Poulet Roti Madame Mere...Broiled Chicken Thighs With Champagne And Tarragon

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This recipe was not intended for a post, but after Madame Mere declared it the best meal she's had since she arrived, I just had to share it with you.  I am still shocked that after all the meals I have prepared for her, this would be the one to elicit the most praise from her lips.

It all started with a cup of leftover Champagne.  You know how I hate to throw stuff away.  I had shared a bottle with my daughter in law on the occasion of my granddaughter's first birthday on Sunday and was salivating a risotto the next day; but the thought of another rich meal so soon after that was not terribly appealing.  Every recipe I looked into for this iconic dish had cream in it and that was not too enticing,  I wanted something simple.  I was still putting things away from the party the night before and frankly my stomach could not take another heavy meal.   So I decided to go on my own and try something new.  The result was an unexpected hit, especially with MM.  The best part, though, was that it was simple and quick and I had all the ingredients on hand.  Talk about a home run...

There are two ways you can approach this recipe.  You can wait until you have leftover Champagne OR, you can plan ahead.  If you can't wait, and it is an elegant and quick main course for entertaining during the week, buy a bottle of good French Champagne like Veuve Cliquot, open it an hour or two before your guests arrive, save what you need for the marinade and put the bottle back in the fridge. You can recork the bottle with a Champagne cork or, better yet, let it sit unopened. Champagne stays bubbly for quite awhile.  Serve it for cocktails or with this meal. That, my friends, would be over the top!

Whilst I highly recommend you use chicken thighs in this recipe, you can also use breasts and legs or a combination of all three. Adjust the recipe accordingly, but don't use skinless and boneless parts.  The skin helps keep the moisture in and you can always remove it after it is served on your plate.

I did not have fresh shallots, but I always keep a jar of dried ones in the pantry for emergencies like this.  The one thing that must be fresh, though, is the tarragon. Don't chop it up until right before you add it to the chicken.  That is when it releases it's aroma.

If you are wondering why I would use onion and garlic powder instead of the fresh ingredients, it was for aesthetic purposes only.  I wanted to end up with a browned chicken with sauce, no onions or garlic around it.

As I was planning a simple meal of broiled chicken, I prepared mashed potatoes and green beans.  If you want to dress it up, you can always place the chicken on top of wild rice and serve a simple vegetable like green beans or sauteed spinach,  If you must serve a salad, serve it afterwards, a la francaise.  You don't want the vinegar in the dressing to compete with the sauce.

Bon appetit!


Poulet Roti Madame Mere

Ingredients
Serves 3 or 4

4 chicken thighs
1/2 cup of Champagne (leftover will do)
1 orange (the juice of) or 1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 cup fresh or dried shallots
olive oil
Sea Salt
Pepper

3 TB butter

Directions:

1.  Get a bottle of Champagne and enjoy it with a friend. It doesn't have to be Veuve Cliquot, my one and only.  This recipe was tested with 2 day old Costco Champagne! I highly recommend it over any other cheap Champagne in the market ($20), and you know I know my wines.

2.  Don't be tempted to drink the whole thing.  Control yourself and save at least 1/2 cup.

3.  Marinade 4 chicken thighs in 1/2 cup of Champagne, the juice of one orange or1/4 cup of orange juice, 1 tsp. each garlic and onion powder (sprinkle over the chicken) 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh tarragon leaves, 1/2 cup chopped fresh or dried shallots and olive oil.  Cover and let sit for at least 1 hour.

4.  Take the chicken out of the marinade, carefully pat dry and slip some of the tarragon leaves from the marinade under the chicken skin.

5.  Place chicken in a long Pirex, add sea salt and pepper on top and place 1/2 TB butter on top of each thigh.  the other 1 TB of butter is halved and placed in the middle.  Set the oven to broil.

6.  Broil in the upper part (not the top) of the oven for 15 minutes.

7.  Remove chicken from the oven and add back the marinade

8.  Reduce oven temperature to 375  and continue cooking for 30 minutes or until done. Baste a couple of times.

This was accompanied with mashed potatoes and french cut green beans for a simple week night meal.


If you are en regime, you can omit the butter.

Champagne With Brandied Apricots

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I'm not one for mixed cocktails.  Vodka on the rocks with a twist is my drink and, ocassionally, (and when I can afford it) a glass of Veuve Clicquot.  Notice I didn't just say Champagne.... Sometimes, though, when I'm in a festive mood, this cocktail can be a lot of fun to serve your guests, particularly on New Year's Eve.  You don't need the best Champagne in the world but be reasonable!

This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to serve a large crowd.


