From the ArcaMax Publishing, Recipes Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/recipes/s-21491-606058
My Rut...
I've been in sort of a rut lately. Most ruts are bad, and the people
who are around the people who are in a rut usually start to complain
that the person in the rut has become somehow boring. No one has
complained about my rut. I guess that's because my rut is a cooking
rut. I've been in what I call my French Bistro Rut.
Here's how my rut works. My rut involves dining in French bistros or
cooking French bistro food. Since it turned winter, I've just been in
the mood for French bistro food. In our Chicago neighborhood there are
so many lovely, little, warm and romantic French bistros they are hard
to resist. The prices are hard to resist too. Entrees are often in the
$11 to $19 range. For that you can hardly go to the grocery store and
buy all of the ingredients. You might as well eat out, and many in our
neighborhood do--often.
Lots of people say the reason they don't want to go out is they don't
want to get dressed up. You don't have that excuse around here. Folks
just put on their jeans and a comfy sweater and walk to one of the
bistros and pull up a cozy table or eat at the bar. They can even
watch TV or listen to light French music while they eat, depending on
which place they choose.
We choose to eat at home fairly often just because we love our place
and I love to cook. It allows us to unwind, it allows me time to
experiment so I have things to write about, and we can curl up in
front of the fire and watch a movie with our cats while we eat. You
can take your dog to a French bistro in Paris, but you can't take your
cat to a restaurant anywhere that I know of. My husband even
coincidently gave me a French bistro cookbook for Christmas so, in my
spare time, I've even been reading about classic French bistro cooking
for inspiration. I've been immersed in my rut.
My latest French Bistro Rut creation came about just this week. I've
decided to share the whole meal with you. If I share just the meat
portion of the meal, you'll miss the ambience of the bistro feel. The
chicken dish is the new creation. The pommes Anna is a classic French
potato dish; this is just my Zola take on pommes Anna. The broccoli is
just there to round the meal out and give you your daily veggie
intake. You can make the chicken dish with veal if you choose. The
whole meal is timed so you can do it on one temperature in a single
oven and easily entertain guests while you cook. Substitute green
beans for the broccoli if you want. And if you want to be "really
French," use haricot vert (the thin French green beans); just shorten
the cooking time by one-third on the beans or they will be wilted
beyond repair.
Enjoy and--as the French would say--bon appetit!
One short postscript to today's column. It's a fond farewell to
Gropius. Gropius is the name of our 17+ year old Himalayan cat who
passed away this past weekend from kidney failure. Gropius shared
innumerable meals in front of the fireplace with my husband and me. He
was a loyal late-night TV companion for my husband and kept me company
for more hours in the kitchen than I could possibly count. He will be
missed more than I can say. I probably would not have added this note
except I've received so many notes from so many of you all over the
world telling me how much you appreciate the stories of my life
experiences that go along with my cooking escapades and recipes. I
just thought you'd want to know. When you are "childfree" as we are,
an event like this is a big one.
French Bistro Dinner for Four
Pommes Anna
3 large Idaho baking potatoes, peeled
1 small yellow or white onion, diced
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter melted
Salt and pepper
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. The French would use two classic
pieces of equipment to make this dish: a casserole dish and a
mandoline slicer. The casserole can be any kind you like. I use a
rectangular one that my mother used for making scalloped potatoes. You
can even use a metal pan in a pinch. A mandoline slicer is a dream
machine. I use mine often. I prefer the inexpensive ones. They cost
about $15 US. You want your potatoes sliced very thinly--one-sixteenth
of an inch if possible. VERY thin. I put my slicer on the thinnest
setting. Be careful. Don't cut yourself. If you are doing this by hand
just do your best. Until I bought a mandoline I just did my best. It's
good practice. Slice your first potato and start your assembly. As
your potatoes are waiting their turn, it's a good idea to soak them in
water so they don't turn brown.
When the first potato is sliced, grease the bottom of your pan. Put a
layer of the slices in the bottom and then sprinkle lightly with a bit
of the onion and then sprinkle with pepper and salt and a bit of
drizzled butter. You are going to continue this layering process with
two layers of potatoes, a little butter, a little salt and pepper,
onion and on and on until you finish up all of your potatoes. You
don't want to run out of butter, so don't drown your potatoes as you
go along. Don't overdo it with the salt and pepper either. The French
will use a bit more than most but, if you are on a salt-restricted
diet, take it very easy.
