Saturday, October 15, 2016

Chicken Fricassee with Vermouth #Recipe @PegCochran

This was another Sunday night dinner.  For some reason on Sundays, I try to make something a little special and sort of "homey" especially as it gets cooler.  Do you have certain days for certain meals?  Growing up Saturday was steak night and Sunday night was roast chicken or something similar.  Friday was fish since that is what Catholics ate back then.

This is another Mark Bittman recipe.  I adapted it a bit to make it "easier" (fewer pans) and to accommodate what I had to work with.  I also used chicken thighs since that is what I had on hand and wanted to use up.  I also used two big carrots and one large leek--not sure that added up to the original quantities but it worked out fine!

It was really delicious and perfect for a cool fall evening.  I served it with buttered peas and rice pilaf to soak up some of the gravy.

Ingredients:

1 small chicken cut in pieces (or bone-in thighs--I removed the skin)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter (I subbed in olive oil)
1 small to medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup dry vermouth
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
1 cup carrots cut into thin strips
1 1/2 cups leeks cut into thin strips
1/2 cup heavy cream

Heat oil or butter in a skillet over medium high heat.  Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring for about 30 seconds.

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the chicken skin side down and cook for about 1 minute (without browning.)  Cook the chicken another four minutes, turning regularly in the fat.




Sprinkle the flour over the chicken, turning them to coat them evenly.  Add the vermouth, broth, bay leaf and thyme.  Cover and cook over medium heat until the chicken is about done--approximately 20 minutes.




Boil water and add the leeks.  Blanch about three minutes, add the carrots and blanch for another minute or two. 





Drain.


Once the chicken has just about cooked through, add the carrots, leeks and cream.  Simmer for about two minutes. 





OUT NOW!


On her blog, The Farmer’s Daughter, Shelby McDonald is growing her audience as she posts recipes, gardening tips, and her experiences raising two kids and running Love Blossom Farm in the small western Michigan town of Lovett.

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INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES

7 comments:

  1. that sounds good and looks pretty Peg! On Sundays we had open-face cheese toast, with baked beans and potato salad. (I know, all carbs. But it spells comfort food to me!)

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    1. That sounds good! My in-laws always had a big Sunday lunch (which was usually steak for them) and pizza for Sunday dinner! Funny how we get into a routine.

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  2. jerry@thecloakanddagger.comOctober 15, 2016 at 8:53 AM

    Excellent approach Never tried dry vermouth used dry white wine The leaks/carrots definitely is new changes the classic taste we're used to but will try out real soon Have used dried mushrooms on occasion for a wintery feel

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    1. I was going to throw in some fresh mushrooms I had, but decided to save them for another dish, but they would have been very good. The vermouth gives it a slightly different flavor from white wine although wine would work, too. And of course the alcohol burns off so you don't have to worry about serving children.

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  3. This does sound lovely. Warm and tasty.
    I wonder why you can't add the leeks and carrots into the chicken/broth mix and skip the blanching.
    Any thoughts?

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    1. You know, I don't know why you can't do that and I was very tempted to cook it that way. I think it would add a lot of flavor. Next time I make it, I am going to do just that! You could also omit the carrots and leeks if you didn't have time for all that cutting and it would still be very good!

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  4. Looks like a wonderful recipe and the book is amazing. Thanks!

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