Chicken Fricassee- 1968

Chicken Fricassee, pasta, green beans

 

This dish is rich- not something that you'd want to have every day, but definitely something that is a good, homey, Sunday dinner kind of meal.  It was pretty easy to put together, I halved the recipe (since there were just two of us for dinner)  and since I couldn't find any 3lbs chickens that were already butchered I grabbed 3lbs of chicken thighs, which I think are the best part anyway.  The recipe worked really well. I think I was a little more organized this time, and had read through the recipe a bunch of times before I got into the kitchen.  I set up the mis-en-place before I started, which was good, because a bunch of ingredients to into the pot at once, then the lid is put on, and it goes into a 400 degree oven to braise.  

 

I pulled the pot out of the oven, and put it on the stove, took the lid off, and (all with potholders)  and began to skim of the fat that had collected at the top of the dish. I added half of the cream, and then went to put the lid over by the sink, and without realizing it, grabbed the handle on top of the lid with three fingers of my left hand. I yelled (really loudly- and scared the cat)  and immediately ran my fingers under cold water, kicking myself for being such an idiot.  You see, this is not the first time I've been burned in the kitchen. It is not even the first time in the last three weeks  I've burned myself in the kitchen.  A few weeks ago I was the recipient of first and second degree burns on my chest/front from boiling hot water (woo!)  Note to self: BE MORE CAREFUL.   After cooking the rest of the dinner one handed, with an ice cube wrapped in a paper towel, (thank goodness that most of the dinner was done at this point)

 

I was going to make Perfect Batch of Rice with this dinner, but realized once I got home that I only have one pot that can go from stovetop to oven.  So Perfect Rice will have to be another time.  I made some pasta to go with, and steamed some green beans.   As I began do dig into my dinner (one handed) to the dinner, I realized that the burning fingers were worth it. Creamy, and velvety, the tarragon stands out, and the hit of lemon at the end really rounds out the flavor.  It's not a meal I could make every day- that much cream would be extremely detrimental to my health- but for a sunday dinner, or special occasion, I think this dish really works. 

Chicken a La Marengo 1908

*If you want to check out this recipe- it is here


I love chicken, I love mushrooms, and I'm a fan of tomatoes,  to begin with I was thinking that this combination is bound to be wonderful, and it was. 


Cooking it though, wasn't quite the smooth sailing I had hoped.  In looking at the recipe before making it, I couldn't quite visualize it.  Usually when I'm cooking from a recipe I've been thinking about it for awhile, and I kind of work my way thorough the steps in my head, so that when I go to make the recipe, it goes pretty smoothly.  That did not really happen here. I kept running back and forth to my laptop, running into the kitchen, trying to remember what point in the process, I was, going back to the table to chop things, and then repeating that process.  While it was funny to watch- My friend Helena seemed amused by my crazy pacing around the kitchen, I'm hoping that doesn't happen too much. (or at least if it does, while I'm alone so only the cat can see my crazy and disorganized mess)


I think this could probably be solved by better mis en place.


I also doubled the recipe, so that made for a lot of cooking of chicken (two four pound chicken cut up into parts is a lot of cooking going on. Also, it took a lot longer to cook the chicken than I had anticipated.

I started with the sauce, simmering tomato, onion, celery, carrot and parsley for about an hour.


Then I smashed a garlic clove, and started cooking chicken.  I used a dutch oven and my mom's biggest frying pan, and after putting all the pieces into the pans at once, switched over to cooking the chicken in batches, and it seemed to go a lot smoother after that.




Once the sauce was done simmering, I put it through the potato ricer (I don't have a food mill) which turned out a little less liquid than I thought it would, but it turned out that that was okay.

Once the chicken was done, I sauteed the mushrooms, and added the tomato sauce, and things were smelling quite amazing.

Chicken on the platter

Along with the chicken, I served steamed spinach, and mashed red skin potatoes. I knew the chicken was going to be challenging, so I picked sides that I knew would be quick and easy, and go well with the chicken dish. 

If every time cooking from the book is going to be this wonderful, I'm in for a great ride.  The chicken was really good, and the sauce was luscious, the potatoes were creamy and buttery. 

Many thanks for my Mom, my Dad, (especially my Dad, who heroically did all the dishes. I generated a lot of dishes) my cousin Amy, and my auntie Ange and Uncle Dave for coming for dinner and telling me that they liked it.  These guys were here at the first dinner, and I hope they'll be at the last one of the project, which I am definitely going to go all out for. 

Three recipes down, 1000+ to go!