slightly inspired

I don't know why...but I woke up this morning knowing I was going to spend a couple hours in the kitchen today...and I couldn't wait. Maybe it was the fact that, due to SNOWMAGEDDON yesterday here in NYC, I basically spent all day working from home with the food network on in the background...or that last night before going to bed the last thing I did was finish reading Kitchen Confidential (highly recommend)...but I couldn't wait to get a meal planned out and get cooking today. It's been a couple of hellish weeks work wise for me...tons of deadlines...understaffed and may too much to do...and today I woke up knowing I could slow it down a notch. With that in mind, thinking about what I wanted to cook and knowing I could devote some serious time to it, I wanted to stretch myself a bit. I'm quite pleased with the exercise.

I have a bit of a carpentry background, and in the world of carpentry there are two types of carpenters. Framers and finishers. A framer builds the structure, a finisher makes it pretty. In the world of cooking...I'm NO finisher. My style of cooking is rustic at best. The strongest tool in my toolbox is definitely NOT plating or presentation. As a result, my dishes do not necessarily obtain the cleanest of flavors. What I mean by that...is my dishes tend to be about larger bolder flavors that work well together...but in a "damn that was good" way not a "that nutmeg really enhanced the dry chardonnay in the pan gravy" sort of way...get my drift. So that was the challenge I put to myself today...make it clean, crisp, and distinct. The safest way to do that, in my opinion, is braising. It's a safe cooking method, low and slow, and allows you to pick some simple clean flavors...and infuse them into the dish in various ways to allow each to contribute in a specific way. Here's how I spent my afternoon.

Chicken Braised in White Wine with Fennel

2 bone in, skin on chicken breast

2 bone in, skin on chicken thighs or legs

1 C cubed chorizo (or pancetta, or bacon)

4 shallots, cleaned and halved through the root

2 small yellow onions, cleaned and halved through the root

4 carrots roughly chopped

1 bulb of fennel, cubed

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 C white wine (dry...Riesling if possible)

sprigs of fresh parsley

sprigs of fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

3 C chicken stock

salt and pepper

olive oil

Directions

This dish definitely benefits from some prep work. Get your veggies ready to go...this should be a standard procedure...but definitely here. And it's easy...because even though the flavors are neat and crisp...the chopping is not fine here. Big pieces...we're braising. So quarter the onion, chop the carrot, cube the fennel...get it all ready.

Heat the oven in to 300 F...you're coming in with a good size pot, so...adjust the racks accordingly.

In a large pot...dutch oven if you've got one...heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter. Let it get hot. Season the chicken with a good amount of salt and pepper. Once the oil is ready, place in a single layer skin side down. Allow to sear, untouched, for a good 5-6 mins. Flip for another 5-6.

Remove from the pan...and add the chorizo. Allow to fry for 4-5 min. Remove from the pan to a paper towel to drain. Discard the fat in the pan, and add 2 tbsp olive oil. It heats REAL quick this time as your pot is screaming hot. This is also why it's good to have your prep done. It goes from ready to ruined in a heart beat.

Toss in the onions, shallots, carrots, and fennel. Toss them to coat...then let em sit for a couple minutes...you want some steady contact with the pot here to develop some color. After a couple of minutes...kick 'em around a bit and let 'em sit for another minute or two. Then toss frequently.

Add the garlic...and toss frequently for 2 mins. Garlic burns EASILY...so keep it moving.

Next toss in the fresh herbs and wine. Scrape the seared bits off the bottom of the pan. I know have the French have a name for those bits...but every cook, book, and blog I come across calls them "flavor bombs"...so scrape them up. Let the wine reduce down for about 2 mins.

Add the stock. Throw the chorizo you fried earlier in...and return the chicken to the pot. Nestle the chicken into the veggies and keep it in a single layer. The wine and stock should almost cover the meat. Bring the stock to a boil...put a lid on it...and put in the oven for 35-45 mins.

OK...here's an easy way to seriously compliment the chicken and veggies. I'm braising chicken with fennel, thyme, and bay leaf. So I'm going to make my rice with chicken stock, fennel fronds, thyme and bay leaf. Simple.

Take 1 1/2 C rice, 3 C stock, some twigs of thyme, fennel fronds (the leafy green stalks you cut off the bulb you used earlier), and bay leaf and combine in a pot. Toss 1 tbsp of butter in there too...trust me. Bring it to a boil, stir, drop to a simmer, cover and leave it for 20 mins.

You're in the clear. Leave the rice for 20...let it sit covered off the flame for 10...and most likely...you're chicken's done. A quick pan gravy...and you're done.

Take the chicken and veggies out of the pot and tent them with foil. Put the pot over high heat...add a pad or two of butter...and allow to reduce for 15 min. That pan gravy has such a gorgeous velvety texture and such a balance of fennel, stock, onion, shallot and little sweetness from the carrots. Not only is it going to perfectly coat and compliment your chicken...it's going to soak into that bed of rice and turn it into a rich, luscious, creamy grain of goodness...you'll be impressed with yourself. Go on...platter, plate, and serve.

In all seriousness...this dish is a real stretch for me. I've got one or two ideas for the next time I try it...and I'm pretty sure I can get it a little cleaner. But I was a little impressed with myself tonight. It was clean, crisp, and really savory. Having thought about it most of the day...and really setting aside some time to cook...I'm glad I didn't have a real let down...as can happen. Cheers to something new...

Mangia et statti zitto...

cheers...

dunkin