Veal Saltimbocca Alla Romana for Tyler Florence Fridays

I am on a roll with Tyler Florence's Eat This Book; my last two Tyler Florence Friday picks came from it and now this week's pick as well. This one happened by fate. I noticed Whole Foods had some beautiful looking, free-raised veal cutlets, haven't eaten any veal in ages and figured Tyler would have a good recipe to use them in.  I originally was going to do a picatta, but this recipe for Veal Saltimbocca Alla Romana caught my eye.  

Tyler says:  "This is a dish made famous in the small trattorias of Rome. It's classic, impressive, and incredibly easy."

Veal Saltimbocca Alla Romana
Eat This Book, Tyler Florence

Serves 4

4 (5-ounce) thinly sliced veal cutlets (scallopini)
4 slices thinly sliced prosciutto
8 fresh sage leaves, plus more for garnish
All-purpose flour, for dredging
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/4 cup chicken broth
Lemon wedges, for serving

Put the veal cutlets side by side on a sheet of plastic wrap. Lay a piece of prosciutto on top of each piece of veal and cover with another piece of plastic. Gently flatten the cutlets with a rolling pin or meat mallet, until the pieces are about 1/4-inch thick and the prosciutto has adhered to the veal. Remove the plastic wrap and lay a couple of sage leaves in the center of each cutlet. Weave a toothpick in and out of the veal to secure the prosciutto and sage.


Put some flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to combine. Dredge the veal in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess.

Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter and in a large skillet over medium flame. Put the veal in the pan, prosciutto-side down first. Cook for 3 minutes to crisp it up and then flip the veal over and saute the other side for 2 minutes, until golden. Transfer the saltimbocca to a serving platter, remove the toothpicks, and keep warm.

Add the wine to the pan, stirring to bring up all the delicious flavor in the bottom; let the wine cook down for a minute to burn off some of the alcohol. Add the chicken broth and remaining tablespoon of butter, swirl the pan around. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the saltimbocca, garnish with sage leaves and lemon wedges; serve immediately.

Notes/Results:  It's everything Tyler says it is and more; fast, easy and incredibly delicious.  It takes under 30 minutes to prepare and the flavors of the sage, prosciutto and the sauce make the tender veal sing.  I learned (from Natashya) that Saltimbocca means "jumps in in mouth" and this dish really does.  I actually made it last Saturday, coming home from a chocolate cooking class (more on that and a Salted Caramel Tart recipe to be posted soon), drenched and cold from the dash to my car in the pouring down rain.  I wasn't really in the mood to cook but needed something warming and fast and I had this dish to the table in under 25 minutes. Tyler recommends serving it with the Baked Polenta with Brown Butter and Pine Nuts (I may have to try that one next) and Braised Escarole with Garlic and Lemon, also from Eat This Book.  I really wanted pasta so I did a fresh angel hair in a little butter, parsley, lemon and a touch of chopped sage.  I halved the recipe and made two cutlets and was a very happy camper that night and then next day at lunch.  I was so hungry and it smelled so good, that I didn't have patience for taking many good pictures--but you get the idea from these.  Although I rarely eat veal, I will make this recipe again.  

Do you love Tyler as much as we do?  If so, consider joining us for Tyler Florence Fridays (TFF).  You have the flexibility to choose which Tyler  recipe you want to make each week, based on your needs.  You can get the details at the TFF site here and also check out the weekly round up  to see what the other TFF bloggers made this week and get their  expert feedback on their picks.

 

Feeling soupy? (or noodle-y, or stew-y) and want to drop by and share your comforting creation? Join me for Souper Sundays! All you need to do is make a soup, stew, chili, slow cooker dish, etc. (Really almost anything that is served in a bowl will work!) Send me an email or leave a comment before Sunday and let me know you'll be stopping by and I'll add you to that week's round up so you can share your souper creation. You can make and post the soup any time, I just round them up on Sundays.

