Chicken Venetian
Building the Christmas menu is never a simple matter! We want to impress our guests by offering dishes that unusual, either because they are traditional or because they offer a festive look with their presentation. We spend much of our spare time in the weeks before Christmas, looking in cookbooks or on the Web, "ze" recipes that we agree! It is absolutely necessary to spot because they exist: in addition to pleasing our guests and ourselves, these revenues will be consistent with each other, within our budget, consider our cooking skills and time available for cook. That's quite a program! All ingredients are present for Christmas dinner a chore unspeakable becomes a source of stress for the entire household!
And if we took the problem from the other end: if instead of wanting to impress guests at any price, our only goal was to entertain, preparing Christmas dinner would take a different turn. Here are some lessons I've learned over the years and that may help you avoid putting your foot squarely in the dishes ;-):
-Do not serve your guests a recipe you made for the first time. These are not guinea pigs and if, unfortunately, the recipe does not meet your expectations, you may be disappointed. Rest assured that your guests will receive your disappointment and eventually will be uncomfortable, like you, and it's not what you want. I remember a gravlax salmon I made for Christmas: it was an almost total failure. Instead of discarding it, and finding a last-minute solution that would have been appropriate, but less original, I still served this dish to my guests. Error! As it would have been easy to present to my guests an entry that I managed well, instead of prepare for the first time in my life a gravlax, and hope he gets better, as if by magic, from the moment I tasted it and when he finds himself in the attitude of my guests!
-Do not serve your guests a meat undercooked or overcooked: It seems obvious, but this pitfall can occur so easily! The only way to avoid this is to use a meat thermometer. Cooking meat should not be presumed. Even if you are used to cook a piece of meat that you plan to offer during your meal Christmas will probably be bigger than you usually cook, hence the possibility of misjudging the cooking time. I remember a roast of veal cooked enough that I still served my guests ... It was the cata: I see them still trying to fight with the meat, trying to cut it. A real nightmare!
-Do not use your main entrance or your hot plates that come directly from the cabinet, which might well be cold and thereby cool the food you are going to drop. The plates must be removed from the cabinet and placed, at least, next to the stove near a round that will be used extensively. That way they will capture the ambient heat. It can also, and the ideal, heat the empty plates in a conventional oven at low temperature, 170 degrees F (77 degrees C) for 10 to 15 minutes.
In summary: a good Christmas menu is planned based on solid values, that is to say the recipes you succeed with success! Today, I propose a
Venetian chicken. I like, on occasion, rummage through my old cookbooks and find recipes, we meet less often, simply because they are not in tune with the times. One could almost say that these are often forgotten recipes that provide delicious surprises. And so, with that pot of chicken is flavored to taste exquisite.
Here doneness that I propose for the bacon and pine nuts. Chicken Venetian 4 servings 4 slices of bacon, some of the fat removed, to obtain 100 g of meat, cut into 1.5 cm square
3 c. tablespoons olive oil ¼ cup
(35 g) pine
a 1.5 kg chicken cut into pieces, skin removed (if you lack the time to cut the chicken, buy: 2 small chicken breasts Boneless, 2 thighs and 2 drumsticks, boneless chicken)
1 / 3 cup (40 g) flour
6 medium onions, sliced (sliced into rings)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped Salt and pepper
¼ cup (60 ml) white wine vinegar
¼ cup (40 g) golden raisins (do not substitute with raisins dark, because it would be less pretty)
½ cup (125 ml) dry white wine
½ cup (125 ml) chicken broth (or little more if necessary during cooking, and I have not had to add because I stirred frequently during cooking)
¼ c. tea (or 1 / 8 teaspoon if you're not used to spice flavors supported) cinnamon ¼ c.
tea (or 1 / 8 teaspoon) of cloves
¼ c. tea (or 1 / 8 tsp) freshly grated nutmeg
few sprigs of fresh parsley and a sprig of fresh rosemary
In a casserole (Le Creuset style
) fry bacon over medium heat, 5 to 7 minutes, in 1 v. tablespoons oil. With a slotted spoon, remove bacon from pan and set aside on a plate.
In drippings, brown the pine nuts, about 2 minutes to slightly brown. Book with lardons of bacon.
Remove chicken thighs and drumsticks (if you cut your whole chicken). Dredge chicken pieces in taking care to extend the flour on a plate. When chicken pieces are well floured, and shake. Discard remaining flour.
In the same skillet, saute chicken in drippings until browned. Book as and when a plate.
Discard excess drippings if desired. Scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to remove gross debris would be glued to it: the throw. Pour the remaining oil (2 tablespoons) to skillet, cook over low heat the onions and garlic a few minutes. Add salt and pepper.
Deglaze with the vinegar and reduce by half, about 2 minutes.
Return chicken in the skillet with bacon, pine nuts, raisins, white wine, chicken broth and spices. Add a few sprigs of fresh parsley and a sprig of fresh rosemary. Remove the rosemary after 10 minutes of cooking.
Heat to boiling and reduce heat to medium-low or low. Cover and simmer 45 minutes or until chicken is tender. Stir regularly during cooking. If you think the sauce might adhere to the bottom of the pan, add some chicken broth during cooking.
When finished cooking, remove the sprigs of parsley and discard. Accompany This dish of couscous medium, cooked according to package instructions. As vegetables, serve carrot sticks and zucchini sauteed in olive oil for cooking al dente
. Garnish with lemon zest, cherry tomatoes and some greens. Place the sea salt over vegetables and stir-fried tomatoes. Pepper tomatoes. Serve.
Recipe extracted In Italian by Taillefer and daughter at Guy Cloutier Communications, 1998, p. 15