry white wine (about 1 cup)
Juice of 1 lemon


Directions

Remove the giblets, then wash and dry the chicken. Tuck the wings back and underneath the backbone until they stay in place. Season liberally with kosher salt or sea salt and lots of black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat.

Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to the hot pot and brown the chicken breast-side down first, turn using a wooden spoon or closed tongs placed in cavity.

Once the bird has browned on both sides, remove the chicken to a plate and add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary, bay leaf, salt, and pepper, and cover the pan. Sweat the vegetables to make a little pan juice, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place the bird atop the vegetables and cover the pot. Transfer to the oven with the rack at the oven bottom, and roast about 1 1/2 hours, until a thermometer reads a minimum of 165 degrees F at the thickest part of the bird.

About 15 to 20 minutes before the chicken comes out of the oven, place the potatoes and turnips in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, and cook to tender. Drain, and mash with milk, and ripe camembert cheese. Season the potatoes with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, to taste. Cover and turn off the heat to keep potatoes warm.

Place the chicken on a carving board and cover with foil.

In a large pot, bring a few inches of water to a boil for the green beans. Salt the water, and boil the beans 5 to 6 minutes for tender-crisp. Drain and dress with butter.

Pour the pan juices and scrape the solids through a strainer into a bowl and return the pan to stovetop over medium heat. Press down on straining solids to collect all of the pan juices. Add the wine to the hot pan, and scrape up the drippings. Pour in the juices and reduce over a rapid simmer for about 10 minutes to concentrate the flavors. Add the lemon juice and turn off the heat. Transfer to a gravy boat or serving dish.

Carve the chicken and serve with pan juices, potatoes, and beans.

Easter Egg Hunt Playgroup

Thanks to a wonderful group of mommies, Keegan and Reece were able to practice their egg hunting skills last weekend. They had a great time. And Keegan is now obsessed with eggs. I can't wait to give them their Easter basket. And the hunt is going to be tons of fun!

Make Ahead Meal - Brisket with Sage Polenta

Mmmmm  Brisket. Brisket is a great meat for a Make Ahead Meal. This five pound brisket actually made several meals outside of the recipe. The leftovers were used to make shredded beef with mashed potatoes and gravy, and also shredded beef tacos. Chad even got some lunches out of it too. LOTS of meat. And if you get a good price on the brisket, you can't beat the deal.

Ingredients


1 (5 to 5 1/2 pounds) lean beef brisket
Sea or kosher salt and coarse black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium onions, halved and sliced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
4 fresh bay leaves
A couple pinches ground cloves or allspice
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
2 cup chicken or beef stock
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
16 oz precooked Polenta tube
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1 pound sliced mixed mushrooms
8 to 10 leaves fresh sage, very thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chicken stock plus 1 cup whole milk or 3 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter, optional
1 cup watercress or upland cress, arugula or fresh flat-leaf parsley tops, for garnish, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Season the meat liberally with salt and pepper. Add a couple of tablespoons olive oil to a large Dutch oven, a couple of turns of the pan, and heat over medium-high heat. Add the meat and brown all over, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the meat from the pan and drain off meat fat if any accumulates. Add another turn or 2 of the pan with extra-virgin olive oil. Add onions, garlic, bay and season with salt and pepper, cook to tender 8 to 10 minutes, add in a few pinches cloves and stir in the tomato paste 1 minute. Next stir in the wine and deglaze the pan, then add the stock and canned diced tomatoes and stir to combine. Settle the meat back into the pot and cover. Bake 1 1/2 hours, then uncover and bake 1 hour to reduce the liquids, then place the cover back on and cook until very tender, 1 1/2 hours more.

Remove the brisket to the carving board and cover with foil to keep warm.

Reduce the sauce a few minutes, simmering gently, uncovered to thicken a bit.

Heat 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat and add garlic and mushrooms, cooking until very tender, season with salt and pepper and stir in sage. Bring the stock-milk mixture to a boil in a saucepot and add the polenta. Whisk the polenta 2 to 3 minutes until it pulls away from the side of the pot. Add the butter, if using and fold in mushrooms.

Slice the brisket and serve with sauce over polenta with mushrooms. Cool half of the brisket and store for later in the week. Scatter a few bitter greens over the top for an optional garnish.

