I don't usually post recipes here, because I don't often have pictures, and I have a website pretty much devoted to food anyway. But I made this last night, and I took some pictures to use up some film. All the images are thumbs of the lo-res pictures I took. Haven't edited amy of them, because they don't look so bad that you can't tell what's depicted. At least, I don't think so.
It's not a complicated recipe, but there are a few steps. There are plenty of other ways to do this - this is just the way I chose last night.
What you need:
1 chicken cut into serving pieces:
3-4 slices of bacon
2 tbs. butter
1 package of pearl onions
1 package of mushrooms:
1 cup of peas (thawed)
2-3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 cup cognac
few sprigs of fresh thyme
1/2 to 3/4 cup stock or broth (Chicken or vegetable, preferably)
salt/pepper
Preheat your oven to 400.
Start the chicken. Season it with salt and pepper, and dust with flour, then put it into a big baking dish or roasting pan, and stick it in the oven to start cooking. Set your timer for 30 minutes, and check it at 20 to make sure it's not getting scorched.
Start the onions/mushrooms/sauce. In a large frying pan, start the bacon on low heat. Cook it until it's done, but not too crispy, and its rendered most of its fat. Remove it from the pan and let it drain a bit, then cut it across the length into thin strips.
Wash your mushrooms (yeah, yeah, you're just supposed to just brush 'em off, but I find there's usually too much dirt on mine.) then dry them. Putting them in front of a fan works wonders. Peel your onions. Some recipes call for the onions to be blanched first, but I find it's easier and less time-consuming to just take a paring knife to them.
When your mushrooms are dry, Put the pan with the bacon fat (and bacon bits, etc.) back on the heat - High heat this time - and add the butter to the pan. When the foam has subsided, add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Add the onions and garlic to the pan, and continue to cook for three or four more minutes. Make sure the bacon "fond" on the bottom of the pan doesn't burn, because that's going in your sauce. Season the vegetables with a little salt, but be careful not to overdo it, since there's a good bit of salt in the bacon.
Take the pan off the heat, and deglaze with the cognac. Put the pan back on the heat and stand back, because it's going to flame:
Stir the contents of the pan to get all the good stuff up off the surface, then cook until the cognac has more or less reduced to a glaze. Add the stock, and bring it to a boil.
By this time, your timer should be going off, and your chicken should be getting nice and brown.
Remove the chicken from the oven and drop the temperature to 325. Pour the contents of the pan over the chicken along with the thyme. Put it back in the oven for around 15 minutes, then add the peas and the bacon you reserved earlier. Let it finish cooking for another five minutes or so. Should look like this:
You can also be insufferably pretentious and serve it over rice with a salad of "micro-greens" like I did, dressed with a little lemon olive oil and a drop or two of balsamic vinegar:
One more shot, showing the kind of cognac I used, and the wine I drank with it. Good wine for $7, IMO.
It's not a complicated recipe, but there are a few steps. There are plenty of other ways to do this - this is just the way I chose last night.
What you need:
1 chicken cut into serving pieces:
3-4 slices of bacon
2 tbs. butter
1 package of pearl onions
1 package of mushrooms:
1 cup of peas (thawed)
2-3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 cup cognac
few sprigs of fresh thyme
1/2 to 3/4 cup stock or broth (Chicken or vegetable, preferably)
salt/pepper
Preheat your oven to 400.
Start the chicken. Season it with salt and pepper, and dust with flour, then put it into a big baking dish or roasting pan, and stick it in the oven to start cooking. Set your timer for 30 minutes, and check it at 20 to make sure it's not getting scorched.
Start the onions/mushrooms/sauce. In a large frying pan, start the bacon on low heat. Cook it until it's done, but not too crispy, and its rendered most of its fat. Remove it from the pan and let it drain a bit, then cut it across the length into thin strips.
Wash your mushrooms (yeah, yeah, you're just supposed to just brush 'em off, but I find there's usually too much dirt on mine.) then dry them. Putting them in front of a fan works wonders. Peel your onions. Some recipes call for the onions to be blanched first, but I find it's easier and less time-consuming to just take a paring knife to them.
When your mushrooms are dry, Put the pan with the bacon fat (and bacon bits, etc.) back on the heat - High heat this time - and add the butter to the pan. When the foam has subsided, add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Add the onions and garlic to the pan, and continue to cook for three or four more minutes. Make sure the bacon "fond" on the bottom of the pan doesn't burn, because that's going in your sauce. Season the vegetables with a little salt, but be careful not to overdo it, since there's a good bit of salt in the bacon.
Take the pan off the heat, and deglaze with the cognac. Put the pan back on the heat and stand back, because it's going to flame:
Stir the contents of the pan to get all the good stuff up off the surface, then cook until the cognac has more or less reduced to a glaze. Add the stock, and bring it to a boil.
By this time, your timer should be going off, and your chicken should be getting nice and brown.
Remove the chicken from the oven and drop the temperature to 325. Pour the contents of the pan over the chicken along with the thyme. Put it back in the oven for around 15 minutes, then add the peas and the bacon you reserved earlier. Let it finish cooking for another five minutes or so. Should look like this:
You can also be insufferably pretentious and serve it over rice with a salad of "micro-greens" like I did, dressed with a little lemon olive oil and a drop or two of balsamic vinegar:
One more shot, showing the kind of cognac I used, and the wine I drank with it. Good wine for $7, IMO.
