Cranberry Chicken For A Chilly Evening

We finally have gotten a few days of sun, but it's still pretty chilly, so I decided to make a baked chicken dish last night. I found it in a Rachel Ray magazine and it is a keeper! The skinless chicken stays moist under a shingling of bacon, plus the presence of a mixture of chicken broth and red wine. In general I can't drink wine, but I have found that I can eat things where the wine has been cooked. Yay! All the alcohol gets cooked off, but something else must get mellowed, too.

The components, besides the chicken and bacon, are sweet from the dried cranberries, savory from the broth and wine and balsamic vinegar, mellow from the translucent cooked onion wedges, and hearty from the red potato chunks. Add in the flavors of garlic, thyme, pepper and bay leaf and you have a dish that smells wonderful and tastes even better. All you need with it is a small salad or steamed veggies and, perhaps, some bread to sop up the delicious juices.

Because I never make anything quite how it is written up, I did change the chicken to boneless thighs, I added a 1/4 teaspoon fresh orange zest (cranberries  and orange are a match made in heaven), and I reduced the dried cranberries by 1/4 cup...and will reduce them by another 1/4 cup next time. I also didn't have fresh thyme, so I used dried thyme...2 teaspoons in the broth mixture and none for garnish.

There are a number of good reasons to make this dish besides the fact that it is yummy. First of all, it is relatively inexpensive. Then there is the bonus of a short prep time and about 30 minutes cooking time. Add to that the easy clean-up, especially if you line the casserole with heavy duty foil like I did. Last, but not least in my world, there is no dairy in this dish...and you don't miss it either. With no added oil, butter, cheese, or cream, it is fairly healthy, too...well, except for the bacon, but that adds so much flavor and fragrance that it would be a shame to leave it out. Sweetie helped me out by eating half my bacon. Isn't he the best?

Roasted Cranberry Coq au Vin
Serves 4
from Rachael Ray Every Day, March, 2017

1 1/4 cups dried cranberries (I used 1 cup but 3/4 cup would be better)
1 cup red wine, such as Pinot Noir or Beaujolais (I used Zinfandel)
1/2 cup chicken stock
6 large cloves garlic, chopped (don't worry, the garlic gets mellow in the oven)
4 bay leaves
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons onion salt
Optional: 1/4 teaspoon orange zest
3 tablespoons fresh thyme, divided (I used 2 teaspoons dried thyme)
4 bone-in chicken thighs (about 8 oz. each), skin removed (I used boneless skinless chicken thighs)
1 pound red potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 large yellow onion, cut through core into 3/4-inch wedges
4 slices thick-cut hickory-smoked bacon, each cut into 4 pieces
8  1-inch thick slices French bread (didn't have any...didn't miss it)

Position oven rack to upper third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix the first 7 ingredients and 2 tablespoons thyme (or all the dry thyme if using). Optional, but good: add 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest to the mixture.

In a large baking dish, arrange the chicken, potatoes and onion in a single layer. Shingle the bacon on the chicken. Add the cranberry mixture, pressing cranberries to submerge. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast in preheated 460 degree oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into a chicken thigh registers 165 degrees F., about 30 minutes. If using fresh thyme, garnish with remaining 1 tablespoon.

Serve at once. If desired serve with bread to mop up the juices.

Silver Linings

When we are struggling with terrible events like the loss of someone dear to us it is pretty hard to see any redeeming value to it. I guess there might be someone here and there who can, but when I've had those times things have seemed pretty bleak.

Years, often decades, later we can sometimes see the silver lining. When Sweetie lost a good friend to the sea, despite heroic efforts to save him, he says he thought that it should have been him. Now he can look back on his life and can see that he would have missed so much love and laughter if it had been him. Others, especially yours truly, would have never know him, and that is too awful to even contemplate.

I feel the same way about my first marriage. It was far from a good marriage, but I was blessed because a wonderful woman, my daughter, came out of it. She has brought a lot of joy to a lot of people over the years. What if she had never been? Unthinkable.