Savory Palmiers--Barefoot Blogger's Bonus Recipe

This month's Barefoot Blogger's Bonus Recipe was selected by Becky of Random Musings of a Deco Lady, as she referred the most people to the Barefoot Blogger's site in November.  She picked a quick and easy but still elegant appetizer, Ina's Savory Palmiers.  This recipe appears in the Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics, Ina's newest Cookbook on page 43.  

I am going to admit it--if you haven't figured it out already, I am basically a pretty lazy person!  I will do things that take some time but in an appetizer or pupu, I want it fast and I want it good and I think Ina does both in this recipe. But having been so busy lately, I wanted it even faster so when I saw these little packets of pre-made pesto and a sun-dried tomato version at Whole Foods, I decided to try them.  


Yes it isn't hard to make pesto, I have done it plenty of times.  Nor is it hard to chop sun-dried tomatoes but it was so much more tempting to squeeze it out of the pack!  (I did toast my own pine-nuts though!)  They are actually pretty good, they taste fresh and have good flavor.  I plan to use the remainder in pasta. (You have 21 days to use after opening)

Savory Palmiers
Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics, Ina Garten

1 package frozen Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, defrosted
1/4 cup prepared pesto, store-bought or homemade (recipe follows)
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese, such as Montrachet
1/4 cup finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Kosher salt

Lightly flour a board and carefully unfold one sheet of puff pastry. Roll the pastry lightly with a rolling pin until it’s 9 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches. Spread the sheet of puff pastry with half the pesto.



Then sprinkle with half the goat cheese, half the sun-dried tomatoes, and half the pine nuts. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt. 


Working from the short ends, fold each end halfway to the center. Then fold each side again toward the center until the folded edges almost touch. Fold one side over the other and press lightly. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat for the second sheet of puff pastry using the remaining ingredients. Cover both rolls with plastic wrap and chill for at least 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the prepared rolls of puff pastry into 1/4-inch-thick slices and place them face up 2 inches apart on sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Bake for 14 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm.

Homemade Pesto
Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics, Ina Garten
makes 4 cups

1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 pine nuts
3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves)
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Place the walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the food processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is finely puréed. Add the Parmesan cheese and purée for a minute. Serve, or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.

Notes/Results:  These went together pretty easily, I spread the pesto, then the sun-dried tomatoes , then the cheese and nuts. I felt like my pestos were salty enough that I didn't add more and that was a good call.  I just made a half batch of this recipe. I forgot to take pictures of the folding and since I didn't roll my puff pastry, just unfolded it, I got about 20 instead of the 30 I should have by Ina's recipe.  Overall I liked the flavor, I may have lost a bit of texture because I used the sun-dried tomato pesto instead of the chopped sun-dried tomatoes but I don't think it was noticeable.  Personally I remain a sweet fan when it comes to palmiers--I like the cinnamon and sugar, but these were good.   If you are looking for an easy appetizer that looks impressive to your guests and tastes good, these are a good choice.

Great pick Becky!  Since this is an optional recipe, not all the Barefoot Bloggers may post it but you can check out who did here.  

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If you are a Tyler Florence fan(atic) and want to join us on Fridays, by choosing a Tyler recipe you want to make, come visit the TFF site here. The round up will be posted there each Friday so come see what recipes the TFF members made and how they liked them.

Feeling soupy? (or noodle-y, or stew-y) and want to drop by and share your comforting creation? Join me for Souper Sundays! All you need to do is make a soup, stew, chili, slow cooker dish, etc. (Really almost anything that is served in a bowl will work!) Send me an email or leave a comment before Sunday and let me know you'll be stopping by and I'll add you to that week's round up so you can share your souper creation. You can make and post the soup any time, I just round them up on Sundays.

Announcements! Announcements! for Cook The Books.  Find out who won the first recipe post for La Cucina and learn about the next book we'll be reading here.  Come join in the fun! (I am the host for this round!)  

Blog Party #41--Tradition!: "Debbie's Bean Dip" + a Bonus: "I'll Show You Mine..." (Cookbooks People! What Kind of Blog Do You Think This Is?!?)

