Okay, I promised to catalog my next culinary expedition, so here you go...
Having just read through Alton Brown's "I'm Just Here For the Food," I decided to make a recipe that he named as his favorite dish of all time to cook. I've modified it for more practical quantities, as you'll see it's a really easy recipe to scale up or down. I apologize for not taking more pictures, but I was in a rush when preparing this, so I took the pictures when I got the chance. My comments are in italics, all thumbnails link to higher res.
Chicken in Garlic and Shallots
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1.5 hours
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
1 package of 6 chicken thighs
Salt (I use kosher)
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/3 cup + 4tsp olive oil (EV worked great for me)
12 Peeled cloves of garlic (original recipe called for a 1:1 ratio between chicken and garlic cloves, but I found that even at 12 cloves I wanted a little more. I do, however, really like garlic, so decide accordingly.)
6 Shallots, peeled and split in half from stem to root
Several sprigs of parsley, sage, and thyme (Alton says he doesn't like rosemary in this dish as it "puts it over the edge," but I imagine the addition of a sprig or two might not be such a bad thing - something I'll likely try next time.)
One loaf of french bread (My addition)
Equipment
1 Large Ovenproof Sauté pan with a lid (10" works great for 6 thighs, but you'll want a 12" if you're doing more. If you don't have a sauté pan, you can transfer the chicken into a casserole dish after browning - but you'll lose flavor)
Tongs for handling meat
Chef's Knife (of course)
Bread knife
The process
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Begin by preparing your aromatics. Sorry I don't have any pictures of this part, I was a bit rushed. Cut the majority of the root off of the base of the shallots, trim off any extra "paper" on the stem, and then split them in half from stem to root. Peel off the top layer, and you should be left with a clean, shiny white-and-purple shallot half.
Peel the garlic by taking your chef's knife (if you're not using a broad bladed knife like a chef's knife, do this with a bench scraper, spatula or other broad flat instrument), placing the blade flat against the clove, and lightly tapping with your fist. You just want to hear a little wet snap, not a juicy crushing sound. The idea is to "pop" the skin, not crush the clove. Once the skin is a bit loose, just rub the clove between your hands, and the skin should come right off. Trim the root off of each clove, the little woody bits on the ends aren't very appetizing.
Rinse off your fresh herbs. I used probably about 6 large sage leaves, one handful of thyme, and 8-10 sprigs of italian parsley. Feel free to use flat leaf parsley, I just prefer the taste of italian. Don't worry too much about draining them thoroughly, they're going to wilt pretty soon anyway.
Open up your chicken and, either by using latex gloves and your hands or tossing in a mixing bowl, coat them in the 4tsp of olive oil. Spread the pieces out, preferably on an easy to clean or dispose of surface. I typically use freezer paper or wax paper, but since I was cooking this over at a friend's house I had to use what I had.
Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper - my definition of liberally goes something like this:
Heat the sauté pan on medium-high until you can feel a barely tolerable heat coming off of it from about 10" over the surface of the pan. Using the tongs, lay the chicken skin-side down in the pan. Be warned, there will be a good amount of smoke at first, so have a fan on and windows open.
Give the thighs about 30 seconds before you even touch them again. After 30 seconds, you can check to see how dark you've browned your chicken, and give them a bit more time if you want. I like my chicken to have a nice crispy skin, so I gave them about 50-60 seconds total before flipping them with the tongs.
Let the thighs cook on the other side for about 3-4 minutes. Remember, the majority of the residual heat in the pan was sucked out cooking the other side, so the second side will take significantly longer. After both sides are browned to your satisfaction, remove from the heat and add the herbs, aromatics, and olive oil.
Put the lid on the pan, stick the pan in the oven, and set your timer for an hour and 15 minutes. Don't just assume it's done then, either - check using an instant-read digital thermometer. Don't have one? Buy one. They're under $10 most places.
My addition - simple toast
I made this after the pan was in the oven for about an hour, and just finished it as my timer went off.
Take your french loaf, and cutting at a 45 degree angle to the side of the loaf, slice the bread about a centimeter thick all the way down.
Stick these slices under a broiler (hell, I used a toaster oven set on broil) until they're golden brown around the edges. Turn over and brown the other side. Broiling the bread rather than just toasting it ensures that the middle of the bread will stay slightly chewy, while the outside will be nice and crunchy.
The finished product
Here it is, in all its deliciousness.
We each took a thigh or two, a few pieces of toast, a spoonfull of garlic and shallots. Spread the butter-soft garlic and shallots over the toast, drizzle the delicious infused olive oil and chicken fat mixture all over everything, and die a very, very happy person.
Alton suggests using some of the oil, shallots, and garlic, and making mashed potatoes. I was sorely tempted to try that as well tonight, but my friend's kitchen was ill-equipped for it, and the only real equipment I brought was my sauté pan and chef's knife. Next time, it's definitely going to happen.
I have to admit, I did have one major fuckup during the evening. I was originally planning on making a larger batch of this, but through my haste and inexperience with my friend's stovetop, I managed to turn on the wrong burner and melt my first six thighs into a tupperware container. I was really kicking myself in the ass later, too.
All in all, I was very happy with this dish. The chicken was juicy and just full of flavor, while the sauce and aromatics made just about the best accompanyment one could ask for. Hell, I could have eaten that stuff on toast until I was full, and nuts to the chicken. I think next time I may try the traditional garlic and 40 cloves recipe, and see which I like better. I'll see about a followup report when that happens.