Even a great loss like losing a child has its side of light. Although I would rather have him back over anything else, the loss did teach me to appreciate the help of others, to appreciate each moment as a blessing, and to be more sympathetic in general to others. He wasn't perfect, but he was a mighty good person and changed a lot of lives for the better during his short time here.

So why these somber thoughts? I guess it's because the winter holidays draw near and that seems to be a time when those lost to us are missed more than usual. It's a reminder to me to appreciate even more, and more actively, those who shine in my life right now. Their light and love will keep the winter darkness at bay.

Something else that warms up a chilly late fall evening is a bowl of hearty soup. Last night I cooked up a seafood chowder that was a hit. I served some crusty bread with it and that filled us right up.

The method I used for this chowder was to cook the potatoes in one pot and cook the onion, carrot, mushrooms and bell pepper in a skillet. Once the potatoes cook and are drained, the milk and broth go into that same pot to heat, along with the peas, corn, and seasonings. It takes a few minutes to heat up the peas and corn, but once the liquid is back to boiling it only takes a short while for the seafood to cook. Before it is done the cooked onion mixture is added and stirred in to distribute the flavor.

This is not a thick chowder. If you prefer your chowder thicker, at the end stir in a slurry of flour and water and stir until mixture thickens.

Either way this is a great soup for cold weather.

Seafood Chowder
Elle original recipe - Serves 4-6

1 large yellow or white onion, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped or sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
4-6 oz. sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
2 cups red potatoes, washed and cubed
1 1/2 cups milk
14 oz. chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt (or garlic salt) and pepper to taste
1 bag Trader Joe's frozen mixed seafood (bay scallops, shrimp and calamari)

In a large skillet heat the olive oil and then saute the onion and carrots, stirring often, for 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add the mushrooms and bell pepper, stir, and continue to cook, covered and on medium heat, until pepper is soft about 5 minutes.

While onion mixture is cooking, put the potatoes into a large pot and add water to cover. Boil until potatoes are tender; insert the tip of a sharp knife to test for tenderness. Drain and set aside.

Once potatoes are drained, use the same pot to heat the milk and broth to boiling. Add the frozen peas and corn and cover. Return to a boil. Remove the cover and add the chopped parsley, dried thyme, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Add the frozen mixed seafood and stir. Put cover on the pot and cook for 2 minutes. Uncover, add the onion vegetable mixture and stir. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook, uncovered, until shrimp are pink and curled slightly, stirring often.

Serve at once. Garnish with more chopped parsley if desired.

Smashed!

A few nights ago I wanted a tasty side dish for some grilled pork chops. Fortunately I had small red potatoes in the pantry and it was cool enough to fire up the oven to a nice high temperature. Smashed potatoes with nice crispy brown bits on the edges and bottom were the hit of the evening.

These are easy to make and just a bit different from French fries. For one thing they aren't fried, although a generous hand with the olive oil makes 'em extra delicious. For another thing, you can jazz them up with herbs and/or spices, or keep them simple with salt and/or pepper.

Since the potatoes I used were small - about golf ball sized - I boiled them in unsalted water until tender, then cut them in half. If you have to use larger sized potatoes, you might want to cut them into chunks before boiling them. They will cook faster that way. You can make this using small Yukon gold or similar waxy potatoes, too.

The halved potatoes were put on a baking sheet that I had lined with heavy foil and then glazed with olive oil. I've done this recipe using a silicon baking mat to line the pan, but the clean up was really messy. With the foil all of the excess oil gets tossed along with the foil after you serve up the smashed potatoes, which is much easier.

Once the potatoes are on the foil, spread them out. You want about two inches between potatoes. Then use a potato masher or strong metal spatula (pancake turner) to smash the potatoes. You want to partially flatten them, but not smash them into tiny chunks. Take a look at the photo to get an idea of how much to bear down.

At this point you can do as I did and just sprinkle on salt and pepper, and/or you can sprinkle on chopped fresh herb or dried herbs or spices like cumin, paprika or cayenne pepper. I used some dried rosemary. Then drizzle with some more olive oil. Be generous if you want crispy results. You can use flavored oil, too, like garlic olive oil or truffled olive oil if you are feeling decadent.