Long time no post!  I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to get things ready to leave for Portland tomorrow.  Snowstorms and such there and another lovely case of bronchitis here, helped me make the decision to postpone my flight until Monday and take a couple of days to recover. Hopefully on that end the snow, icy rain and below freezing temperatures will subside a bit while I am downing liquids and popping prescriptions.  It is true that the blood does thin--almost 8 years in Hawaii has made me a weenie where cold weather is concerned.

To make up for my lack of time to post, I am going to cover two things today: Blog Party, because I haven't missed one since I started blogging and "I'll Show You Mine"...showing cookbook collections because I told my friend Natashya at Living In the Kitchen With Puppies that it was a great idea and I would join her.  Note to self: watch out! This girl has amazingly fast reactions. When I think of something and decide its a good idea, it can take months for it to actually happen. She works at warp speed!  (Its OK--she knows I love her!). Now however, I am left with self-esteem issues over my addiction to cookbooks which you will see below after Blog Party.

The theme Stephanie from Dispensing Happiness chose for Blog Party #41  is "Tradition!"  I struggled a bit with this one because our Christmas Day tradition when it comes to food and meals is really no tradition.  For as long as I can remember, Thanksgiving Day was traditional but on Christmas Day the tradition became to pick a different theme every year. Over the years we have had themes such as Mexican Night, Baked Potato Bar (my Mom enjoyed how the foil-baked potatoes steamed up her entire kitchen), and the oft repeated (and my personal favorite!) the "All-Appetizers" dinner (not a healthy choice but unending choices of little bites of food make me happy).  This year it is actually going to be more of a traditional dinner--go figure!  I also thought about posting a traditional food thing we do every year; bake and decorate Christmas cookies.  In our family it was a full-scale productions with tables lined up with family, friends who wanted to tag along, bowls and pastry bags of frosting and usually about 100 dozen cookies. Several years ago it got scaled back considerably and this year I think they clocked in about 50 dozen. The cookies then went on plates for relatives and friends.  It was tiring and it made me ultimately dislike eating frosted cookies but it was fun and a great tradition.  Since I usually arrive for Christmas now, well after the decorating is done, it didn't seem fair to do that one. 

So, we move to New Year's Eve.  Today, it is probably one of my least favorite holidays but when I was a child, I thought it was the coolest.  Being from a large family, you don't always get to choose things and New Year's Eve was all about choosing.  We got to pick our favorite soda / beverage, favorite bag of chips or crackers and favorite flavor of dip.  (OK, I was easily entertained as a child!).  We kids watched TV, movies, played games, whatever.  My Aunt and Uncle would come up for a visit and my Aunt Ginny would usually make my favorite bean dip. The dip was so much my favorite that it became named "Debbie's Bean Dip" and it is very popular in my family.  A couple years ago I was in charge of appetizers and got a request for "Debbie's Bean Dip", I made it and a lovely, high quality, not cheap, delicious Smoked Salmon Dip; guess what got eaten... the bean dip!"  (Yes, we are a simple family of simple tastes!)

So here in all it's Internet glory is my Aunt Ginny's "Debbie's Bean Dip", simple yes, but it is addicting!  My family will tell you it goes best with Frito's, my choice used to be Doritos but since it's blog party, I am jazzing it up and serving it with Sesame-Blues, blue corn tortillas.

Debbie's Bean Dip

by Deb's Aunt Ginny

1 (15 oz) can of re-fried beans

3 oz cream cheese, room temp

2 Tbsp onions, finely minced

To taste:

garlic powder

cayenne pepper

Tabasco 

salt & pepper

Blend beans, cream cheese and onions together well.  Add spices to taste and mix well. Refrigerate at least two hours and serve with your favorite chip.

Notes/Results:  Aunt Ginny never really specified the amount of spices and you just put them in how you like them--it always turns out.  You can substitute low fat beans and cream cheese if you want but simpler is best with this dip.  I don't think I have made this recipe without doubling it and it always gets eaten.  Yes, it is glorified re-fried beans but it is really good and I have made it for parties and even caught "foodie snobs" enjoying it. Besides it's tradition!

