Chicken Rosé & Basil Smashed Potatoes

Rather than use this space to discuss the finer points of the flavors in this dish*, I'm going to use it to rant about my food annoyance du jour (because it's my blog, dammit): FROZEN MEALS.


I realize I'm probably preaching to the converted; if you're reading a cooking blog, you're probably not the type to throw a Lean Cuisine in the microwave and call it dinner. (Clearly, that logic isn't going to stop me.) My deep-seated loathing of frozen meals started at work. Day after day, I queue up outside one of our 2 office microwaves...and wait. And wait. And wait, while some of my illustrious coworkers heat their Healthy Choice ("healthy" choice) fettuccine alfredos ("fettucine alfredos") for upwards of 6 minutes per meal. SIX. MINUTES. When you're starving, have 15 minutes to eat between meetings, and have been thinking about your, say, leftover Chicken Rosé since 9:00 a.m., six minutes might as well be the Mesozoic Era.


I bet you thought I was going to rave about their staggering list of ingredients, their extreme over-processed-ness, and/or their general lack of nutrition. Nope. That all goes without saying. I have more faith in the American consumer (especially the fine folks of my ad agency) than to think that they actually believe that fettuccine alfredo created months ago, shuttled from warehouse to truck to warehouse to frozen food case, then reheated in a plastic container could be healthy, let alone truly satisfying. My biggest issue with those Lean Healthy Cuisine Choice meals is that they're masquerading as real meal in the first place: clocking in, on average, at around 250 calories, there is no way they could legitimately fill up an adult human being. And when you're not satisfied at lunch, the stale bagels from this morning's meeting start to not look so bad, after all.


You've probably stopped reading by now, but if you haven't - I salute you. And I apologize for surrounding these delicious looking photos with my blatant high horsery. In conclusion, I hope you make this for dinner tomorrow, and pack the leftovers for Thursday's lunch. And I really, really hope you don't get stuck behind a Stouffer's single-serve Mac 'n' Cheese.

*I couldn't completely ignore the dish at hand. This was mega delish! I named it Chicken Rosé because I used up some leftover red and white wine. If you're not a boozehound like me, feel free to pick one or the other, although I'd lean toward red to maintain the rich, coq au vin-esque flavors of the original. The sour cream was a downright naughty addition, but boy did it make for a silky, tangy sauce. The smashed potatoes offered a nice textural contrast and a pleasant brightness from the basil, although if you really wanted to knock someone's socks off, a traditionally made creamy, smooth mashed potato would be elegant and incredibly tasty. I hope you love it as much as I did!

INGREDIENTS

1-2 T. olive oil
6-7 chicken drumsticks, skin removed
salt and pepper
3 T. butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 lg. container button mushrooms
1 lg. container baby bella mushrooms
~1/2 cup red wine
2-3 T. balsamic vinegar
2 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves, minced
handful chopped fresh parsley
~1/2 cup white wine
~1/2 cup chicken broth
~1/3 cup light sour cream

8-10 small, thin-skinned potatoes (like baby Yukon Gold)
2 T. butter
salt and pepper
~1/3 cup milk
~1/3 cup chicken broth
2 T. chopped fresh basil

frozen peas
salt and pepper

STEP 1:
Heat a Dutch oven or big pot over medium high heat. Add the olive oil, and brown the chicken (in 2 batches if neccessary), seasoning with salt and pepper. Turn chicken and brown on the other side. Remove and set aside on a platter.

STEP 2:
Reduce the heat a bit, add butter to the pan, let melt a bit, then add the onion and mushrooms. Cook, stirring, for a couple minutes. Then add the red wine and balsamic vinegar. Boil uncovered for about 10 minutes, until the mixture gets a little dry (the liquid should reduce by about half).

STEP 3:
Return the chicken to the pot. Add all the rest of the chicken ingredients except the sour cream. The liquid should just barely cover the chicken (with maybe a few little pieces sticking above the liquid line). Cook on medium high (it should be boiling), uncovered, for about 15 minutes.