When all potatoes and onions are layered, cover your creation with
aluminum foil. Start your baking. Bake for 30 minutes covered. Then
take off the aluminum foil.
(Note: The potatoes need to bake for an hour total. This menu and
recipes are set up to time things so your chicken and veggies are
ready to put in the oven with the potatoes, after the potatoes have
been baking for 45 minutes. Then continue baking all three dishes for
15-20 more minutes. Your next step now is . . . )
At the 30-minute point start preparing your chicken.
Bistro Chicken with Port-Mushroom Sauce
Chicken:
1/2 cup cracker or crouton crumbs (Pick your favorite flavor.)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 Tbl chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
4 boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup melted butter
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 lemon
You'll want to make cracker crumbs. If you've had a bad day, just take
crackers and put them in a baggie and smash them. I use a full can of
soup or broth if I don't have a handy rolling pin. Croutons make good
crumbs for this dish too. Take out your aggressions on the crackers.
What flavor of crumbs you choose will make a slight difference in the
dish, but why limit yourself to soup crackers? If you are doing
low-carb, use whole wheat crackers. You choose.
Mix the cracker crumbs, cheese, parsley and salt and pepper on a large
plate. Put the first half cup of melted butter on a smaller plate. You
are setting up an assembly line.
One at a time, place each chicken breast in a plastic bag. Use the
same soup can or a meat mallet to flatten the chicken breast to less
than one-half inch in thickness. Just squish down the fattest parts so
it will cook faster and spread it out. Try to keep the extra piece
(the tenderloin) that sticks off still attached, but don't worry if it
falls off. When one breast is squished, take it out of the bag, roll
it in the butter and then put it in the crumb mixture and turn it
over. You want to coat both sides. Press it down so you get crumbs and
cheese mixture all over. Then do the next breast, and then do it again
until you get all 4 ready to go.
Now heat the olive oil in your large saute pan. Put in all 4 breasts.
Cook on Medium High just 3 to 5 minutes until you get the first side
nicely browned. Turn over. Brown the second side. When all 4 breasts
are browned on both sides, you're ready for the oven. If your saute
pan is okay to put in the oven, you can just pop them in. If the
handle is not oven proof you'd better put them in another pan. A 9 by
13 oven-proof pan will do just fine. Squeeze the lemon over the
chicken and pop the pan in the oven. You'll finish baking the chicken
with the potatoes. The chicken will only take 15 to 20 minutes at 425
degrees to cook because you've already partially cooked it in the
saute pan and because you flattened it to make it cook faster.
Now start your veggie (broccoli or green beans) and the sauce.
Broccoli or Green beans
1 head fresh broccoli OR...
40 fresh green beans
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Clean the broccoli and cut it into florets or cut the ends off the
beans. Plan on about 6 to 8 florets per person for broccoli or 10
beans per person.
Drizzle with olive oil and put them in an oven-proof pan. You can
season with salt and pepper if you like and put them in the same oven
as your chicken and pommes Anna for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. They
will roast the last 15 minutes with the chicken and the potatoes so
your chicken, potatoes and veggies are all done at the same time.
Port Wine Mushroom Sauce
2 shallots, diced
1 tsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
6 oz sliced button mushrooms
1 tsp flour
1/2 cup port wine
1 cup half and half
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat your butter and olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add shallots.
Cook over medium heat until the shallots just begin to cook. Add
mushrooms. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes until the mushrooms begin to brown.
Add flour and port. Cook quickly to boil off half of the port, and
then add the half and half. This sauce will thicken up fast, so turn
down the heat and add the nutmeg. The only trick to this is to try to
time the sauce thickening to when your chicken is about done. But
don't worry. If the sauce seems too thick before your chicken is done,
just turn it off. When the chicken is coming out of the oven, let it
sit on the counter and add a little more half and half to your sauce,
then turn the sauce back on Medium Low and reheat the sauce until it's
at a consistency you like. Then serve. The potatoes and chicken are so
hot at 425 degrees when they come out of the oven, they can use a few
minutes to cool anyway. The beans or broccoli can wait in the oven
with the door cracked open and the oven off.
Final pointers . . .
After the 15 minutes of baking time, check one piece of the chicken by
cutting into it at the fattest point. If you don't see any pink, you
are ready to eat and you can put on the sauce. The potatoes should
have a nice brown crust around the edges and be hot and buttery. The
veggies should be done but slightly crisp and might have a roasted,
darkened edge on some of the veggies, but this comes with roasting.
They'll taste fine.
Enjoy!