To drink?!  Well, going back to tradition, my beverage of choice was usually orange or strawberry soda, from Safeway (Cragmont--do they even still make it?).  The other day I found this O-Organics Blood Orange Soda at Safeway. Much classier I think.  ;-)


Because, (and this may be Un-American of me), I hate root beer, I used to get orange floats whenever we had root beer floats. So that is how I am serving my blood orange soda, with a nice scoop of vanilla ice-cream--a yummy creamsicle.  

There may be more elegant fair at the Blog Party but come visit with me and I will style you out with some homey goodness!  And a few of my favorite childhood (and even now) movies that I might have been watching on New Years Eve. Thanks Stephanie for being as usual, "the hostest with the mostest!"  Check out the other party attendees at the round up here, after Saturday!

OK, on to my self esteem issues.  Apparently I don't just find love in food, I find it in buying cookbooks.  I don't have an actual count but the shelf count average I did put me at well over 300.  When Natashya mentioned sharing pictures I thought it would be fun until I started taking the pictures.  Nothing like in-your-face evidence that you have an addiction!  Well, I do love them, and slowly but surely, through my Cook From Each Book initiative, I plan to eventually cook from all of them!

My cookbooks are in three places:

In the dinning room I have closets--two half and two full.  The half cabinets/shelves have my wine racks in one and bar stuff in the other.  One full closet contains my glassware (also an addiction) and the other holds the bulk of my collection on 6 shelves.  I love my blue and white as you can see in the collection above.  Sorry the pictures aren't the best and really I should have straightened up more--but you are getting reality here!

The view inside:

There is some order to these books.  The top two shelves hold my vegetarian, vegan, raw, organic and healthy cookbooks along with several soup cookbooks at the end.

Next we have favorite/famous chefs.  That's all Donna Hay at the end. Nigella, Ina, Tom Douglas (fav Seattle Chef), Jamie, etc. are all here.  The shelf below that is more general cookbooks, Better Homes and Gardens, Silver Palate and then moves into the beginning of my International section--the Indian section mostly.

More international here, Hawaii Regional, Asian, Middle Eastern, etc. and the bottom shelf has Italian, French, Mexican and then moves into some how-tos, spices, sauces, etc.

In the spare bedroom, I have a folding 3-shelf bookcase in the walk in closet that holds another group.  Unfortunately there are now books stacked on top. This bookcase is overflow (some need to be worked into the closet) and baking/desserts.  Although NOT A BAKER, a girl can dream and drool!  About 15 of the baking/desserts books normally in here are on loan to a friend with a bakery looking for some new ideas.  

The top is mostly overflow (too many used bookstore/book sale purchases).  Some need to be rotated into the main closet.  The first shelf is a bit random, some baking and some health/diet. Some vintage which need to have their own section/special place at some point.

Next we have entertaining, baking and desserts, lots of chocolate cookbooks of course. Then the bottom shelf is pretty random, ones I use less often I guess.

Finally, I have a low bench with two stacks of cookbooks, and a few other things on it in the living room/hall.  This is for larger books, more reference books or ones I just bought or I am currently cooking out of/looking at.  (Some just need to be put away!)  Notice the tape flags on top--I do a lot of perusing and tabbing when I buy them. 

So other than a random one or two books that end up by the bedside for reading that is it. Maybe later on, I 'll use the photos to count them but then I may get really depressed.  Isn't it amazing how you always seem to want/need more! If you had another hour I would show you the other two bookcases of non-cook books as well as the stacks all over.  I am addicted to reading! Thanks Natashya for coming up with the idea to expose our ugly little secrets!  ;-) (Check out her collection here). If you would like to share your cookbook or other food related collection, feel free to join us!  

Whew--that was one long rambling post!  Hope you all are having a good week before Christmas!

