Chicken and vegetables with a maple syrup and Cayenne marinade.

 This is a tribute to New England, so easy to make and it uses only one pan. 

INGREDIENTS

4 pieces of chicken (preferably thighs)

1/2 an onion, 2 sweet potatoes, 1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts (that is about for 4 persons),,

1/3 cup of oil

1/2  cup Maple syrup

Cayenne pepper ( careful very hot)

1/3  cup Dijon mustard

3 or 4 slices of bacon chopped

salt and black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

MAKE THE GLAZE 

In a bowl add   the olive oil, the Dijon mustard, the Maple syrup, the Cayenne pepper (careful very hot)

add salt and pepper and mix all the ingredients.

Add  1/2 of the glaze to the chicken and keep in the refrigerator till the vegetables are ready.

PREPARE YOUR VEGETABLES

chopped the onions 

cut the sweet potatoes in cube about 2 inches big

you may use the brussels sprout full or cut them in 2 if they are too big

put all the vegetables in a bowl add the bacon cut in small pieces.

add the  rest of the glaze to the bowl and mix everything!

PUT EVERYTHING TOGETHER

On an oven pan spread all your vegetables and cover with the chicken and the glaze

bake at 450 F for about 35 minutes. check for doneness. (Internal temp . of chicken is 165

scrumptious . If you have some Maple syrup try it. There is no alternative for the Maple syrup . you could always make chicken Piccata , delicious too.

poulet saute chasseur ( chicken cacciatore.}

this is a dish I have made so many time.  I think it is the first dinner I ever made. I first got the recipe a long time ago in my first cooking book "la cuisine familialle et pratique de Pellaprat ".

  When I moved too the USA we were allowed very little luggage but I did brought this  favorite cooking book, I still used it ounce and a while  for reference but I always play with the recipe.
this recipe is vey easy to make and it is not  time consuming so if you work you still can make it on the week night.

_Ingredients

4 Pieces chicken shoulder ( you can use a small chicken cut up for bigger serving)
/4 cup  flour
1/2 a large onion
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter
2 celery ribs
1/2 lb sliced mushroom
1 can tomato drained
tomato paste
1 cup of wine
3 garlic gloves
Fresh herbs of your choice , oregano, thyme, basil....or you can use dried herbs about 1 tsp each.

instruction

Dust chicken with flour, salt and pepper
brown the chicken in the oil and butter in a very hot pan.
when the chicken is browned on all side put it in a plate leave it on the side,

in the same pan brown the onion, the celery ribs, the mushroom.

Add the can of tomato, the wine , the tomato paste, the garlic.
return the chicken to pan and cook for about 30 minutes. I cook my in the oven but it can be cook on the top of the stove.

It can be serve with noodles, Polenta or couscous. it is very good with angel pasta too . your choice,.

collards and chicken

this Sunday I roasted a chicken . I like to roast a chicken on Sunday and to have a lot of delicious chicken for the rest of the week.
I have a lot of very young collards in my garden so I wanted to used some in a different recipe.
This dish is very easy for one person and can me multiplied easily.

ingredients

Roast chicken ( any part)
young collards ( this collards are not the mature one you usually find in the groceries store they are very young and tender and do not need a long cooking time.)
2 slices bacon
a few small tomatoes
olive oil
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
your favorite pasta
I tbl butter for the pasta
parmesan as much as you want.

Instruction
cook your paste as directed while you are preparing your vegetables
chop the collards and the garlic
chop the chicken.
chop the small tomatoes

in a small frying pan cook the collards , the tomatoes for about 10  at medium heat then add the garlic

 

Cook till the vegetables are cooked to your taste I like mine a little crispy. 

then add the chopped chicken and heat up the whole thing till everything is warm

serve on the pastas with some parmesan

could not be easier faster or more delicious

note: This a very easy recipe for one but can be easily multiplied and it is very good reheated

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chicken hachis parmentier

As a child the Hachis Parmentier was my  favorite dish, it was the favorite of most children too. it was so simple and comforting,  made of ground beef and mashed potatoes. there was not any ground beef of hamburger meat sold at this time, you had to ground your own beef or ask the butcher and really it was not very much use at that time, just some time for children who still did not have teeth to chew their steak. Most of the time the Beef Parmentier was made with left over beef from a boiled dinner, the "pot au feu".
cooking has very much change since I was a child, there was a more conservative feeling about cooking and people did follow the culinary customs and the traditions. now things have change and chefs come with all kind of different form for the traditionnel dish of the past. and in this set of mind I have decided to make a chicken Parmentier.

Hachis Parmentier

for the chicken

Ingredients


5 chicken legs
1/2 a large onion chopped
3 or 4 slices of bacon chopped
a few chopped mushrooms
enough stock to cover the chicken.
1 cup of white wine
2 cloves of garlic
2 branches of fresh sage and fresh thyme


Instructions

In a large hot pan brown the chicken , when it is well brown put aside

Brown the onions and the mushrooms till the onions are golden.
.

deglaze the pan with white wine

put the chicken back in the pan 

add the chicken stock just to cover
add the garlic cloves and the herbs. 

add salt and pepper

cook on the top stove slowly on medium heat or in the oven at 400F

While the chicken is cooking make the mashed potatoes.( I use 4 very large potatoes).

layer the chicken and the mash potatoes and cover the top of the mash potatoes with a little bread crumbs and Parmesan .