Place the smashed and seasoned and drizzled pan(s) of potatoes into a preheated 500 degree F oven. Bake for 6 minutes, then check them to see if they are done enough for you. Some folks like the skin to still be a little soft and lightly golden, but others, like Sweetie, like a lot of crispy skin and for it to be nice and brown. If it's not done enough, bake for another minute or two and check again. Keep doing that until done to perfection!

I found that about 5 of the smashed half potatoes was a nice portion, but hearty appetites will require more. These are so good that you may want to start with a minimum of 6 small potatoes and go from there.

I usually start these about a half hour before we eat. That gives you enough time to boil and halve the potatoes, preheat the oven, arrange and smash and season the spuds, and then time to cook them to the best crispy, crunchy, delectable potatoes you can imagine.

R in the Month Stew

When I was growing up we were told that the only months that were OK for eating oysters are those with an R in them. Well, it's September, so the season for oysters has begun. Truthfully, I sometimes eat oysters in other months as long as they are local ones. We have companies in our area which grow oysters year-round in Tomales Bay, so there are always some oysters in the right stage of development to be eaten. Still, old tapes are hard to dislodge. September means I can eat oysters and so I do.

Oysters are an acquired taste. If you eat them raw, it is like a slurp of sea brine with a little bit of muscle thrown in. It's hard to imagine why anyone ate them in the first place, but once you get to like them they get a hold on you. I could eat them all the time. Unfortunately they, like most seafood these day, are somewhat expensive, so I save them for a treat.

Tonight's treat was Oyster Stew. Our market had jars of small ones on sale and I had green onions, celery, carrots, parsley, small red potatoes, corn and milk handy, plus some bacon. That, plus some salt, pepper and thyme is all you need to make a warm, hardy bowlful of deliciousness.

There are lots of ways to make Oyster Stew. I started by cooking the red potatoes. Mostly that was because I wanted to keep this a one pot dish. After they were cooked and draining, I used the same pot to cook some bacon, then, after fishing out the cooked bacon, I used the bacon grease to cook the onions, celery and carrots. After that it was a simple matter to drain the oysters, mix a bit of flour with the reserved liquid the oyster had been packed in, and then used that to thicken the milk/veggie combo a bit. Throw in some thyme, salt and pepper, the potatoes, the corn and heat 'em up. Right before you are ready to serve, add the rinsed oysters and stir. Set the timer for 1 minutes, stir again, and let sit one more minute. You'll see the edges of the oysters curl like ruffles on a dress. That's it! Time to ladle the stew into bowls and top with a bit of chopped Italian parsley, then dig in. Mmmm.

Elle's Oyster Stew

3-4 small red potatoes, cut into small bite-sized pieces
3 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 green onions, sliced fine, including part of the greens
1 medium carrot, diced fine
1 stalk celery, diced fine
1 jar small oysters
2-3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 -2 cups frozen or fresh corn - if frozen, thaw in the microwave
1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, chopped

In a large pot, cook the red potatoes in simmering water until tender. Drain and set aside.

In the same pot, cook the bacon until crisp, turning once or twice for even cooking. Remove the bacon and set aside.

In the same pot, sauté the green onions, carrot and celery in the bacon grease until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring often.

While the veggies cook, drain the oysters in a fine mesh strainer, reserving the liquid they were packed in. Rinse the oysters under cold running water. If the oysters are large, cut them in half. Set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour and the reserved oyster liquid.  Set aside.

Add the milk, thyme, salt and pepper to the pot of veggies, stirring to release any browned bits on the bottom and sides of the pot. Stir in the flour mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until liquid thickens a bit. Add the reserved potatoes, bacon, and corn. Heat thoroughly but don't boil.

2 minutes before it is time to serve the stew, make sure that the stew is hot, then add the prepared oysters. Set a timer for 1 minutes. When one minute has passed, stir the stew, then let sit a few more seconds. The oyster edges will have ruffled, so you know they are cooked. Ladle stew into bowls and top with a sprinkle of chopped parsley. Serve at once.