Yield: about 6 servings

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup apricot brandy

1/4 cup vodka

1 cup dried apricots

1 (750-milliliter) bottle Brüt Champagne, chilled

Directions


1.Mix sugar, brandy, and vodka in a large jar with a tight-fitting lid. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the dried apricots, making sure they are completely covered with the brandy mixture. Close lid tightly, turn jar over, and shake well; let stand overnight. Brandy mixture can be made ahead and chilled for up to a month.

2.To serve, place one apricot and 2 tablespoons brandy mixture in the bottom of each Champagne flute. Top with chilled Champagne. Serve immediately.


This is an old recipe from Southern Accents

Cuban New Year's Traditions...Champagne With Grapes

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Looking for ideas for a New Year's post, I came across this simple and beautiful way to toast the new year with family and friends. 

In Spain and Latin America  revelers mark the occasion by quickly eating a dozen grapes at the stroke of midnight. The fruit is said to be a predictor of the year ahead.  Each sweet grape represents a good month, each sour grape a less-than-lucky one. I personally detest the idea and refuse to eat them.  I always get nothing but sour grapes, or maybe they just taste that way when accompanied by Champagne.   Perhaps they would taste better with the sparkling dry Spanish cider which is the traditional drink of Spain for New Year's and slightly sweeter.

On the other hand, I love the Cuban tradition of throwing a bucket of water out the back door to clear the evil spirits that have accumulated over the year.  This is a lot of fun, particularly if there are young children around or American or foreign friends. It is symbolic of throwing out the bad things accumulated over the past year and starting fresh and clean.  It is said that in old Havana nobody dared take a stroll at midnight on New Year's Eve for fear of being hit with a splash of water coming out of doors and windows.

These are simple and fun traditions and it only takes a bucket of water and a bunch of grapes.  So, if you are having a party, even if you are not Cuban or Spanish, make them a part of the celebrations and give everyone a good laugh at the stroke of midnight.   All you need to do is thread 12 grapes onto each skewer and serve in a glass of Champagne just before the countdown.  You know what to do with the bucket of water....

Champagne/grape Idea courtesy of Martha Stewart Holidays
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One Easy Cream Puff Dough Recipe...3 Delicious Appetizers

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This is one of the easiest and most versatile of all pastry dough recipes. To this recipe, you can make savory (add 1 teaspoon kosher/sea salt) puffs for appetizers or sweet (add 2 teaspoons sugar) for desserts. 

The following three appetizers are divine with Champagne!

Servings: 20 medium pastries



Ingredients:

1 cup water

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 good pinch of salt

1 cup eggs (4 large eggs)


Directions:

Preheat oven 425F.

1. In a medium pot, bring the water and butter to a simmer on medium heat. Add the flour and with a wooden spoon or spatula, stir very quickly in one direction. Carefully watch and you'll see that the flour starts absorbing the liquid -- and a dough will form. Keep stirring to continue cooking the flour and cook off some of the water, another minute or two.

2. You can do the next step one of two ways:

•Transfer the paste to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or to a bowl if you're using a hand mixer.

•If you want to mix the eggs directly into the dough in the pot, let it cool slightly, 4 or 5 minutes, or cool off the pan itself by running cold water over its base if you will be mixing the eggs in that pot. You don’t want to cook the eggs too quickly.

3. Add the salt and the eggs one at a time mixing rapidly until each is combined into the paste. The paste will go from shiny to slippery to sticky as the egg is incorporated. The pâte a choux can be cooked immediately at this point or refrigerated for up to a day until ready to use.

4. Spoon the dough into a large gallon-sized plastic bag (or piping bag.) Use your hands to squeeze dough towards the bottom corner. With kitchen shears, snip off just the tippy tip of the bag, about 1/4" of the tip. Pipe onto a baking sheet into little puffs, keeping the puffs 2-inches apart. With your finger, press down the peaks (as they can burn.) Bake at 425F for 10 minutes, then 350F for 18-30 minutes, depending on the size of your puffs.

Here are three easy recipes!

To make gougeres


Stir in 1/2 cup finely grated gruyere cheese (or other grated hard cheese of your choice) + 1 teaspoon kosher/sea salt (1/2 teaspoon fine table salt) - I used a rasp/microplane grater to get ultra-light snowflakes of cheese so as not to weigh down the dough with heavy cheese. You can also sprinkle a bit of the cheese on top of the puffs after you've piped them.

To Make Mini Foie Gras Puffs

Blend 4 oz. foie gras with 6 TB heavy cream; season with salt and pepper. Transfer the filling to a piping bag and set aside in the refrigerator.

Once the puffs are cooked, remove them from the oven and let cool slightly, then slice them horizontally about two-thirds of the way up.

Place a little fig jam into the bottoms of the puffs, to taste, then fill with the foie gras cream; replace the tops.