Having just read through Alton Brown's "I'm Just Here For the Food," I decided to make a recipe that he named as his favorite dish of all time to cook. I've modified it for more practical quantities, as you'll see it's a really easy recipe to scale up or down. I apologize for not taking more pictures, but I was in a rush when preparing this, so I took the pictures when I got the chance. My comments are in italics, all thumbnails link to higher res.
Chicken in Garlic and Shallots
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1.5 hours
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
1 package of 6 chicken thighs
Salt (I use kosher)
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/3 cup + 4tsp olive oil (EV worked great for me)
12 Peeled cloves of garlic (original recipe called for a 1:1 ratio between chicken and garlic cloves, but I found that even at 12 cloves I wanted a little more. I do, however, really like garlic, so decide accordingly.)
6 Shallots, peeled and split in half from stem to root
Several sprigs of parsley, sage, and thyme (Alton says he doesn't like rosemary in this dish as it "puts it over the edge," but I imagine the addition of a sprig or two might not be such a bad thing - something I'll likely try next time.)
One loaf of french bread (My addition)
Equipment
1 Large Ovenproof Sauté pan with a lid (10" works great for 6 thighs, but you'll want a 12" if you're doing more. If you don't have a sauté pan, you can transfer the chicken into a casserole dish after browning - but you'll lose flavor)
Tongs for handling meat
Chef's Knife (of course)
Bread knife
The process
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Begin by preparing your aromatics. Sorry I don't have any pictures of this part, I was a bit rushed. Cut the majority of the root off of the base of the shallots, trim off any extra "paper" on the stem, and then split them in half from stem to root. Peel off the top layer, and you should be left with a clean, shiny white-and-purple shallot half.
Peel the garlic by taking your chef's knife (if you're not using a broad bladed knife like a chef's knife, do this with a bench scraper, spatula or other broad flat instrument), placing the blade flat against the clove, and lightly tapping with your fist. You just want to hear a little wet snap, not a juicy crushing sound. The idea is to "pop" the skin, not crush the clove. Once the skin is a bit loose, just rub the clove between your hands, and the skin should come right off. Trim the root off of each clove, the little woody bits on the ends aren't very appetizing.
Rinse off your fresh herbs. I used probably about 6 large sage leaves, one handful of thyme, and 8-10 sprigs of italian parsley. Feel free to use flat leaf parsley, I just prefer the taste of italian. Don't worry too much about draining them thoroughly, they're going to wilt pretty soon anyway.
Open up your chicken and, either by using latex gloves and your hands or tossing in a mixing bowl, coat them in the 4tsp of olive oil. Spread the pieces out, preferably on an easy to clean or dispose of surface. I typically use freezer paper or wax paper, but since I was cooking this over at a friend's house I had to use what I had.
Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper - my definition of liberally goes something like this:
Heat the sauté pan on medium-high until you can feel a barely tolerable heat coming off of it from about 10" over the surface of the pan. Using the tongs, lay the chicken skin-side down in the pan. Be warned, there will be a good amount of smoke at first, so have a fan on and windows open.
Give the thighs about 30 seconds before you even touch them again. After 30 seconds, you can check to see how dark you've browned your chicken, and give them a bit more time if you want. I like my chicken to have a nice crispy skin, so I gave them about 50-60 seconds total before flipping them with the tongs.
Let the thighs cook on the other side for about 3-4 minutes. Remember, the majority of the residual heat in the pan was sucked out cooking the other side, so the second side will take significantly longer. After both sides are browned to your satisfaction, remove from the heat and add the herbs, aromatics, and olive oil.
Put the lid on the pan, stick the pan in the oven, and set your timer for an hour and 15 minutes. Don't just assume it's done then, either - check using an instant-read digital thermometer. Don't have one? Buy one. They're under $10 most places.
My addition - simple toast
I made this after the pan was in the oven for about an hour, and just finished it as my timer went off.
Take your french loaf, and cutting at a 45 degree angle to the side of the loaf, slice the bread about a centimeter thick all the way down.
Stick these slices under a broiler (hell, I used a toaster oven set on broil) until they're golden brown around the edges. Turn over and brown the other side. Broiling the bread rather than just toasting it ensures that the middle of the bread will stay slightly chewy, while the outside will be nice and crunchy.
The finished product
Here it is, in all its deliciousness.
We each took a thigh or two, a few pieces of toast, a spoonfull of garlic and shallots. Spread the butter-soft garlic and shallots over the toast, drizzle the delicious infused olive oil and chicken fat mixture all over everything, and die a very, very happy person.
Alton suggests using some of the oil, shallots, and garlic, and making mashed potatoes. I was sorely tempted to try that as well tonight, but my friend's kitchen was ill-equipped for it, and the only real equipment I brought was my sauté pan and chef's knife. Next time, it's definitely going to happen.
I have to admit, I did have one major fuckup during the evening. I was originally planning on making a larger batch of this, but through my haste and inexperience with my friend's stovetop, I managed to turn on the wrong burner and melt my first six thighs into a tupperware container. I was really kicking myself in the ass later, too.
All in all, I was very happy with this dish. The chicken was juicy and just full of flavor, while the sauce and aromatics made just about the best accompanyment one could ask for. Hell, I could have eaten that stuff on toast until I was full, and nuts to the chicken. I think next time I may try the traditional garlic and 40 cloves recipe, and see which I like better. I'll see about a followup report when that happens.