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The
following recipe is one you can put together quickly
and while it is cooking, you can be as romantic
as you like. This stew would go well with a local
Southern Oregon Syrah or Cabernet.
½
ounce dried porchini mushrooms
5 Tablespoons Olive Oil (I like using Robbins
Family)
1 Large Chicken cut into 8 pieces (if the Chicken
breasts are unusually large, cut in half)
Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper (try an unusual
peppercorn here)
Flour for dredging
½ cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped red onion
2 teaspoons fresh garlic – minced fine
½ teaspoon hot paprika or Basque Chili Pepper
Piment D'Espelette
fresh herbs – use what you may have on hand or
try available winter herbs such as rosemary, sage,
thyme
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 Cup Dry White Wine or Dry Vermouth
15 ounces San Marzano Tomatoes – chopped fine
with the liquid from the container
1 cup Chicken Stock (I like to use the chicken
demi-glace to create my stock – it has a better
flavor)
Soft Polenta – to serve the stew over
Soak the dried mushrooms in 3 cups of hot water
until soft (about ½ hour) Remove mushrooms from
water and save 2 cups of water being sure not
to get the sediment from the bottom.
Salt
and pepper the chicken, dredge the chicken in
flour, then sear in the olive oil in a deep pot
that can be put into the oven. After the chicken
is browned, remove from the pot and reserve.
Add
the vegetables and cook for approximately 15 minutes,
add lemon juice.
Add
wine to deglaze the pot and be sure to scrape
up all the bits on the bottom of the pan. Cook
for approximately 5-7 minutes to reduce the wine
and cook off the alcohol. Add the mushroom water,
chicken stock, tomatoes and olives. Cook until
starting to bubble, then add the chicken back
to the pot. Place pan in the oven and cook at
350 for approximately 1 hour, basting the chicken
every once in a while. When chicken is tender,
serve over soft polenta.
One
thing I found when I traveled to Europe years
ago was they served a cheese course in between
dinner and dessert. The rule of thumb with a cheese
course is to keep the portions small and varied.
For a nice cheese course I would suggest Roquefort
blue Cheese, A goat cheese (local is always best),
Pierre Robert Triple Crème and a Vermont Cheddar
or White Stilton type cheese such as Wallace Gromitt
Wensleydale. Serve the cheeses with something
interesting like Candied Chestnuts in syrup, Plain
Chestnut Honey or Dried White Calabrian Figs in
Chestnut Honey and a small handful of Crème Brulee
Almonds. The sweet and salty is a nice balance
of flavors and would work really well with a local
port.
Click
here for printable version
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