Put in the oven for a few minutes till the top is lightly brown

I used the vegetables which were braised with the chicken for a topping

miam miam . A table . Bon appetit


Notes.
_ you can naturally use some other parts of the chicken
_ if you don't have fresh herbs you could use dried one, I like fresh better.
for the children do not serve with the topping they probably will not like  it  but it is the best part.printable recipeprintable recipe

chicken breast stuffed with spinach and ricotta

I keep big frozen bags of chicken breast that I buy in Costco . they are delicious and every breast is individually wrapped. very nice for a person alone or when people drop bye.
but of course I have to come with different ways to cook these delicious little breast.
I had some ricotta cheese and a big bag of spinach so I decided to make a stuffing for the breast.
you could use as many breast as you want and even only one. If I cook a meal that can be frozen I never only cook only for one it is nice to have a frozen dinner ready when I am not in a cooking mood. so here is the recipe for two.

 

 

Ingredients

1 cup chopped , drained and dried spinach
4 or 5 slice bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 or 5 mushrooms chopped and sauted
1/2 cup ricotta
1 large egg
2 nice chicken breasts
2 tablespoons oil
1 lemon
1 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon mustard ( Dijon of course)
salt and pepper

directions

In a bowl mix the 5 first ingredients
put the chicken between 2 parchment papers
pound the chicken to about 1/4 -inch.
put the stuffing on the chicken fold over and secure with tooth picks or kitchen strings
brown the bacon in the olive oil.
Add the the chicken and cook till nicely brown
.finish cooking in 350 F oven about 10 minutes. ( check for readiness)
when chicken is ready take out of the pan
keep on side covered with a piece of foil
Add the wine to the pan and deglaze it.
Add the stock, the mustard, the lemon zest and a squirt of the lemon juice
Add salt pepper to taste.

 Here you are, a delicious chicken with a light sauce!

Notes
you could use chicken breast with the skin and stuffed the chicken under the skin.

Bon Appetit . Miam miam




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sunday dinner chez Odette!

In my teen we lived in Vernon  a small town in "LEure" on the door of Normandie. Every Sunday we had a lovely meal and very often we had visitors cousins who live in Paris.  The house  was usually very busy on the week End. The Parisians were happy to come and visit the family and happy to  get a bit of country fresh air. Very often we ended being between 10 or 25 at the table .. Naturally in all these meeting food was very important. Sometimes  a uncle, chef in a restaurant in Paris, will cook dinner.I still remember his "soles a la Normande". We had friends from Alsace who will bring all the ingredients too make "choucroute garnie" including the most delicious sausage and hams. Sometimes we will have a fish fry caught the same day by uncle Robert. Can you believe eating fish from the river Seine. if you had fish from the Seine now you probably die in the next 10 minutes! Sometimes it was a rabbit or a roast beef. But I think my favorite  was the Sunday roast chicken . We got all our chicken and rabbit from the farm . On Saturday morning on his way to the local market a friend a farmer will dropped chicken or rabbit my mother will have ordered early. The farmer was such a nice fellow but nobody will ever want to open the door to him because he will go  on talking in the most annoying way. One time we send Merritt (my ex husband) to the door and he stay with the farmer for almost an hour, finally with a glass of wine. when the farmer was finally gone we ask Merrit what they been talking about, we were told they talked about the war but really Merrit had no idea what they had been talking about( the farmer did not talk English).  Merrit said the man was talking a lot too fast for him to understand much of anything. the next Saturday guess who did not open the door to our poor Farmer? my father did. He did enjoyed talking to him in front of a glass of wine.
 I was not very impress at the time with the  Sunday dinner who took always to long when I was ready to go and meet my friends.
 Now I will give anything to go back, in time, just for one day, to the Sunday dinner in my father house.at Vernon
No way to go back  so we have to make the best of today.
And what better way to cook a roast chicken with little roast potatoes pretty much like mamie used to make.
I don't have a farmer who will bring me an farm chicken but at least I can buy the best.  A nice organic chicken
Here is my recipe.

Ingredients

 1 nice organic chicken
6 tablespoons butter at room temperature
2 or 3 rosemary sprigs .
4 or 5 potatoes
2 or 3 carrots
salt. pepper.
green onion
4 or 5 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup of white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock

Directions

Prepare the vegetables
peel the carrots and slice them
peel the potatoes and cut in small cubes
"blanche" the carrots for a few minutes.

