Chicken in Riesling

I never need an excuse to uncork a bottle of Riesling; it’s one of my favorite varietals  (it goes splendidly with take-out Thai dishes!) This recipe is one of my favorite chicken dishes and the Riesling adds an incredible flavor- compared to many of the fruit-bombed wines out there, it has a relatively low alcohol percentage, and it's downright easy to quaff.

“Chicken in Riesling” is a recipe (see below) from Epicurious.com.  Think of it as a quicker, lighter, version of the classic coq qu vin, which is fortified with red wine and typically takes far longer than the hour needed to make this Riesling-based dish.

It is the ultimate in satisfying chicken stews. It has a comforting quality about it with the little red potatoes (I left them unpeeled, too) and large chunks of carrots bobbing around in it. But it also has a slightly luxurious nature from the mere 1/2 cup of creme fraiche or heavy cream that you stir in just before serving.

The result is a pot of tender chicken in a pool of brothy, creamy sauce.

And best yet?  Even after adding the Riesling to the pot, there’s still plenty left in the bottle to enjoy a glass or two with this dinner.







Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 pound), backbone discarded and chicken cut French style into 8 pieces
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 4 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only), finely chopped (2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
• 4 medium carrots, halved diagonally
• 1 cup dry white wine (preferably Alsatian Riesling)
• 1 1/2 pound small (2-inch) red potatoes
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup crème fraîche or heavy cream
• Fresh lemon juice to taste 

Preparation
                                                                                          

Preheat oven to 350F with rack in middle. 

Pat chicken dry and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and a rounded 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat oil with 1 tablespoon butter in a wide 3 1/2- to 5-quart heavy ovenproof pot over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then brown chicken in 2 batches, turning once, about 10 minutes total per batch. Transfer to a plate.

Meanwhile, wash leeks and pat dry. 

Pour off fat from pot, then cook leeks, shallot, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in remaining 2 tablespoons butter, covered, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until leeks are pale golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Add chicken, skin sides up, with any juices from plate, carrots, and wine and boil until liquid is reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Cover pot and braise chicken in oven until cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes.

While chicken braises, peel potatoes, then generously cover with cold water in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan and add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer until potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain in a colander, then return to saucepan. Add parsley and shake to coat.

Stir crème fraîche into chicken mixture and season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, then add potatoes.

Enjoy!

Spinach Trenette Agata

There are 5 nights a week I don't have to focus on putting something in the slow cooker and can take a little longer to make something a little more complex- this recipe is NOT one of those!!  This recipe is super easy, super quick and ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!

Spinach Trenette Agata

4-6 Main Dish Servings
8-10 Side Dish Servings

4 Tbsp. butter
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

8 Roma tomatoes, peeled and diced (about 2 1/2 cups)
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup brandy
2 Tbsp. minced fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
12 oz. fresh spinach trenette pasta (similar to linguine), cooked al dente and drained

In large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat and saute shrimp for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp are firm and opaque.  Remove shrimp; set aside.  Add tomatoes and mushrooms to skillet and saute for 5 minutes.  Stir in brandy, basil, salt and pepper.  Add cream and cook until sauce is reduced by 1/3, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in Parmesan.  Reduce heat to low and add shrimp to sauce.  Stir for 1-2 minutes to heat shrimp.  In heated serving dish, pour sauce over warm pasta, toss gently and serve.  

This is a wonderfully smooth and flavorful shrimp dish that family and friends will rave about!!

Chorizo Chili

As many of you know, Steve is a snowboarder...and avid snowboarder.  From the first week of November to the early weeks of April, we spend a LARGE amount of time at various ski slopes.  Sometimes we stay up there renting condos and other times (because we're poor) we come home.  Either way, this dish is something I can put on in the morning, and come home to in the late afternoon with great anticipation.  This is a chili recipe, I'm SURE would win an award!  One of the things we love to do, is bake some french fries, put them in the bottom of the soup bowl and pour this delicious concoction over the top- then pour a pepper-jack cheese sauce (recipe at the bottom) over all of it.  ENJOY!!

This recipe is in the range of a two-three alarm spiciness.  

Makes 6 servings (8 cups)
Preparation time:  20 minutes
Cooking time:  3-4 hours (high heat)
                        7-8 hours (low heat)

1 lb. beef stew meat
         salt & pepper
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
1 28 oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes or diced tomatoes in juice (this is a controversial ingredient as I have read <extensively> that canned tomatoes are "7 Foods That Should Never Cross Your Lips"  due to the resin linings of tin cans containing bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. The solution: Choose tomatoes in glass bottles (which do not need resin linings), I choose Bionaturae (which are delicious!) or Coluccio (both of which are available at our grocery store chains as well as Whole Foods)
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed (see above for my opinion about canned foods < I try and not  buy anything in a can and again, purchase these in a jar- they are a little more expensive but I'm trying to be conscious of EVERYTHING we eat)
1 10 oz. tube Mexican chorizo (I buy the chorizo directly from the butcher)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1-2 Tbsp. minced chipotle chile in adobo sauce (this is one thing I can not find in a a jar and therefore buy in a can)
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. minced fresh oregano or 1 tsp. dried oregano. 


