Chicken with Riesling
Rice Pilaf
Mixed Green salad with mustard vinaigrette
Okay here is how it went: the chicken with Riesling is a Mark Bittman recipe, from his cook book called "The Minimalist". I totally recommend picking it up, it's an amazing book, along with Bittman's "How to Cook Everything". It's the cooking encyclopedia.
Anyhoosers, start with a whole chicken (bone in, skin on), cut up. In a heavy bottomed dutch oven (le crueset people!), heat a three to four count of olive oil over medium high heat. Salt and pepper the chicken, then sear all of the pieces in batches in the oil. Don't overcrowd the pan, get some good color on both sides of all pieces and take it out of the pan. While the chicken is done browning, slice four onions. Yeah that's right I said four. To avoid stingy onions tears, refrigerate the onions beforehand. It's the only trick that's ever worked for me - it seems as if the onions are cold they don't release as much of the tear inducing air. That's science right there, peeps. Theater degree, what.
After removing the last of the chicken from the dutch oven, put all of the sliced onions in with a good dose of salt and pepper. I also added five or six shakes of garlic powder, one bay leaf, and a good handful of fresh thyme wrapped in butcher's twine. It's easier to do the thyme that way because you don't need to scrape all of the thyme leaves off - they fall off in the sauce and you can remove the stems in one fell swoop. Stir the onions often and get them nice and soft. I let them go a bit farther than soft, because I like a little carmelization on the onions, but don't let them burn. Once they are to the color and texture that you like best, add half of a bottle of dry Riesling. Be sure to look for a Riesling that says "dry" on the bottle, because you do not want this dish to be too sweet. Add the browned chicken pieces back to the pot, and settle them in the sauce - make sure all of the chicken is mostly covered by sauce. Add more wine if necessary. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to simmer, and cook that deliciousness for about forty five minutes. As I like to say: taste taste taste. You really need to balance the sweetness of the Riesling with salt, so be sure to taste and season to your liking. When it's done, the chicken on the thighs and legs should be falling off of the bone.
As the chicken cooked, towards the end I made two boxes of Near East Rice Pilaf. I know that's cheating, but like I always say - take the help where you can get it. You know that the boxed rice pilaf will come out perfect every time, so why not do it. I also made the mustard vinaigrette for the greens: two tablespoons of Dijon mustard, a splash of the Riesling that you cooked the chicken in, three tablespoons of red wine vinegar, salt/pepper and a 1/4 cup of olive oil. Whisk all ingredients together and set aside. Right before serving, toss your greens in the vinaigrette. Ha, toss it.
Once the chicken is done, remove it from the pan and then get out my favorite kitchen tool. Say it together people: "immersion blender". Awww yeah. Immersion blend that sauce until it thickens a bit, then add the chicken back in and heat through. Again, if you don't have an immersion blender, dudes, buy one. Orrrrrrrrrr blend it in a blender, sheesh.
Serve the chicken with the rice pilaf and the pan sauce, along with your salad with mustard vinaigrette. A baguette to soak up the sauce is also helpful, and everyone loves bread! It's a delicious, slow cooked meal worthy of the coldest of days. It will warm the cockles of your heart. Haa, I said cockles.
As always, let me know how it goes.
BFF,
Dana
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