chicken FRENCH

Dear Mother,

A couple of weeks ago you posted a recipe for Lemon Chicken.  Lemon chicken???  Later in your post you mention your recipe by its true name "Chicken French," yet you do not give the famous Rochesterian dish its due credit by titling the actual recipe Chicken French!  As a former resident of Rochester, NY, having been born there and enjoyed my youth in the snowy city, I am very disappointed in you...  Granted you were not born there, but you've lived there for quite some time and raised a very happy family there, and I thought that you considered yourself a Rochesterian.  

We Rochesterians are a proud people, we shovel lake-effect snow like all good Western New Yorkers and we relish our short lived summers. We still buy Kodak film... well if we needed film we would.  We enjoy baking with flour (like our good city used to be famous for producing) and we love our flowers, especially lilacs.  And what do we eat besides baked-goods with flour and an occasional garbage plate?  We eat Chicken French!  

So as a former proud Rochesterian, I present to you my recipe for Chicken French.  That delightful local dish from my hometown, that blends pan-fried chicken with a light lemon-white wine sauce.  My version isn't completely traditional because I add prosciutto, but that's ok, the addition was completely inspired by one of my favorite little restaurant/bars in town, Lola Bistro.  Lola Bistro actually has a special place in my heart, on John's first visit to Rochester I took him to here for dinner, drinks and to see an amazing local band.  The band so impressed John that he assumed I had good taste in music, and reportedly "fell in love with me more."  (Awwwwe!  How cute.)  He also fell in love with Chicken French, and when he found out that I could make it, well lets just say the rest is history...  (By the way, our dog's name is Lola.)

In the picture below it looks a little like that's raw chicken, its not.  That's just the prosciutto.  I would highly recommend serving the dish with steamed broccoli, asparagus or sauteed spinach and a starch.  Pasta or rice is good, but what's really good is Gruyere mashed potatoes (recipe below). 
Also I should mention that I'm not working for the Rochester board of tourism or anything, its just home-town pride!  :) 

chicken french
(serves two)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. granulated garlic
1 egg, lightly beaten
extra virgin olive oil
2 thin slices of prosciutto
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. salted butter
juice from 2-3 large lemons
1/2 cup white wine (like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc) 
salt 
fresh ground pepper
fresh lemon slices

In a bowl combine the lemon juice and white wine.  Set aside.

In a shallow dish whisk together the flour, granulated garlic and salt and pepper.  In another shallow dish mix together the beaten egg and about 2 tbsp. water.  Rinse and pat dry the chicken.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-medium high heat until oil is hot and shimmering.  Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, then into the egg mixture, and then back again into the flour mixture.  Place the chicken in the pan, and cook until its golden brown on one side (about 10 minutes).  Flip chicken, and lay one piece of prosciutto over each chicken breast.  When the chicken is done (about another 10 minutes) remove from pan and keep warm. 

In the same pan over medium heat, combine the 2 tbsp. butter and 2 tbsp. flour stirring until it combines into a dry, crumbly paste.  Cook, stirring lightly, 1 minute.  Whisk in the lemon juice and white wine.  Continue lightly whisking over medium heat until sauce is thick and bubbling. Remove from heat and strain sauce through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any lumps.  

Transfer the chicken to the serving plates and pour the sauce over top.  Garnish with lemon slices.

cosmo's cooking notes:  As mentioned in the post I highly recommend serving this with broccoli, asparagus or spinach, and Gruyere mashed potatoes (or pasta or rice), because the sauce is very good on all of these things as well as the chicken.  So when your plating, if you've made any of these side dishes, just go ahead and pour that sauce over everything! 

gruyere mashed potatoes

1 lb. yukon gold potatoes, skins on, washed and quartered
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup milk (I usually use 2%)
1/4 cup light sour cream
1 cup shredded gruyere cheese (packed lightly)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
salt
fresh ground pepper

Place potatoes in a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil.  Boil until potatoes are soft, and can easily be poked with a fork.  

While the potatoes are boiling, in a large bowl put all of the other ingredients.  When the potatoes are done remove from the water with a slotted spoon and add to the other ingredients in the large bowl.  Mash with a potato masher until desired consistency, add extra milk or butter for additional creaminess, and season with salt and pepper.

cosmo's cooking notes:  I always try to make mashed potatoes for two, but it usually ends up being mashed potatoes for twelve.  I can never get the portions right, so if my measurements look off, feel free to add or subtract where ever necessary.

I broke my cake!

Dear Kristin,

Shoulda, woulda, coulda taken a picture of this cake before I played Godzilla and smashed the top!

I wanted to make a light and airy yet flavor-filled cake today. I was inspired by Giada DeLaurentiis's Lemon-Mint Cake with Lemon Syrup. Since I'm not really a fan of mint in desserts, I wanted to omit the mint and use another fruit. My original thought was peach, since they are in season right now. I thought I could infuse the batter with peach flavor with some cut up peaches. Since they are so delicate, though, I thought that I would need some kind of peachy infusion to really bring out a peach flavor. A trip to the grocery store yielded no peach extract or peach nectar, though, so I had to come up with Plan B - pineapple.

Basically, I just used Giada's cake batter recipe, substituting 2 Tbsp. pineapple juice for the lemon juice, and making a pineapple studded simple syrup instead of a lemon one.
The cake came out nice and light, with a crispy almost meringue-like top. It is quite sweet, so adding some tart berries as a garnish really enhances the depth of this dessert. Don't be skimpy when spooning the sauce on the cake - it absorbs a lot, and the sauce adds a needed touch of moisture.