The backscratch

Everyone loves a good back scratch. But more than likely no one loves it more than Reece. Whatever he is in the middle of the world stops for the back scratch. We have employed this tool to our advantage. Best way to get Reece to calm down when he's upset - Back Scratch. Best way to get Reece to fall asleep - Back Scratch. Any place, any time. Reece loves him some back scratch. One of these days his foot is gonna start bouncing.

Chicken Egg Noodle Casserole

About three times a week, Chad has to work late. So I am in charge of trying to make dinner and keep two boys from killing themselves. Not the easiest task, especially when you're stuck in the kitchen for long periods of time. You're forced to choose between  burning dinner and keeping peace. What ends up happening is screaming "LEAVE YOUR BROTHER ALONE" from the kitchen several times. Much to stressful.

Then last weekend, while sorting laundry, I had turned the Food Network on. Rachael Ray came on and I usually don't like watching her shows but this one had a good idea. Make dinner for five nights in one day of cooking. This was my AHA moment. I could spent half a day at the begining of the week making meals that essentially just had to be thrown in the oven or reheated. TAA DAA!!! Yummy dinners and less stressful evenings!!

Week one went wonderfully. This Make Ahead Meal (MAM) was Chicken Egg Noddle Casserole. I think when I make this again, I will add more salt and make more sauce. But the result was very yummy!

This made enough for all four of us to eat and some leftovers for lunch later.

Ingredients


1 small head broccoli, trimmed and cut into small, thin stalks and florets
Salt
2 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast, fat removed
1 medium onion
2 fresh bay leaves
1 pound extra-wide egg noodles
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons butter
2 rounded tablespoons flour
2 cups whole milk
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
A few sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped
2 egg yolks
1 cup white or whole wheat panko (Japanese) bread crumbs
1 cup shredded mozarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
A handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped


Directions

Place a large pot of water on to boil. Salt the water and cook the broccolini until tender. Remove to a plate. (do not discard water) When the broccoli is cool enough to handle chop it into bite-size pieces.

Place the chicken in a few inches of the water with a peeled quartered onion and a couple of bay leaves. Bring the water to a low boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and gently poach the chicken 10 to 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the extra-virgin olive oil in skillet over medium heat and saute the onions and garlic until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the broccoli to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat off pan.

While the onions cook, heat the butter in a medium saucepot over medium heat, whisk in flour 1 minute then whisk in the milk and season with salt, pepper, freshly grated nutmeg, and thyme. Thicken 5 minutes then whisk in a little of the sauce to the egg yolks to combine, then add the egg yolks back to the sauce and whisk to combine, turn heat down to the lowest setting.

Cook's Note: If sauce becomes too thick, add a splash of chicken poaching liquid and turn off the heat.

Shred the poached chicken with forks or dice poached chicken into small, bite-size pieces.

Preheat broiler.

To the large pot of boiling water, add the egg noodles. Cook the noodles according to package directions for al dente. Drain the noodles very well and add them back to the hot pot. Stir in the broccoli, chicken, and sauce, and then transfer to a casserole dish. Place the casserole in the middle of the oven and broil 3 to 5 minutes until bubbly and brown. Cool and store for make-ahead meal.



To serve the casserole, heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Mix together the panko, Gruyere, Parm, and parsley. Place the casserole on a baking sheet in upper half of the oven and bake 30 minutes, add the topping and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, or until brown and crispy on top.

The First Project

Well he's got all the tools, so he's gotta use right. We found a kit at Lowe's to build a bird house. This should work out perfect. We have a great tree in the backyard that we can hang it from.  Of course, Dad (and a little bit of Mom) had to help him along but Keegan really enjoyed building his bird house. We've got it all built, now we just need to paint it. That's a other project, and mess, for another day. It would also help if I could remember to buy birdseed one of these days :D

Better than Boxed BROWNIES



I tried these brownies a few years ago and have been making them regularly ever since.  It takes just a few extra minutes versus a boxed brownies but the results are fantastic. The recipe includes a frosting/glaze that you spread on while the brownies are still warm. The brownies become these ooey gooey mound of Delicious chocolate. Try it out and it will be your new favorite recipe!

Ingredients

Batter
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Frosting

3 tablespoons butter, softened
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.

In the microwave, melt 1/2 cup butter. Stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.

To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Frost brownies while they are still warm.