Tangy Spinach-Yogurt Soup for "Souper Sundays"

It's time for "Souper Sunday" and perfect weather for it--looks of pouring down rain this weekend and cooler than usual here.  Today's soup is from a book I found at a used bookstore last weekend: Almost Vegetarian by Diana Shaw. The book's cover calls it "A Primer for Cooks Who Are Eating Vegetarian Most of the Time, Chicken & Fish Some of the Time & Altogether Well All of the Time."  I tagged several recipes to try and this soup was one of them:

Tangy Spinach-Yogurt Soup 

Almost Vegetarian, Diana Shaw

Serves 4 to 6

1 Tbsp unsalted butter or canola oil

2 large white onions, thinly sliced

1 tsp coarse salt

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

1/4 cup minced fresh chives

1/4 cup minced fresh dill, or 1 1/2 Tbsp crumbled dried dill

1 1 /2 Tbsp crumbled, dried oregano

1/2 cup green lentils, rinsed

1 1/2 cups water

4 cups plain low-fat or non-fat yogurt

4 cups torn, washed spinach leaves

dash paprika

In a large, deep saucepan, melt the butter or heat the oil.  Add the onions, salt, parsley, chives, dill, and oregano, and saute' over low heat until the onion is limp, about 20 minutes.


Add the lentils and stir well to blend.  Stir in the water.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, cover, and simmer over low heat until the lentils are cooked, about 20 minutes.  The lentils are done when they're tender all the way through, yet retain their shape.  


Turn off the heat. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the yogurt until it's smooth and creamy. Whisk in about a tablespoon of the hot broth. Gradually add more broth, whisking after each addition, until half the broth in is the yogurt. Whisk the yogurt mixture back into the saucepan.  Add the spinach and stir constantly over low heat until the spinach has turned bright green and the soup has warmed through, 8 to 12 minutes.  Be careful not to bring the soup to the boiling point or the yogurt will separate.  Ladle the soup into serving bowls, and sprinkle each serving with a dash of paprika.  Or chill right away, covered, and serve cold.  

Diana Shaw notes that: "This soup tastes better after a day or two. If you'll be serving it cold, you can make it up to 3 days in advance. If you are serving it hot, don't add the spinach until 30 minutes before serving. At that point, reheat the soup very slowly, preferably in a double boiler, so it won't separate. Once it's heated through, stir in the spinach, and serve the soup the moment the spinach turns bright green, after about 3 minutes."

Notes/Results:  I made the soup sticking close to the recipe with the exception of replacing the water with a low-sodium vegetable stock I needed to use up and adding some ground black pepper.   The soup is flavorful and tangy and the lentils add a nice texture to it.  I tried it both hot when I made it and cold the next day.  I think I actually prefer it cold, as it pulls more of the tanginess out of the soup.  It was good, not necessarily my favorite soup ever but good--especially if you love spinach and yogurt.  It is nourishing and full of vitamins, iron and magnesium, fiber as well as pretty low calorie--one serving is about 159.  I served it with a wrap made from a 1/2 a whole-wheat lavosh with a little whipped cream cheese, some taro dill mustard, spinach and avocado.  

A couple of friends stopped by the Souper Sunday Kitchen with some exotic and spectacular looking soups:

First up is Christine from Kit's Chow with a delicious looking Khao tom Congee.  Congee is a rice soup or gruel and Christine's version is flavored with fish sauce and black pepper and garnished with garlic, onion, cilantro and chilies.  It looks like the perfect soup to comfort and take the chill out of a cold day!

Natashya of Living In the Kitchen With Puppies takes us to Morocco for her colorful Festive Tajine, full of delicious spices, vegetables and fruit.  So many bright flavors and colors from the sweet potato, carrots, clementines, spinach and pomegranate seeds and nicely spiced with Harissa, this is a beautiful dish!

Thanks to Christine and Natashya for stopping by.  If you have a soup, stew or anything related (chili, slow cooker dish, stroup, etc.) that you want to share, leave a comment or send me an email and I'll add your creation to next Sunday's line up.  (You don't have to make your soup on Sunday, just let me know you'll be participating by then).

On another foodie note--if you have been reading La Cucina for our virtual book club, Cook The Books, tomorrow, December 15th is the deadline to get your recipe post in.  We are fortunate to have Lily Prior, the author of La Cucina picking her favorite entry so look for the round up of recipes and the winner at the Cook The Books site (here) after the 15th.  We will also be announcing the next book.   