Season stew meat with salt and pepper; brown mean in oil in a skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
Combine stew meat, tomatoes, beans, chorizo, onion, corn, garlic, chili powder, chipotle in adobo sauce, cumin, and oregano in a 4- to 5-qt. slow cooker.  use a wooden spoon to break the chorizo into chunks.
Cover chili and cook until beef is tender on high heat setting for 3-4 hours or on low-heat setting for 7-8 hours.

PEPPER-JACK CHEESE SAUCE WITH FRENCH FRIES

Pepper-jack Cheese Sauce

 
1 lb. frozen french fries
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 cup pepper jack cheese (4 oz.)






Prepare fries according to package directions.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk flour; cook for 1-2 minutes.
Gradually add milk, whisking until smooth.  Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer mixture for 5 minutes
Whisk in cheese until melted.  Cook.
Spoon sauce over chorizo chili over french fries. 

DELICIOUS!!


  

Beef Stroganoff with Parsley Noodles

Having four adult children (that come and go through what appears to be a revolving door) sometimes gives Steve and I the opportunity to have alone time.  Every now and then, it is just he and I at the dinner table and for those nights I try and make something delicious and special.  This is an ol' standby for those (infrequent) dinners. 

Beef Stroganoff with Parsley Noodles for the Slow Cooker

FOR THE STROGANOFF:
 8 oz. boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into cubes
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 tsp. pepper, divided
2 Tbsp. flour
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 cup low sodium beef broth
2 Tbsp. dry white wine
2 cups button mushrooms, halved
1 small onion, cu into thin wedges
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 cup sour cream, 8 oz
2 t. Dijon mustard

FOR THE NOODLES:
4 oz. dry wide egg noodles
2 T. minced fresh parsley leaves
1 T. unsalted butter

Toss together beef, 1/4 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper in a bowl. Add flour, tossing to coat meat.
Heat oil in sauté pan over medium heat. Add the meat and brown on all sides. Transfer meat to a 1 1/2 to 2 quart slow cooker. Deglaze the sauté pan with broth and wine, scraping up all the browned bits; pour over meat in the slow cooker.
Add mushrooms, onion, garlic, thyme, remaining 1/2 t. salt, and remaining 1/2 t. pepper to slow cooker. Stir to mix.
Cover and cook until meat is tender on low setting for 4 to 5 hours.
Combine sour cream and Dijon mustard. Stir 1/4 cup of the hot cooking liquid into to sour cream mixture; return mixture to slow cooker. Turn cooker to high and cover. Cook until sauce is
thickened, about 30 minutes.
Cook noodles as pkg. directs. Drain noodles and toss with parsley and butter. Serve stroganoff over noodles.

Barbecued Baby Back Ribs aka The Rib Experience

I am always trying to avoid old habits:  sloppy joe's with semi-frozen french fries with a can of fruit cocktail, Hamburger Helper with a can of peas, take-out/delivery/drive-thru...you get the picture.  But on the other side of the coin, I also want to avoid making a dinner that is too involved and therefore leads me to the above options (probably drive-thru).

The Rib Experience

When I put these in the slow-cooker early last Tuesday, I was uncertain of how  they were going to turn out (first time making them) but figured I had to give it a shot.  That night, I had a full house:  Steve and all 4 of the kids (the kids were between paydays and school funding, which means they come over and "see what's for dinner")  Steve has now retitled this dish "The Rib Experience".  I sat at the dinner table and listened to moans and groans and watched my family lick the bones clean.  They were that good!  I hope you try them, enjoy them and let me know what you liked (or didn't) about them.

When shopping, make sure to purchase pork baby back ribs, not spareribs or country-style ribs.  This recipe is specifically developed for baby back ribs.  The other cuts will take longer to cook.

Makes 8 servings (22-28 ribs)
Preparation time:  20 minutes
Cooking time:  3 1/2 - 4 1/2 hours (high heat)
                          6 - 7 hours (low heat)

FOR THE RUB:
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
4 tsp. kosher salt
4 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. garlic powder


FOR THE RIBS:
1 medium red onion, sliced
1/2 cup carbonated cola
2 slabs pork baby back ribs (about 4 lb total), rinsed, patted dry and trimmed
1 cup purchased barbecue sauce


Combine brown sugar, salt, chili powder, paprika, pepper, and garlic powder for the rub in a small bowl.  Thoroughly coat ribs with the rub, using all of the mixture.  
Add onion and cola to the 4-6 quart slow cooker.  Place ribs on top, cutting to fit if necessary.  Cover; cook until ribs are tender, on high-heat setting for 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 hours or on low-heat setting for 6-7 hours. 
Preheat broiler to high with oven rack 6-8 inches from the heating element.  Transfer ribs to a foil-lined baking sheet; brush ribs with sauce.  Broil ribs until sauce caramelizes, about 5 minutes.