STEP 4:
Once again remove the chicken from the liquid and set aside on a plate. Continue to cook the liquid until it's reduced by about half. Turn the heat down to medium and stir in the sour cream. Continue to cook until the mixture has thickened to a gravy-like consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings. Return the chicken to the pot, cover, and keep warm on low until ready to serve.

STEP 5:
Meanwhile, boil the potatoes until very tender. Drain. Return the cooking pot to the burner, and reduce heat to low. Add butter to the pot and let melt a bit. Return potatoes to the pot while still very hot, and begin to smash with a masher or the back of a wooden spoon (you want a chunky consistency, not creamy smoothness). Add the basil, milk, chicken broth, and salt and pepper.

STEP 6:
Cook your peas in a little water until hot. Drain, return to pot, and season. Scoop some smashed potatoes onto each plate and top with 2-3 chicken drumsticks as well as some mushroom "gravy." Serve peas alongside. Enjoy!

Braised Thai Drumsticks

Chicken Drumsticks: A Haiku

Tender and juicy
So very affordable
Always overlooked


People turn up their noses at dark meat - especially when it's still on the bone. But most of what you're paying for when you shell out $9 for three boneless, skinless, chicken breasts is the labor of the bone and skin removal. And I think dark meat is just so much more flavorful! To be sure, not everyone agrees, but for those of you who appreciate dark meat in all its succulent glory, cooking with chicken drumsticks is a great way to stretch your dinner dollar at the, ahem, end of the month.


I got 6 organic, free range chicken drumsticks for about $2.75 at Trader Joe's, and this meal all in all (counting the meatless leftovers I packed for my lunch tomorrow) made about 4 servings. Drumsticks, besides being an economical choice, are also perfect for a quick braise. When you braise them (as opposed to, say, frying them), you can always be sure they'll be fully cooked - if you've ever bitten into a drumstick that's been fried golden brown on the outside but is raw on the inside, you can understand my paranoia.


The easy, yet exotic, flavors of this easy intro-to-Thai braise might just make you white-meat-only people out there reconsider your poultry preferences. And if you just can't walk away from your precious breast meat, be my guest - chicken breasts would work great in this dish too. So screw takeout! Make a fantastic Thai-inspired dish at home. You can do it :-)

INGREDIENTS

6 chicken drumsticks, skin removed
2-3 T. grapeseed or vegetable oil
1 red bell pepper, in chunks
1/2 large white onion, in chunks
2 large Roma tomatoes, in chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 serrano pepper with all seeds (optional)
1/2 c. chicken broth
pinch of salt
1 head broccoli, in florets
2 T. Sriracha hot sauce (or less, to taste)
2 heaping T. natural (unsweetened) peanut butter
1 T. honey
2 heaping T. brown sugar
juice of one lime
big pinch of salt
1 can light coconut milk
brown rice for serving
fresh chopped cilantro for serving


STEP ONE:

In a large pot with tight-fitting lid or a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken on all sides. Remove from pan and reduce heat to medium. Set chicken aside. Preheat oven to 375.

STEP TWO:

In a large bowl, whisk together the Sriracha, peanut butter, lime juice, salt, honey, and brown sugar. Whisk in the coconut milk.

STEP THREE:

Add the bell peppers, onions, serrano pepper and tomatoes to the oil still in the pan from the chicken - be careful, it will splatter something fierce. Throw in a little salt and stir around, scraping any chicken bits from the bottom of the pan. After a few minutes, add the chicken broth and garlic. Bring to a boil and cook for a couple minutes.

STEP FOUR:

Stir the peanut butter-coconut milk mixture into the veggies in the pan. Add the broccoli. Bring to a simmer, then nestle the chicken down into the sauce and veggie mixture. Cover the pot, turn off the heat, and transfer the whole thing to the oven. Meanwhile, cook the rice in a rice cooker or on the stove.

STEP FIVE:

Remove the chicken from the oven and serve with the sauce and veggies over rice. Top with cilantro and a few lime wedges, if desired. Enjoy!

Zin-fully Delicious Short Ribs

With a wallet brimming with just-unwrapped Christmas cash, most city gals would run to their nearest Zara, buy an absurd faux-fur vest, and strut out onto the streets to find some good sushi and a cocktail!


