Chicken Chasseur

This is one of my favorite dishes I learned to prepare in culinary school. Chasseur is a classic French sauce that works well with braising. This was on of the dishes we could get as for our black box exam. Each “mother sauce”, has a bunch of “small sauces” that they are used to create. In most fine dinning restaurants, the Chef will always have the five mother sauces, Béchamel, Tomato, Velouté, Espagnole (brown sauce), and Hollandaise. Béchamel and Tomato are the most prevalent. The sauce used in this recipe is Demi-glace, which is made from brown sauce and stock, reduced. What I do, because I don’t have brown sauce on hand all the time, is make a roux (like making gravy with butter & flour) and once it’s browned, pour my chicken stock in. I’ll usually season really well, but don’t make it too thick, add some tomato puree, and season it very well, and you have your mock Demi-glace. I’ll post the real recipe for brown sauce later. This dish is absolutely delicious, impressive to your guest, but very inexpensive to make. I usually us leg quarters. ENJOY!

Yields: 10 servings (½ chicken each)

5 Chickens
1 c flour
TT Salt
TT Pepper
2 fl oz Oil (4 tbsp)

Sauce:

2 oz Shallots or onions, finely chopped
8 oz Mushrooms, sliced
8 fl oz White wine (1 c)
1½ pt Demi-glace (see above for clarification)
8 oz Tomatoes, peeled seeded, and small-diced (concassé) OR 4 oz canned diced tomatoes
TT Salt
TT Pepper
2 tbsp fresh Parsley, chopped

1. Cut the chickens into 8 pieces (or buy already cut up), season flour with salt & pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan. Coat chicken in flour and brown well on all sides.
3. Remove the chickens from the pan. Cover and keep them hot.
4. Add the shallots and mushrooms to the pan and sauté lightly without browning.
5. Add the white wine and reduce by ¾ over high heat .
6. Add the demi-glace and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce slightly. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Place the chickens in the sauce. Cover and simmer slowly on the stove or the oven at 325°F/165°C, about 20-30 minutes, until done.
8. When the chicken is done, remove it form the pan and reduce the sauce slightly over high heat. Add the chopped parsley and check the seasonings.
9. Serve ½ chicken, and cover with about 3 oz of sauce.





Sincerely,
Saundra D. Jones, CC
Chef/Owner
Divine Cuisine Event Planning and Catering
www.divinecuisineepc.com
info@divinecuisineepc.com

"With man this is impossible, but through Christ all things are possible".

Catalan Stuffed Bell Peppers

I absolutely love stuffed peppers, and I found this delicious recipe that I will try. The only changes I may make is the pine nuts, I’m not too fond of them or water chestnuts. To toast the pine nuts, put them in a hot dry pan, and shake around until you smell the aroma, and they get a little brown, be careful not to burn them. Also be light with your large pinch of cinnamon, because it could get overwhelming. This is a very good side dish that is elegant, yet simple. I would pair it with something grilled, or spicy. With bell peppers it could be very festive, because they come in so many different colors, and you could really stuff any type of peppers. If you want to add a different flavor and a little heat try a pablano pepper, or for small hors d’ oeuvres try jalapeno, and sub the cinnamon and raisins for some queso and black beans and/or corn. Have a wonderful day!

Yields 8 servings

10 oz baby spinach leaves, rinsed
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
¼ tsp ground turmeric
large pinch of ground cinnamon
large pinch of cayenne pepper, TT (to taste)
4 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
4 tbsp raisins
10 oz basmati rice, rinsed until the water runs clear and soaked in water to cover for at least 30 minutes
TT Salt
TT Pepper
4 large bell peppers, assorted colors, halved

1. Put the spinach in a large pan with just the water clinging to the leaves, cover, and cook over medium heat until it has wilted. Drain well, and when cool enough to handle squeeze out all of the water. Chop Finely and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic, turmeric, cinnamon and cayenne pepper and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in pine nuts, raisins, and drained rice. Add the chopped spinach and stir together then season with salt and pepper to taste; set aside.
4. Cut each pepper in half lengthwise, and then carefully remove the cores and seeds. Take care not to cut away the stem ends. You should have a deep container for stuffing. Divide the rice stuffing equally among the pepper halves, and then arrange them in 1 or 2 large roasting pans that support them tightly.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes-1hour and serve immediately.

Sincerely,
Saundra D. Jones, CC
Chef/Owner
Divine Cuisine Event Planning and Catering
www.divinecuisineepc.com
info@divinecuisineepc.com

"With man this is impossible, but through Christ all things are possible".

Banana and Apple Cake

I have a bit of a sweet tooth, and I don’t think I bake enough, so here’s one I might try tonight. This comes from a book called, “ Healthy Eating: American Family Favorites”. I don’t know about you, but my family never made cakes like this, but that’s about to change. This is healthy too, so that’s even more reason to make if for yourself, and the children. Banana’s is my all time favorite fruit, I eat one every single day, so needless to say, I love all banana dishes. The recipe calls for “polyunsaturated margarine”, I’m not sure if there’s a difference in types of margarines sold at the grocery store, but I’ll find out. I’ll let you know how this one comes out.

Yields: 8 servings

Vegetable Oil Spray
1/3 c polyunsaturated margarine
1 c sugar
2 egg whites
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
2 ½ c all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ c skim milk
Sifted powder sugar for garnish

1. Preheat oven to moderate 350ºF. Spray an 8-inch Bundt or tube pan with vegetable oil.
2. In a medium bowl heat margarine and sugar with electric beaters until well mixed. Add egg whites, beating thoroughly. Fold in banana and apple. Set aside
3. Combine flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center.
4. Add banana mixture and skim milk alternately to dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
5. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Smooth surface. Bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cake stand 10 minutes in the pan before turning onto wire rack to cool. Serve cake plain or with a light dusting of powdered sugar.

Sincerely,
Saundra D. Jones, CC
Chef/Owner
Divine Cuisine Event Planning and Catering
http://www.divinecuisineepc.com/
info@divinecuisineepc.com
"With man this is impossible, but through Christ all things are possible".