Serve immediately.

To make the Easy Mushroom Pate click on the link

What To Do With Leftover Champagne...Chicken And Chanterelles in Champagne Sauce

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There's nothing worse than spending money on a good bottle of champagne and not being able to finish it.  .  Last week I was given a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, my favorite champagne.  The unfortunate thing was that although I opened the bottle with every intention of drinking it all by myself,  I just couldn't do it.  My daughter is not like her mother in that respect.  She will have a glass or two but after that she looses interest. Well, I wasn't about to throw out a quarter of a bottle of good and expensive champagne!

I learned a long time ago, that the best way to keep champagne is to stick it back in the refrigerator, uncovered, and it will keep until the next day.  Well, as luck would have it, I wasn't able to finish it the next day either so by the second day I still had a about a cup's worth,  but not bubbly enough to drink straight or mix  with orange juice for mimosas. It was good enough, though, for cooking,  for champagne doesn't have to be bubbly to add to a dish.  In that case, the choice was clear,  risotto OR chicken in a champagne sauce.  This time, the latter won hands down.

Whether you use breasts or thighs in this recipe, please buy them with the bone and skin.  This helps keep the chicken tender and moist.  You can remove the skin when you are served.  You can also substitute the chanterelles for shitaakes or a mushroom of your choice.

Keep this recipe handy for the chances are good that with New Year's coming up you will have some leftover Champagne.  If you still have guests around for New Year's Day lunch, there's nothing like a risotto with champagne substituted for the white wine. For dinner, though, I prefer to have this chicken.

This recipe is for two but you can adjust if you have guests.

I wasn't planning to share this recipe so I never thought of taking a picture.  The photo below is from Hungry Cravings and is as close as I could find to the way mine came out .  It is for a similar recipe but without the champagne.



Chicken And Chanterelles In Champagne Sauce

Serves 2

 

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs or 2- 3 chicken breasts, with bone and skin

3 garlic cloves mashed

3 tb olive oil

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 cup dried chanterelles

3/4 to 1 cup of Champagne

1 tsp tarragon dried or 1 TB fresh

1 tsp. tomato paste

1/4 Cup heavy cream (optional)

Parsley for garnish


Directions

Put the chanterelles in a cup and add water to cover.  Let seep about 10-15 minutes. Drain in a colander but save the water.  Dry the chanterelles well and set aside.

Saute the mashed garlic in the olive oil until golden.  Take out and discard.

Sautee the reconsituted chanterelles about 3 minutes to brown and get rid of the excess water. Add more olive oil if needed. When done,  take them out and and save them on a clean plate next to the stove.

Sautee the chicken until brown on both sides, about 5 minutes on each side.  Remove to the plate.  Sautee the chopped shallots for 2-3 minutes, add the dried or fresh tarragon and sautee another minute.  Return the chicken and shallots to the pan.  Season well with salt and pepper. Add the champagne and boil down to half the original quantity. 

Add the water from the mushrooms and the tomato paste.  Stir to mix well.  Bring to a boil and immediately lower the ttemperature on the stove to medium low.  Cover and cook for about 20-30 minutes*. When the chicken is done, add the chanterelles back and if you want, about 1/4 cup of the heavy cream.  Sprinkle parley on top and serve with yellow rice.


*depending on your stove and the size of the chicken parts, they may be done in as little as 20 minutes so check!

Top photo: Google Images

Bellini Sorbetto..A Drink for Dessert!

Pin It What could be better than a fresh peach and Prosecco bellini on a warm summer day, particularly now that the fresh peaches are coming in ? Why a cold refreshing bellini sorbetto of course! Made with the freshest ripe peaches, this tantalizing concoction of prosecco and peach is sure to tickle your tastebuds. I bet they don't have this at Harry's Bar!


This is a light and refreshing dessert that would go well after the Apricot Lamb Tagine. Make sure you serve it with Amaretti Cookies for a great combination.


SERVES 4 -6



Ingredients

1 cup water

1 1/4 lbs ripe peaches peeled, pitted and sliced (or 16 oz. frozen peaches)

1 lemon, juice of

1/2 cup prosecco or asti spumante sparkling wine*


Directions

Stir sugar into water in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Stir until sugar dissolves.

Bring to a slow boil and boil for 3 minutes. Cool.

Puree peaches in a blender; add cooled syrup and lemon juice.

Stir in wine.

Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.

Serve in pretty glass bowls or champagne flutes.





*May also serve a small scoop in a tall glass and add sparkling wine for a refreshing after dinner dessert drink.

*You may substitute Champagne if you have some leftover from the night before. In that case, you would have a Peach Champagne Sorbet!


Adapted from Recipezzar