Tag: French

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Cauliflower Au Gratin

Poor cauliflower. It’s always the last lonely vegetable left on the crudité platter. Maybe that’s because there’s no better way to eat cauliflower than when it’s smothered with cheese! This recipe also works well with cauliflower’s slightly more popular cousin, broccoli, and with a wide variety of cheeses.

Ingredients

  • 1 Large Head of Cauliflower
  • 5 tbsp. Butter or Margarine
  • 3 tbsp. All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 cups Whole Milk
  • 3 cups Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
  • 1 tbsp. Finely Minced Onion
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt
  • 1/2 cup Bread Crumbs

Directions

  1. Cut cauliflower into bite-sized pieces.
  2. Cook cauliflower in a large pot of boiling water until tender.
  3. Coat a large baking dish with cooking spray.
  4. Drain cauliflower well and arrange in prepared baking dish. Set aside.
  5. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  6. In a medium-sized sauce pan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat.
  7. When melted and bubbling, add flour and stir to create a bubbly paste.
  8. Slowly add milk, stirring to thoroughly combine with the margarine and flour mixture.
  9. Cook and stir until it begins to thicken, about 10-15 minutes. Do not allow to boil.
  10. Slowly add cheddar cheese, stirring constantly.
  11. Cook and stir until all cheese is melted and sauce thickens.
  12. Add onion and salt and stir until incorporated into cheese sauce.
  13. Pour cheese sauce over cauliflower in baking dish, and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
  14. Cook in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes.
  15. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Sneaky Trick: Did you drain your cauliflower but it’s still really wet and soupy? Set the uncovered pot back on the cooling burner you just used while cooking it to generate a little steam and reduce the water content. Remember to turn the cauliflower frequently so it doesn’t crisp or burn on the bottom. This works great for boiled potatoes, too!

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Coq au Vin

This classic dish makes my mouth tingle, it’s so good! Coq au Vin is fantastic served over egg noodles with a side of steamed carrots, or just as good all by itself. Other than one spoiled, ungrateful child with an unrefined palate, who referred to it as “that weird purple chicken,” it’s a consistent crowd-pleaser, too. Bonus: The chef gets to sample the “vin” while the “coq” is cooking! C’est formidable!

Ingredients

  • 4 Bone-In, Skin-On Chicken Thighs
  • Salt and Ground Black Pepper to taste
  • 8 oz. Bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 10 Large Button Mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 Large Onion, diced (or about 20 Tiny Pearl Onions)
  • 2 Shallots, sliced
  • 2 tbsp. All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 tbsp. Butter or Margarine
  • 1 1/2 cups Red Wine*
  • 1/4 tsp. Dried Thyme
  • 1 cup Chicken Broth

*Just about any red wine will do: Cabernet, Merlot, Shiraz, etc. But since you’re only using one-and-a-half cups in the recipe, make sure it’s one you like to drink, too! My current fav is Cupcake Vinyards Merlot. It’s a great balance of low price and high drinkability, and works well in this recipe.

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Season chicken thighs all over with salt and ground black pepper.
  3. Place bacon in a large, oven-proof skillet and cook over medium-high heat, until almost crisp.
  4. Remove bacon from skillet and set aside on a paper-towel lined plate, leaving drippings in the skillet.
  5. Increase heat to high and place chicken thighs, skin-side down, into skillet.
  6. Cook in hot skillet until browned, about 4 minutes per side.
  7. Transfer chicken to a plate.
  8. Do NOT drain fat from the skillet.
  9. Lower heat to medium-high and saute mushrooms, onion, and shallots in the hot skillet until caramelized.
  10. Stir flour and butter or margarine into vegetable mixture until completely incorporated.
  11. Pour red wine into the skillet and bring to a boil while stirring.
  12. Stir bacon and thyme into red wine mixture.
  13. Simmer until wine is about 1/3 reduced, about 5-6 minutes.
  14. Pour chicken broth into wine mixture and stir to combine.
  15. Set chicken thighs into skillet, skin side up.
  16. Bring skillet to a simmer.
  17. Move uncovered skillet to pre-heated oven and cook for 30 minutes.
  18. Spoon juices over the chicken and continue cooking about 30 minutes more.
  19. Remove skillet from oven and transfer chicken to serving plates.
  20. Place skillet over high heat and reduce pan juices until thickened, stirring well to incorporate any fat that rises to the top. (Tip: Remember to keep a pot holder on the handle! It’s easy to forget once the pan is out of the oven, and will require a lot of cold water, ice, and burn cream if it slips your mind.)
  21. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste.
  22. Spoon vegetables and sauce over chicken and serve.

 

Très Important: Do NOT substitute some wimpy boneless, skinless, or white meat chicken in this recipe.  Simply put, it will suck, and therefore be a deplorable waste of wine.

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