Chicken Stew

Recently I've been eating a good amount of stews and this recipe has caught my eye for something that would be rather easy to try.

Chicken Stew with Onions, Tomatoes, and Dijon

Ingredients

• 1 whole head garlic
• Olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• One 3-4 pound whole chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces (2 breasts, wings, thighs, legs)
• 6 medium red onions (about 2 pounds)
• One 28 to 32 ounce can good quality whole peeled tomatoes, drained
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• A pinch of chile powder
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 3 Tbsp old-fashioned whole seed Dijon mustard (or 1/4 cup regular Dijon mustard)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
   
   
2. Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic. Place garlic head on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle olive oil over the garlic, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap the garlic head with the foil and place in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes or until the flesh of the cloves are light brown feel very soft when pressed with the tip of a knife. Set aside to cool. (See how to roast garlic.)
   
   
3. While the garlic is roasting, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot (with lid) or Dutch oven, on medium high heat. Rinse the chicken pieces in cold water then pat dry with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
   
   
4. Brown the chicken pieces, starting them skin-side down, cooking them a few minutes on each side, working in batches so that you don't crowd the pan.
   
   
5. While the chicken is browning, peel and quarter the onions. Remove chicken from pan when nicely golden with tongs or a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate. Discard any fat and oil beyond about 1 Tbsp left in the pan. Put the onions in the pot and cook them until softened, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
   
   
6. Add the tomatoes to the pot, the thyme, bay leaves, and ground chile powder. Put the chicken pieces on top of the tomatoes. Pour in the wine and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 40 minutes, stirring from time to time so that the vegetables don't stick.
   
   
7. After the garlic has cooled enough to handle, squeeze out the roasted garlic from the cloves into a small bowl and crush with a fork. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to serve with the chicken stew.
   
   
8. When the chicken has cooked, add the mustard to the pot and stir to blend. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook uncovered for 10 more minutes, or until the sauce is thick enough to cling to the meat. Remove bay leaves. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve stew over rice or pasta, with the garlic paste on the side.
Serves 4 to 6.

A New Coq Au Vin

The "Cook for a Cure" went over as a huge success. One of the meals I made was my own twist on the classic Coq au Vin. A simple french peasant dish of chicken, vegetables in wine. Coq au vin simply meaning "Rooster in Wine" is usually made with older chickens because the connective tissue gives for a richer broth.

Now the recipe I'm going to give will be a simple basic one, from there you can experiment and create a lot more by adding more different vegetables in the main stew.
I was cooking 80lbs worth of chicken, so this recipe is a faster cook and easier then the slow stewed Coq au vin's of traditional france.

Take about 6 chicken thighs - dry them, salt and season them. I just used pepper and kosher salt.
In a pan with a light coat of olive oil, put the thighs skin side down and cook until cooked on that side (about 4 minutes or so).
Remove the chicken and place on the side, drain most of the fat.
Place in about a clove of halved garlic, a hearty amount of celery - cut in one inch pieces.
Cook the celery and garlic until the celery is soft.
Place the chicken in the pan with the garlic and celery, uncooked side down.
Cook until just under done - maybe about four more minutes.
Add enough wine that the celery and garlic are just covered. I used a chardonnay, but either that or a white zinfandel will work just fine.

The wine will also clean the fat that may be burnt onto the bottom of the pan of because of its acidity.

Take some chopped parsley and sprinkle over the coq au vin. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 5 -10 minutes on a low heat. Slice into one of the thighs and make sure its cooked thoroughly. If not, you can always throw it in the oven at around 375 until its done.


Now a few options you can throw in mushrooms, onions, carrots, pancetta or unsmoked bacon in the piece. All of that you want to throw in after you've drained most of the fat. you can also add a few tablespoons of cognac - moreso with a red wine like merlot if you use that instead of a white.

As per usual, be creative, have fun. This recipe knocks out 90% of the cooking time for Coq au Vin and makes for what i think is a great base to an awesome meal.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 pound of boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1" chunks
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 10-ounce can pineapple chunks (reserve juice)
• 1/4 cup juice from the canned pineapple
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cooking oil
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the chicken with the egg white, salt and cornstarch. Stir to coat the chicken evenly. Let sit for 15 minutes at room temperature or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
   
   
2. In the meantime, whisk together the pineapple juice, vinegar, ketchup, salt, and brown sugar.
   
   
3. Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water instantly sizzles and evaporates.
   
   
4. Pour in the 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and swirl to coat. It's important that the pan is very hot.
   
   
5. Add the chicken and spread the chicken out in one layer. Let the chicken fry, untouched for 1 minute, until the bottoms are browned.
   
   
6. Flip and fry the other side the same for 1 minute. The chicken should still be pinkish in the middle.
   
   
7. Dish out the chicken onto a clean plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.
   
   
8. Turn the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 teaspoon of cooking oil. Let the oil heat up and then add the bell pepper chunks and ginger. Fry for 1 minute.
   
   
9. Add the pineapple chunks and the sweet and sour sauce.
   
   
10. Turn the heat to high and when the sauce is simmering, add the chicken pieces back in.
    
    
11. Let simmer for 1-2 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Timing depends on how thick you've cut your chicken. The best way to tell if the chicken is done is to take a piece out and cut into it. If it's pink, add another minute to the cooking.

Taste the sauce and add more brown sugar if you’d like.

Serves 4.