Wednesday Dinner: Stewed chicken with red wine

Tonight, I made a very hearty dish with chicken and leftover red wine in my brand new le creuset:) I got it as a birthday gift, and it was my first time using it. It worked very nicely. I thought it was more non-stick than my all-clad deep pan.




Stewed chicken with red wine (for 3-4 people):
Chicken thigh (4 - one piece per person) - Use skinless but leave the bone in if you can.
Carrot (1)
Celery (2 stalks)
Onion (1 medium)
Baby potato (2 medium or 4 small)
Red wine (1-1/4 cup)
Canned tomato, whole or diced (1-1/2 cup)
Chicken stock (1/4 cup)
Flour
Bay leaf (1)
Olive oil (1 Tbsp, 1/2 Tbsp)
Salt
Pepper
Fresh thyme (1 spring) - optional

1. Slice the onion. Slice the celery and peeled carrot diagonally (not too thinly). Cut potatoes into quarters.
2. Clean chicken really well (I just wash them with running water) and pat dry well. Salt and pepper both sides of each piece and put some flour on both sides. Brush off excess flour.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a dutch oven on medium/medium-high heat.
4. Saute chicken for about two minutes each side until it is lightly brown. Take chicken pieces out.
5. Add 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil in the dutch oven. Saute onion slices until they're very tender (ideally, they should be caramelized but if they're not, it's OK because it takes time).
6. Add celery and carrot. Stir well and keep sauteing for about 2 minutes.
7. Add red wine and stir well. Once the soup boils, put the chicken pieces back. Add canned tomatoes. When it boils, add potatoes.
8. Put 1 tsp of salt, pepper, and a bay leaf. Put the lid on and cook until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.
9. Take the lid off. Add thyme and let the soup reduce down a bit. The flour on the chicken and potatoes thicken the soup.

One thing you could add to this stew is mushrooms. I put potatoes in, but you can not put them in and serve it over pasta.

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Technorati Tags:chicken recipe, red wine recipe, chicken stew

Arugula flowers

I just noticed today that my arugula now has white little flowers:) Both arugula and lettuce have grown a lot. I actually bought this big plastic bucket and replanted some of the lettuce there to make more room for them. It's really tempting to just eat them, but I think I should wait for at least another week or two. So far, I haven't seen any signs of disease or bugs (or squirrels) so that's really good. I also got thyme, parsley, and basil from the local market last weekend, so now I have a little collection of herbs too.

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Technorati Tags:arugula flower, grow arugula, grow vegetables

Tuesday Dinner: Easy but not so quick fish dinner

Tonight, I just baked fish and vegetables in the oven because I didn't feel like making something elaborate.




Roasted vegetables and fish (for 2 people):
Your favorite fish - steak cut (2) - I just used sea bass that I had in the freezer. You can use swordfish, tuna, salmon... anything you like.
Baby potatoes (6) - I used a mixture of red skin potatoes and purple potatoes.
Fennel (1 white part) - I tried fennel for the first time fairly recently and have been in love with it since then.
Olive oil (1 Tbsp)
Salt
Pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Take away the outer layer(s) of the fennel (1 or 2) and slice it about 1 inch thick. Cut potatoes into quarters.
3. Place fennel slices and potatoes in a casserole. Drizzle olive oil over them and sprinkle salt and pepper over them. Mix them so all sides get the oil and seasoning.
4. Bake the vegetables for about 30 minutes.
5. Wash the fish pieces and pat dry well. Put salt and pepper on the fish.
6. Take the casserole out and place the fish pieces in the casserole. Bake for about 15 minutes, being careful not to overcook the fish. Make sure the potatoes are soft and fish is cooked all the way through.

The recipe is really simple, which means you can add a lot of things to it. You can put some tomato sauce, pesto sauce, or any other sauce on the fish. I just actually put little bit of soy sauce on it tonight to make my life easy. Fish and vegetables do have taste though from salt and pepper, so don't overdo it!

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Technorati Tags:fish recipe, roasted fennel