Since the top of the cake is delicate and crispy, be careful when transferring the cake to your serving plate. I was in a hurry to consume this masterpiece and crushed said crispy top when I tried to move it from pan to plate. As you can see, the cake ended up looking something like a Lunar road map!

pineapple simple syrup

4 oz. water
4 oz. pineapple juice
1 c. sugar
1 c. fresh pineapple, cut into 1/2 " dice
tart berries for garnish (I used blackberries)
toasted coconut for garnish

Mix water and juice in a small saucepan. Add sugar, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Continue cooking until all sugar is dissolved. Add fresh pineapple and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Transfer mixture to heat resistant glass container, and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate mixture until ready to serve.

comfy's cooking note: I think this recipe would work well with a variety of flavor variations. I might try an orange-cardamom version next time.

 

 

the waiting game

Dear Mom,

So, I'd like to say that due to the recipe I've been working on I haven't been able to post for the past few weeks.  Instead, my terrible excuse is that I have been "too busy."  I know what you will say, that "too busy" is simply not a good excuse because you know that these posts just do not take that long to write.  I did make a very legitimate attempt last week at getting in a post, it was my first attempt at cheesecake.  I should have known better.  For change the pictures that I took of the dessert looked lovely, but the taste?  Eh, not so much.  It was really a texture issue, which I believe I can correct and I will make a second attempt at a later point in time.

This week I did find some time to make ice cream.  John and I received an ice cream maker as a wedding present, and I just love the thing.  I would recommend to any one who likes frozen desserts to get one.  There is something enchanting about homemade ice cream that no store bought product can touch.  And with the ice cream maker there are so many options!  So today I present to you a "lower" fat (yet still delicious) vanilla-nutella ice cream.  The ice cream is very versatile and comes out quite good considering it is a low-fat variety, if you don't like nutella you can add anything your heart desires, fruits, nuts, chocolate, peanut butter, etc.  Just remember to put your add-ins during the last ten minutes of freezing time.

"lower-fat" vanilla-nutella ice cream

1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
2 cups 2% milk
1 cup half & half
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup nutella

Whisk first three ingredients together in a medium saucepan.  Slowly add milk and half & half whisking to combine.  Stir constantly over medium heat until slightly thickened (8-10 minutes).

In a separate bowl whisk egg yolk until slightly thickened.  Remove saucepan from heat.  Slowly pour 1 cup of hot milk mixture into egg, whisking constantly.  Slowly pour egg mixture back into saucepan, whisking constantly.  Pour custard through a fine-meshed sieve, discard solids.  Chill at least one hour, stirring occasionally, until custard is cold.

Pour custard into the bowl of an electric ice cream maker.  My ice cream maker takes approximately 30 minutes to freeze ice cream, so I will usually add my add-ins in the last 10 minutes, your machine may vary.  Warm the nutella in the microwave, so that it is pourable.  With the machine running slowly drizzle the nutella into the ice cream.  You want to have drizzles of frozen nutella still intact in the ice cream (instead of fully incorporating into the ice cream). 

cosmo's cooking notes:  If you want to go down this road and never come back, its worth it:  put this ice cream on warmed chocolate brownies.  I'm warning you though, this is dangerous.

a happy marriage

Dear Kristin,

Two things that I love about your dad. He knows how to use a mop (and does!) and he always cleans up after me when I've gone on a cooking frenzy and dirtied every pot and pan we own. He also knows that if he sees me in the kitchen with an apron on that I've got a serious case of culinary fever, and anyone entering my kitchen domain is risking serious injury. My contribution to this happy state of matrimony is to serve him meals he likes. His wants are few - some protein, some starch, and at least a nod to some sort of greenery.

I wanted to try your risotto recipe, and thought that the sweet, smoky rice would marry well with my version of lemon chicken. I was going to serve this with wilted spinach, but ended up running out of time, pots and burners (not to mention energy!).

My version of Chicken French is kind of a blend of Lemon Chicken, Chicken French, and in some ways, Chicken Parmesan. Chicken breasts are pounded until thin, coated in a combination of flour and Parmesan cheese, then dipped in a lemon juice and egg wash. After another dip in the flour, they are browned in a skillet, then coated with pan drippings that have been enhanced with white wine, butter and more lemon juice. The result? You guessed it - a happy marriage of a nicely crusted piece of chicken with a buttery, lemony sauce.

lemon chicken

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halved
2 lemons
1 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 c. grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
1 egg
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
4 Tbsp. butter (divided)
1/2 c. white wine (I use Pinot Grigio)
1/2 c. low-sodium chicken broth

Place chicken between two sheets of waxed paper and pound to 1/4-1/2" thickness.
Whisk juice of 1 lemon with egg in a large, shallow dish.
Mix flour, salt, pepper and 1 c. parmesan cheese in a separate large, shallow dish.
Heat olive oil and 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet.
Dredge 1 chicken breast in flour, then in egg mixture. Allow excess egg mixture to drip off. Dredge once more in flour mixture, making sure chicken is very well coated.
Place chicken in pan, and cook over medium to medium high heat until underside is golden brown. Do not allow liquid in the skillet to turn brown. (If it does, immediately remove the pan from heat and lower temperature before continuing.) Turn chicken over. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 lemon over chicken in pan. Continue to cook until golden brown. Remove to a warmed platter. Cover with foil.
Dredge and cook second chicken breast.
Deglaze skillet with 1/2 c. wine and 2 Tbsp. butter. Allow liquid to thicken slightly.
Return both chicken pieces to skillet and continue cooking over medium heat until no longer pink when tested with a knife.
Remove chicken from skillet and place on a warmed serving platter.
Deglaze pan with chicken stock. Pour pan drippings over chicken.
Sprinkle chicken with generous amount of grated parmesan cheese and serve.