In a bowl toss the potatoes and carrots with 3 tablespoons olive oil and the remaining of the chopped rosemary

Rinse the inside of the chicken.
Dry the chicken very well
put 2 tablespoons of butter a spring of rosemary and some chopped green onion in the cavity
add some salt and pepper
make a paste with the rest of the butter, some salt and pepper and the chopped rosemary

Introduce the butter paste between the skin and the body of the chicken spreading it around. Rub some of the butter paste on the top of the chicken.
Put the chicken in a large roasting pan and cook in the  preheated oven at 400 degrees F.
Roast for about 15 minutes

Bring the temperature down to 375 degrees F
Add the vegetables around the chicken and continue to cook for 30 to 45 minutes
Check the chicken ounce and a while and toss the vegetables add a little more butter or oil if necessary
The chicken is cooked when the juices run clear when  the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a knife.
Take the chicken and the vegetables out of the pan
deglaze the pan with the wine and a little  chicken stock
Serve the juice with the chicken and the vegetable

 

Notes
_ you may add some different vegetables  Tomatoes , marinated artichokes, precook fennel, squashes what ever you like
_sorry the last picture is the one of a chicken roasted with only potatoes and that is fine too.. you just will have to add vegetables as a side dish.
_ One of the advantage of this chicken you can prepare it put it in the oven and enjoy your Sunday afternoon not too much work and not very many dishes to clean.
_ sometimes I put 2 or 3 slices of lemon in the cavity lemon is always good to enhance the taste of chicken

Miam miam miam. A table . Bon appetite.
.

For people who do not know Mamie , Odette is my step mother who raised me and my sister Janine . My mum died when I was 7 years old. She is now very sick after quite a few strokes and the recipe is dedicated to her. Love you mamie

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chicken Picata

I love chicken Picata it has a little sour taste that is very nice. I was introduced to that dish in Arizona when I went to visit my sister in law, Noreen.
Noreen and I love to cook together . But this day we had a funny little happening . we went to a beautiful super market in Scottsdale and we needed some capers so we grabbed a big jar of what we thought were capers. when we went home Noreen and I started cooking ,drinking wine and having fun. Every thing look delicious but when we tasted it we knew right away something was wrong the little capers were extremely hot .They were not capers at all they were hot green peppers. Well we wanted to save the dish anyhow, so it took quite a long time drinking wine and laughing to take all the little peppers out one by one. We then replaced the peppers  by capers and every thing turned out fine and delicious ,still a little hotter than usual . I was not used to green hot peppers and I really never used them in cooking may be one day I will them.
But for now here is my chicken Picata recipe

 

Ingredients

2  chicken breast
1/2 of a shallot
1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup of wine
1/2 cup of broth
1 clove of garlic
capers
1 tbl of heavy cream(optional)
1 tbl of butter
1 tbl of olive oil

angel hair pasta for 2 ( about 1/4 of a package)


Instructions

heat up the butter and the oil
saute the chicken filets till nicely brown
boil water for your pasta and salt
put chicken on the side
in the same pan, brown  the shallots for about 10 mins do not overcook.
Add the chopped garlic and the cappers for 5 more mins.
add the wine to the pan and the stock to deglaze the pan

add salt and pepper as needed for your taste.
cook 5 more mins
add your pasta to your boiling water cook al dente and drain.
Add your chicken and cook for 10 mins or till you are sure you chicken is cook to your taste.( it will be a little longer if the chicken filets are thicker.)
squezze a little lemon on the chicken
If you desire add a little of heavy cream to the sauce
Serve  on the pasta.

Notes
- this recipe is for 2 people one for me one to freeze for later dinner
you may increased the portions as needed
-beware not to over cook the garlic it will get bitter
- the angel hair pasta cook very fast . you could replace them with spaghetti if that is what you have in your cupboard
Miam miam. a table. bon appetit!

chicken provencal

printing recipeThis  is one of my favorite chicken recipe .  it is March but this year the spring is here so early, It is so exciting to go to the  flea market and get all these new spring vegetables.
This  recipe bring to me all the sun and scent of the South of France . It is easy and fast to put together and not expensive either!

Ingredients
6  chicken thighs
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup of white or red wine
3 tomatoes chopped
1 small squash cut in small cubes
1/2  pepper cut in small slices
1tsp chopped rosemary
1 tsp chopped thyme
3/4 cup black olives pitted and chopped
1 small anchovy chopped.
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs olive oil.

Directions

In a large deep frying pan or a Dutch oven heat up the olive oil,  Brown the chicken making sure you don't crowd it do a few pieces at the time. make sure your oil is hot, your chicken should sizzle when you put it in the pan the chicken must be well browned that should take about 10 minutes for each pieces. remove the chicken from the pan.

reduce the heat and add the onion and garlic stir and cook for about 3 minutes add the wine to the pan simmer and reduce for about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, the rosemary, the thyme the olive, the chopped anchovy stir and reduce for a few minutes
Add the chicken and any drippings from the chicken back to the pan.
Add the salt and pepper
Cooked the chicken for about 35 minutes
15 minutes before the chicken is cook add the squash.
Cooked about 25 minutes.

- Instead of the wine you may use chicken stock or water.
- the recipe is for about 4 persons.
-in my recipe I added some roasted pepper that I had roasted a little while ago
-You can serve the meal with potatoes or spaghetti  and my favorite is with couscous.
- a good wine for this recipe will definitely be a light  rose wine from Provence . or any other rose wine you can find and like.

Miam! miam! bon appetit!

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