Braised Chicken With Mushrooms Almonds And Sauteed Haricots Verts Recipes

Steps:

• Coat a large, wide, deep pan with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Pat the chicken skin dry with paper towels and season generously with salt. Add chicken skin side down to the pan. You should hear a big sizzle as the thighs hit the pan. Do not try to move the chicken, the skin will stick itself to the bottom of the pan and will unstick itself when it is ready. If the pan is smoking excessively turn the burner down and continue to cook. When the skin is brown and crispy, turn the chicken over and brown it on the other side. Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve.
• Lower the heat if you have not already done so and ditch most of the excess fat. Add the pancetta and brown. When the pancetta has started to get brown and crispy add the onions. Season with salt and crushed red pepper and sweat over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and saute for 3 to 4 minutes or until they release their juices. Add the wine and reduce by half. Return the chicken to the pan. Add chicken stock to almost cover the chicken. Add the thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer the chicken for 30 to 35 minutes. Add more chicken stock, if needed.
• While the chicken is cooking puree the almonds in the food processor. Drizzle in a little olive oil while the machine is running to make this a loose paste. Season with salt and reserve.
• Once the chicken has cooked for 30 to 35 minutes, remove it from the pan and reserve. Taste the sauce for seasoning and stir in the almond puree. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer to thicken the sauce, if needed. The almond puree will help to thicken the sauce and to make it very rich.
• Serve the chicken over Sauteed Haricots Verts or your favorite green vegetable. Spoon the mushroom almond sauce over and garnish with chopped chives.
• Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Set up a bowl of well salted ice water for shocking.
• Add the beans to the boiling water and cook until the beans are tender but still toothsome about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the boiling water and place immediately into the salted ice water. Once the beans are cool, remove them from the water and set aside until ready to use.
• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil. Add the garlic and the crushed red pepper and bring to a medium-high heat. When the garlic has become golden and very aromatic, remove it and discard. It has fulfilled its garlic destiny. Add the beans to the pan and saute until they are hot and coated with oil. Season with salt and serve right away.
• Yield: 4 servings
• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 10 minutes

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
• Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, toast the almonds over medium-high heat until golden brown and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the pan, finely chop and set aside.
• Blanch the string beans in salted boiling water until crisp but tender, 2 to 3 minutes. The salt will impart flavor as well as help keep the string beans crisp. Immediately drain and run cold water over the beans or plunge into an ice bath to cool and stop the cooking process, then remove and completely dry.
• Return the saute pan to the burner over medium heat and melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the shallots, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook until starting to brown, stirring occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes. Toss the drained beans with the shallots and add the lemon zest and juice. Cook to heat the beans completely through, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Toss with the toasted chopped almonds and transfer to a serving dish.

Steps:

• Quick-cooking polenta made to package directions, or crusty-style bake-off packaged bread such as ciabatta or, fresh crusty bread - pop in freezer if storing more than one night.
• Place the dried mushrooms, and stock in small pot over medium-high heat. Bring to low boil then reduce heat to low and reconstitute.
• Heat a thin layer of olive oil, a couple of turns of the pan, in a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid or a Dutch oven, over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken pieces dry, and season liberally with salt and pepper. To avoid crowding the pan, brown 1/2 the chicken at a time, skin-side down, for 5 minutes, then turn the chicken and brown 3 to 4 minutes more.
• Remove the browned chicken to a plate and add to the pan the sliced fresh mushrooms, browning the mushrooms for 10 to 15 minutes. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves, salt, and pepper and stir 10 minutes more to soften.
• Deglaze the pot with the Marsala. Add the chicken pieces back to the pot and arrange the vegetables and mushrooms on top. Remove the porcinis from the small pot, roughly chop, and add to chicken. Pour the porcini stock over the chicken, reserving the last couple of spoonfuls, as this is where any grit may have settled.
• Cover and braise at a low simmer for 30 minutes over low heat. Cool and store for a make-ahead meal. Reheat over a medium flame, or in a preheated 325 degree F oven, and heat through 20 to 30 minutes. Serve with quick-cooking polenta or crusty bread, and garnish with chopped celery tops.

Steps:

• Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high. Add chicken, and cook until light golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; set aside.
• Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet. Add mushrooms and garlic, and season with salt. Cover; and cook over medium heat until mushrooms release their juices, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove lid. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add wine, and cook, stirring, until evaporated, about 1 minute. Add broth and parsley, cook over medium-high heat until mushrooms are tender and liquid is reduced, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Return chicken to skillet. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve chicken topped with mushrooms, and drizzled with cooking liquid. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Steps:

• Generously season chicken thighs with salt, brown in olive oil. Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve. Drain excess fat. Add pancetta, when it begins to brown, add onions and season with salt and crushed red pepper. Sweat over medium heat for 7 - 8 minutes. Add garlic, cook for 1 - 2 minutes Add mushrooms, season with salt and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the wine and reduce by half. Return the chicken to the pan. Add chicken stock to almost cover the chicken. Add the thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer the chicken for 30 to 35 minutes. Add more chicken stock, if needed. While the chicken is cooking puree the almonds in the food processor. Drizzle in a little olive oil while the machine is running to make this a loose paste. Season with salt and reserve. Once the chicken has cooked for 30 to 35 minutes, remove it from the pan and reserve. Taste the sauce for seasoning and stir in the almond puree. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer to thicken the sauce, if needed. The almond puree will help to thicken the sauce and to make it very rich.