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And your bird can sing…white wine braised chicken

chicken stew

Not to belabor the point but, this morning when I left the house it was frigging 15 below zero…yes, that’s right -15. Our high today was 5, practically balmy out there. It’s not all bad, there’s ample opportunity to get my braise on and it seems like when I’m not braising, I’m making soup…either way we certainly are eating well, despite the cold.

Yesterday I was distracted all day by thoughts of a chicken braised in white wine with pearl onions, cremini mushrooms, russet potatoes, and carrots. Once I got home I looked through a few of my books to find a recipe and I came up with nothing. I search the interwebs and again, nada. In my mind I imagined a bastardized white wine version of coq au vin…so I decided to forge ahead and make it up as I go…oh, you know how I detest winging it (wink, wink).

I cut up a whole chicken, pulled the skin off the legs, thighs, and breasts and browned them in butter in my large dutch oven. I seasoned well with salt and pepper and once they were caramelly brown I added 2 cups of white wine (chardonnay) and one cup of water. I threw in a bay leaf, a pinch of rosemary, a pinch of thyme, and 4 garlic cloves. I let this simmer, with the lid on, for about 90 minutes. I added a container of pearl onions that I peeled quite easily by blanching them for a minute or so in boiling water, 1 carrot peeled and sliced, one russet potato, peeled and diced, and 8 cremini mushrooms, halved. I brought the heat up when I added these and left the lid off.

After about 20 minutes it was finished and we ate a lovely bowl of chicken, veg, and stock…all of it very tangy, actually singing from the wine, yet full of chickeny flavor…it was really quite comforting and yet not at all boring. Oddly enough my favorite was a bite of chicken combined with a pearl onion swished through the broth…it was a divine taste sensation! Pearl onions are so oniony, yet a totally different onion flavor from a big yellow onion, it’s a fresh, almost crisp flavor that is tempered with just a smidge of mellow. Give them a try, they’re definitely worth the itty-bitty extra effort of blanching and peeling.

The best part is the leftovers, I’ll turn the leftover chicken and veg into chicken pot pies. The carcass, back, and wings go into the chicken stock box in the deep freeze…I’ve got quite a collection of bits and pieces in there, now all I need is a new chicken soup recipe (not noodle). Any ideas?

January 24, 2008 | Filed Under beef, fish, poultry, pork, food, gratins, stews, and stir-frys, quick and easy, soup, salad, sandwich 

comments

4 Responses to “And your bird can sing…white wine braised chicken”

  1. JEP on January 24th, 2008

    Mmm…individual pot pies…that sounds like pure winter-time comfort food!

  2. Candace on January 25th, 2008

    A few years ago the strawberry crop at Carandale farm was wiped out by southern aphids because we’d had such a warm winter. So, that’s how I get through these really, really cold days. I think about all the strawberries we’ll have next year.

  3. vanessa on January 25th, 2008

    JEP…yes indeedy.

    Candace…mmmm…strawberries. I’ve only got one bag left of last summer’s strawberries. I’m hording them and you’re right, that is an excellent reason to suffer through the cold. Kill those aphids!

  4. Tempered Woman on January 28th, 2008

    Oh YUM! I have pearl onions in my pantry and have been trying to figure out what to do with them. Decisions decisions. Perfect recipe cause I just happen to have the mushrooms and chicken on hand too (and well I ALWAYS have wine on hand). Thanks!

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