Have a great week everyone!

Sauteed Feta Cheese with Parsley, Raisin, Caper & Pine Nut Sauce for Tyler Florence Fridays

It was a fun and crazy week and now it is Friday and time again for Tyler Florence Fridays.  I wanted an easy, low effort, big flavor pay off for dinner last night and Tyler's recipes for Sauteed Feta Cheese topped with a Parsley, Raisin, Caper and Pine Nut Sauce from Eat This Book, sounded like just what I needed. The cheese was inspired by a marinated sheep's cheese he ate in France.  The sauce is one of several delicious sounding Fresh Chopped-Herb Sauces that Tyler has in the book that he uses with different dishes

Sauteed Feta Cheese

Eat This Book,  Tyler Florence

30 minutes / Serves 6-8

1 large block (1 1/2 lbs) feta cheese

1 cup all-purpose flour

extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 lemon

1 recipe Parsley, Raisin, Caper and Pine Nut Sauce (see recipe below)

Cut the feta into 1/2-inch thick slices.  Put the flour on a large plate.  Put a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and coat with a 2-count of oil. When the oil is smoking, dredge the cheese slices as will comfortably fit in the pan.  Brown about 1 minute on each side, until golden brown.  Squeeze some lemon juice over them, then use a spatula to carefully transfer to a platter. Repeat with the rest of the cheese, adding a little more oil to the pan if you need to.  Spoon the chopped herb sauce over the cheese and serve.   

Parsley, Raisin, Caper, and Pine Nut Sauce

Eat This Book, Tyler Florence

Makes about 1 cup

1/4 cup golden raisins, coarsely chopped

3 Tbsp capers, drained and coarsely chopped

3 Tbsp pine nuts, coarsely chopped

3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

1/2 bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (1/2 cup)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Stir up all ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

The sauce was the favorite part of the dish for me.  Lest you eyeball the list of ingredients and say "Gross!  Anchovy and Raisins!?!", let me assure you it is excellent--salty, savory, sweet and tangy all at once. I am not a fan of whole anchovies but since they are finely chopped, they are mixed in and all you get is the great savory flavor. I would use the sauce of veggies, pasta and fish. The cheese is very good too. My trial and error tips are use a feta that is pressed tightly together, cut the slices thick and make sure the pan is hot enough and you have enough oil.  My first two in the pan, I had some challenges and lost some of the flour coating but I got the hang of it.  I served it on baguette slices  but it would also be nice over salad greens.  I liked the combo of the feta and sauce and would make the dish or either component again.  

Check out the other TFF Bloggers' recipe picks here and also find the details of how to join us!

Coq Au Vin--Barefoot Bloggers

December's first Barefoot Blogger's recipe was Coq Au Vin, selected by Bethany of This Little Piggy Went to Market....  I have to confess that this recipe was one I was "lukewarm" about cooking.  Chicken is not my favorite protein to begin with and something about cooking it in red wine and brandy wasn't really doing it for me. However, since I had never tried Coq Au Vin and so far Ina has come through for me with consistently great recipes, I forged ahead.  It was also a little intimidating cooking a classic French dish when my friend Yoko, who is from Japan but has spent the last four years living in Alsace, France would be sampling it. On the other hand, it was nice to have her input, support and familiarity with the dish. 

This recipe can be found here at Food Network or in Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics, on page 116.  

Coq Au Vin

Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, Ina Garten

2 tablespoons good olive oil
4 ounces good bacon or pancetta, diced
1 (3 to 4-pound) chicken, cut in 8ths
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound carrots, cut diagonally in 1-inch pieces
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup Cognac or good brandy
1/2 bottle (375 ml) good dry red wine such as Burgundy
1 cup good chicken stock, preferably homemade
10 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 pound frozen small whole onions
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon.