Not this girl. But mostly because I had already bought said vest in one of those one-for-you-two-for-me Christmas shopping slip-ups. So, feeling, as I often do, generous toward myself, I bought what I've been lusting after for about two years now: a Dutch oven. Coming in at a very reasonable (as these things go) $50, you'd think I would've had one by now (I'm not one to deny myself much, as is plain to see).


My better half was due to arrive back from his Mexican surfing vacay with his mom, and I wanted to treat them to something delicious to make their transition back to sub-Arctic temperatures slightly more bearable. For some time now, I've been feeling compelled - yes, compelled is the accurate word here - to braise. And braise I did! I braised like no one has braised before! Er, like...well, many people have most likely braised before.


My compulsion to braise and my recent semi-obsession with making short ribs collided in a meaty explosion of slow-cooked goodness, all dripping in glorious Zinfandel. Biting into the spoon-tender ribs was like coming in from a blizzard and sinking under your covers still fully clothed to read Twilight - pure guilty pleasure. And don't think that just because this recipe looks a tad advanced or because it "requires" a $50 piece of cooking equipment (it doesn't), that you can't tackle it at home. With a few hours to kill (and maybe a great glass of wine and some tween vampire lit), you'll be singing your braise's praises without a hitch. Promise.


INGREDIENTS

4 beef short ribs, bone in
1/2 bottle Zinfandel
1/2 carton beef broth
2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, halved and sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
3 ribs celery, chopped
2-3 T. olive oil
salt and pepper
about 16 small (golf-ball to egg-sized) thin-skinned potatoes (like baby Yukon gold)
mix of chopped fresh herbs (like rosemary, parsley, oregano, etc.)
2 T. butter plus 1 T. olive oil
salt and pepper
dash of cayenne pepper
5-6 small heads Belgian endive, trimmed, separated into leaves
handful toasted walnuts
1 ripe pear
blue cheese crumbles

[for salad dressing:]
juice of 1 lemon
dollop of dijon mustard
olive oil
dollop of honey
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1:

Bring the ribs to room temperature. Salt and pepper them generously on all sides. Preaheat oven to 350. On the stovetop, in a Dutch oven or large skillet, heat the olive oil. Brown the ribs on all sides, working in batches if necessary. Set aside, and drain all but about a T. of the remaining fat in the pan. To that, add about a T. of olive oil over medium-high heat.

STEP 2:

Add the leeks, carrots, and celery to the pan, adding a little salt and pepper. Cook, scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, until beginning to soften, about 10 minutes. Return the ribs to the pan. Pour in the wine and broth so that the liquid comes about 3/4 of the way up the sides of the ribs, but does not totally submerge them. (At this point, if you are not cooking in an oven-safe pan, transfer all of this to an oven-safe dish with a lid). Put the lid on the pan and braise in the oven for about 2.5-3 hours, until the meat literally falls off the bones.

STEP 3:

About 45 minutes before the braising is done, boil a large pot of salted water. Par-boil the potatoes until they are easily pierced with a fork, but not falling apart. Drain. Return the same pot to the stove and heat some olive oil and butter (about 3 T. total) over medium heat. Add the potatoes, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and fresh herbs to the pan. Cook them until they begin to get brown and crisp on the skins, stirring occasionally, and smashing a few down so they crack open and suck up the oil.

STEP 4:

Whisk together all salad dressing ingredients, then slowly whisk in olive oil to emulsify. Place the thinly-sliced pear into the bowl of salad dressing (to prevent oxidation) until ready to serve. Place some endive on each salad plate. Top with some dressing-coated pears, walnuts, and blue cheese crumbles. Drizzle a little more dressing over it all if if seems a little dry.


STEP 5:

Serve: place 4-5 potatoes on each plate, along with one short rib per person, topping it off with a little jus from the cooking pan. Serve with the salad. Enjoy!

Ross said that I could "easily charge $25 to $30 for this in a restaurant." [*blush*] And Ross' mom (no shrinking violet in the kitchen herself) said they were the best short ribs she'd ever (ever!) had. I'd say my tryst with braising turned out better than expected - and I have a feeling me and my Dutch oven (we are, it may go without saying, are staunchly Team Edward) are going to be mighty cozy all winter.