Chicken Fricassee with Wild Mushrooms →

In culinary terminology, a “fricassee” is a dish of pan-fried meat or pieces of poultry served with a pan sauce comprised of aromatics and often mushrooms. This comforting dish comes together quickly and is easy enough to make mid-week for the family, yet elegant enough to serve company. The combination of wild mushrooms, tomatoes, white wine, both beef and chicken stock, heavy cream, and herbs of your choice, produces a deliciously rich sauce full of umami that is sure to please your family or guests. I hope you enjoy it.

Chicken Fricassee with Wild Mushrooms
Serves 4
Ingredients:

• ¼ cup butter

• 1 tablespoon olive oil (EVOO)

• 4 boneless chicken thighs

• 6 ounces of wild mushrooms chopped (shiitake, maitake, cremini, chanterelle, oyster, etc.)

• 1 large shallot chopped

• 1-2 teaspoons of herbs de Provence (equal measures of summer savory, dried thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil, and fennel seed.)

• garlic powder

• 1 cup dry white wine

• 1 cup chicken stock

• 1 cup beef stock

• 1/3 cup heavy cream

• 1 cup of peeled, diced tomatoes

• salt and pepper

• chopped fresh parsley for garnish 

Preparation:

1. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper, garlic powder, and herbs de Provence.

2. In a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon of EVOO and brown the chicken on both sides. Remove the chicken to a platter and tent.

3. Add the chopped shallot and mushrooms and sauté over medium heat until the mushrooms have released their water and just begin to brown. If the skillet starts to burn, add a small amount of liquid to allow the mushrooms to finish cooking. Remove the sauteed mixture to a bowl and reserve.

4. Add the wine, tomatoes, and both stocks to the pan, bring to a boil, and reduce to about ¾ cup.

5. Add the heavy cream and stir to mix; add the mushrooms and mix; add the chicken and simmer (don’t boil) for a few minutes until thoroughly heated through. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your taste. Serve garnished with chopped fresh parsley. 

Wine pairing: white wines with body and good acid to balance the richness of the sauce; un-oaked Chardonnay, Chablis, Soave, Vernaccia, Albariño, or Viognier. A chilled Rosé might also be a nice choice.

Adapted from a recipe from Bon Appétit special edition on recipes of Spain, May 1992

Marinated Grilled Chicken →

Here’s a great summer recipe for savory juicy grilled chicken. I prefer bone-in thighs with skin-on, but you can use skinless, boneless breast or thigh meat if that’s your dietary preference. For boneless breasts, cut the breast in half, place the meat between two layers of plastic wrap or parchment paper, and using a meat mallet or rolling pin, pound the meat to an even thickness (about 1/2 - 3/4 inch) so it cooks evenly. Reduce the cooking time for boneless breast meat so it doesn’t over-cook and dry out. Serve with Lemony Orzo Salad with Asparagus, or a green salad. A chilled Rosé or soft Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc will pair well with this dish. You might even want to try a slightly chilled light Beaujolais Nouveau.

Ingredients:
Serves 4-6

• 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (air-chilled preferred)

  For the Marinade:

• 1/3 cup soy sauce

• ¼ cup olive oil

• ¼ red wine, sherry, or balsamic vinegar

• 1 teaspoon oregano (see note)

• ½ teaspoon sweet basil (see note)

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder or two cloves of garlic crushed, finely minced, or grated with a micro-plane

• ¼ teaspoon pepper

• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (optional, but recommended)

*Note: substitute 1 ½ teaspoons Herbes de Provence for oregano and basil, or 1 teaspoon each of ground dried thyme and dried rosemary.

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, combine the marinade ingredients and add the chicken pieces; marinate for at least two hours, preferably 4 hours.

2. Preheat your grill to hot.

3. Remove the chicken from the marinade and wipe the excess marinade off each piece.

4. Place the chicken pieces on the grill over indirect heat and cook covered for 3 minutes per side, turning three times. Finish the chicken over direct heat to crisp the skin. (Note: when done the internal temperature of the chicken should be 165 F. for thighs or 160 F. for breast meat.)

5. Remove from the grill to a platter and tent for 5 minutes before serving.

Cast Iron Skillet Roast Chicken →

For many, roast chicken is quintessential comfort food. This is the easiest, best roast chicken recipe you will find. If you don’t already have a cast-iron skillet, you need to go out and buy one! It will quickly become one of your most useful kitchen tools. A follow-up recipe to my Spice Rubbed Roast Turkey Breast , the advantage of using the hot preheated cast iron skillet to roast your chicken is that you end up with beautiful crisp browned skin all over the bird including the skin on the underside of the chicken. The typical cast iron skillet can accommodate a bird in the 4-5 pound range which will feed four people. Highly recommended recipes for cast iron skillet cooking: Cook it in Cast Iron by Cook’s Country/America’s Test Kitchen.

Cast Iron Skillet Roast Chicken
Serves 4 with leftovers

Photo: c. foodblogchef 2020

Ingredients:

• 4-5 pound chicken (preferably air-chilled)

• olive oil

• Herbes de Provence or equal measures of dried thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil, and fennel seed.

• salt and pepper

• 1 small onion

• 3-4 cloves of garlic

• canola oil

• wood chips for smoking on the grill (optional)

Preparation:
Preheat your oven or grill to 400-425 F. with the cast iron skillet in the oven or grill. You want the skillet to be very hot so it sears the skin on the underside of the chicken.

Photo: c. foodblogchef 2020

1. Pat the chicken dry inside and out. You do not have to rinse your chicken to clean it.

2. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and dried herbs inside the bird’s cavity.

3. Place a small onion and a few cloves of garlic in the cavity and tie the legs.

4. Brush or rub the bird with olive oil and sprinkle salt, pepper, and the dried herbs evenly all over the bird.

5. Add a tablespoon of canola oil to the hot skillet and carefully place the bird breast side up on the skillet.

6. Close the grill or oven and cook for 1 hour before you check the temperature of the bird with a meat thermometer. You may have to continue cooking for another 15-20 minutes until the finished temperature reaches 155 F.

7. Remove the bird from the skillet to a cutting board and tent. The temperature will continue to rise about another 10 degrees to the recommended safe temperature of 165 F. for poultry.

*Note: while the tented chicken is resting, you can make a simple delicious pan sauce by adding a tablespoon of flour to the skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly until the fat in the pan and flour combine to make a roux. Once the roux begins to turn light brown, slowly add a cup of chicken broth and ¼ cup of dry white wine stirring constantly and scraping up the rich browned bits (fond) on the bottom of the pan until the sauce forms. Simmer and reduce the sauce for a few minutes to intensify the flavors and add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard (optional) and adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Any accumulated juices on the cutting board can be added to your sauce.

Wine pairing: Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Rueda, White Cotes du Rhone, Dry Riesling