Meanwhile, lay the chicken out on paper towels and pat dry. Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. When the bacon is removed, brown the chicken pieces in batches in a single layer for about 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove the chicken to the plate with the bacon and continue to brown until all the chicken is done. Set aside. Add the carrots, onions, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac and put the bacon, chicken, and any juices that collected on the plate into the pot. Add the wine, chicken stock, and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just not pink. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.

Mash 1 tablespoon of butter and the flour together and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. In a medium saute pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and cook the mushrooms over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until browned. Add to the stew. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot.

Notes/Results:  I squeezed this recipe in on Monday night after a long day that began with an early morning hike up Diamond Head and most of the afternoon in Waikiki and I was pleasantly surprised that it went together pretty easily and didn't use the plethora of dishes, pans, and cooking gear that many of Ina's more involved recipes seem too.  I made it pretty much as stated with a dry red wine, brandy, bacon instead of pancetta, and I could not find any frozen pearl onions (or non-frozen pearl onions for that matter) so I used the scant 1/4 of a package of some I had in the freezer from the pot pie we made previously.  The very nice, young guy at the meat counter at Whole Foods was kind enough to chop my free-range chicken into 8 pieces but from the jagged edges, I won't say it is his best skill--although I am not sure I would have done any better.  

I do have to say that I am not sure how Ina got the wonderful color of her soup liquid in the photo in the cookbook, following the recipe given as mine was much lighter and a bit more purple than brown.  (Is it the miracle of photo shop or did I do something wrong?  I can't wait to see the other BB's broths to compare).


We served it with butter-parsley egg noodles and a simple salad of local greens and tomatoes, tossed with chopped rosemary marcona almonds and a simple vinaigrette. The flavor of the chicken and sauce was excellent, the chicken was moist and perfectly cooked and the broth was yummy (Sickly purple-brown but yummy--which is why it doesn't show much in my pictures!). Good as it is, I am not sure that this would be a recipe I would make again. Yoko mentioned that since Alsace is known for their Riesling, they often make the dish as Coq Au Riesling there, using a white wine and that I might try. It was also nice to have a warming bowl of the leftovers after a long day trip to Maui's cooler up-country yesterday.

I am glad that Bethany picked this recipe as it gave me an opportunity to cook something I have never tried before which I love and is one of the reasons I joined the group.  You can check out how the other Barefoot Bloggers fared with their Coq Au Vins here.

Sauteed Winged Beans

Having a friend and house guest visiting from Japan is fun but we have been spending so much time out doing things (North Shore, hiking Diamond Head Crater, shopping, day trip to Maui, eating, etc), it has been hard to find the time to post.  I thought I would do a quick one on some Winged Beans we bought at the farmer's market on Saturday.  Winged beans (also known as the Goa Bean in Malaysia), if you have not seen them before are a type of green bean that are a bit larger than your normal green beans and have four frilly "wings" running along the edges.  They are grown in tropical, humid areas and are used in cooking much like beans are and the shoots and flowers are often used in cooking too.  (You can read more about them here and here).  I had seen them before but had never tried them. The woman at the farmer's market said to trim the ends and saute them in garlic, soy sauce and oyster sauce so that is what we did.

Sauteed Winged Beans

1 lb winged beans or green beans, cleaned, ends trimmed

2 Tbsp chopped garlic

3 Tbsp soy sauce (I used low sodium soy sauce)

2 tsp oyster sauce

black pepper and salt to taste

Saute garlic over medium heat, until lightly browned. Add beans, soy sauce and oyster sauce and mix. Cover pan with lid and cook over medium heat until beans are tender but not mushy, about 5-6 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes/Results:  The flavor is similar to green beans, they just look a bit different and as Yoko says "they are entertaining and good!"  The sauce adds a lot of flavor and we cooked them slightly "al dente" as we both like our beans a bit firm.  We were hungry and I just threw these into the saute pan, although a quick blanch first, would have kept the green color a bit more. We served them with all the leftovers we had in the fridge--beef adobo, garlic jasmine rice, chickpeas and tom kha gai soup.  (Very International of us!)

Hope you are having a good week!  I plan on posting some of our adventures this weekend and next week.