Skip to main content

A whole chicken, part 6

 We're getting close to finishing up the chicken, and tonight is dem thighs, man. I went a little different with this one, and accidentally gave it a little Indian flair.

By the way, if you haven't read the rest of this series:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

My veggies for tonight were some onion, some orange bell pepper, a little carrot, 5 cloves of garlic, and a heap of wood ear mushrooms. I sliced the carrot, slivered the garlic, diced the onion and bell pepper, and chopped up the mushrooms.

I went a little goofy on the seasoning tonight, but it seemed to work out well. I took the bones out of the thighs and dressed them up with some salt, black pepper, cumin, and turmeric before tossing them into a pan of melted butter and olive oil.

I cooked the chicken skin side down until the skin started getting crispy, then I dropped the heat a touch, flipped the chicken, basted it, and added in the mushrooms and bell pepper. I let the chicken finish cooking and removed it (covering it in foil so it wouldn't get cold) and continued sautéing the mushrooms and bell pepper for a little bit. Once they were cooked to my liking (I want the bell pepper to be soft but still have a slight crunch when I bite into them), I scooped the veggies out (into a foil-topped bowl).

Next, I deglazed the pan with some white wine, added about a tablespoon of butter, and dumped in the carrot, onion, and garlic. I sautéed them for a bit, seasoned with some salt, then finished them with about an eighth of a cup of cream. Once everything was good, coated, and simmering, I added a dash or two of cayenne and a healthy portion of black pepper, then took the pan off the heat and got to plating.

Plating was simple, but I really dug the look. I put down a bed of mushroom and bell pepper, laid the thigh on top of that, then spooned some of the veggie sauce across the top. Overall, probably my favorite tasting of the chicken journey so far, though; I'll definitely be doing this again, maybe with some rice...oooo, yeah. Rice would make it perfect.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I don't understand food

Part 1 the morning after, while eating a sausage, egg, and cheese everything bagel from Bergen Bagels Last night, I had the pleasure, privilege, and audacity to eat at a Brooklyn restaurant named Aska . I know it's cliche to refer to a fancy restaurant meal as a life-changing experience, but this was straight up paradigm-shattering. I've written before about food being a medium of communication, about how I strive to reduce food waste as much as I can, about sharing our cultures and stories with each other through the meals we create, but seeing how Chef Fredrik Berselius is able to do this at such an intricate, elegant, and elevated level is both humbling and inspiring. The experience started before the first bite. I walked into the 10 table restaurant, and they knew me by name. I was shown to my table (right in the middle of the place, looking directly into the open kitchen), and they even pulled my chair out for me and pushed it up under me. I was a little uncomfortable with...
Post a Comment
Read more

Perspective

 I used to drive a 1986 pickup truck that was a heap of trouble on wheels. Mind you, I learned to drive in 2002. That piece of shit loved to just, you know, die. In the middle of intersections. While turning onto side streets. While accelerating from a stop sign. While braking for a stop sign. While cranking. It just died whenever it felt like it. It had AM radio and hand crank windows. That's literally it. No FM, no AC or heat. There were seatbelts for 2 of the 3 seats. I fucking hated that truck. On the other hand, it was my truck. I drove it to church, to work, and to the library; that was as far as I was allowed to take it, and I took it all of those places. I remember the first time I got it to idle while parked. I remember singing "The Prayer" over its dying engine multiple times. I think my younger brother probably has some flashbacks of some of those moments. But, as old, beaten up, shitty, annoying, and objectively terrible as it was, it sure was nice to have it ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why not give a shit?

About a month ago, I cooked up a big pot of a miso vegan stew. It was a Sunday evening, so I knew I needed to cook enough for Sunday night dinner and Monday's lunch. A vendor was taking us out for dinner on Monday, so I needed enough to cover Tuesday's lunch, too. I had plans with a friend on Tuesday night, so I wouldn't have time to cook, so I needed enough for Tuesday dinner and Wednesday lunch, too, so I said, and I quote, "Fuck it. I'll just cook enough for the week." Unfortunately, as I packed away my leftovers that night, I realized that I cooked enough for a week and a half. Normally, that wouldn't be a huge issue, except that I was leaving town Friday morning and wouldn't be back until Monday evening and did not have room in my freezer to store more than a bowl. Luckily, I was able to pawn a few bowls off on coworkers, so it all worked out alright. However, when I told this story to someone close to me, they said I should think about donating t...
1 comment
Read more