Tags
chicken, chicken fricassee, chicken with vegetables, French cooking, french dinners, Julia Child
I was craving a Julia recipe. I haven’t done in one in ages-for good reason. For one, they’re terribly unhealthy. Secondly, they take forever and leave your kitchen a complete mess.
But oh my gosh, they’re good and I crave them, like I crave McDonald’s Filet O’Fish sandwiches and Oreo cookies. Don’t judge!
Doing a Julie recipe may seem painstaking, even to the most patient cook. In this age of crock pot and one-skilled dinners, the number of steps, pots, and preparation needed to pull off a French dish is overwhelming. But it is so worth it. So don’t be intimidated by this or any other Julia Child recipe. I’ll give you some advice.
First, have all your side dishes ready and waiting on the stove. I made rice and veggies to accompany this dish and had both in saucepans waiting by the stove so I could just turn on the burners at the right time.
Second, read through her recipes 3-4 times before you do them. Make sure you understand all the steps. Get out all your pans and ingredients. Cut up your veggies. Have a sink of soapy water for the dirty dishes.
Third, pour a glass of wine because it makes it more fun-and it’s more French. Then, get started!
This delicious chicken dinner is great for a Sunday supper. It’s tender chicken, stewed in broth, wine and vegetables and finished with a cream sauce. Is your mouth watering yet?
Ingredients
• 4 chicken leg quarters, skinned
• ½ pound fresh mushrooms
• 1/3 cup water
• ½ tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 stalk of celery, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot (or 6 baby carrots), thinly sliced
• 5 tablespoons of butter, divided
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons of flour
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup dry white wine
• Herbs to taste
• 2 egg yolks
• ½ cup whipping cream
• Pinch of nutmeg
Instructions
Wash the mushrooms and cut them into quarters.
Bring to a boil the water, lemon juice, a tablespoon of the butter and a dash of salt. Add the mushrooms and toss them to cover with liquid. Cover the pot and boil on medium high heat for five minutes, tossing frequently. Take off the heat and set aside.
Place the rest of the butter in a fireproof dutch oven on the stove on medium hit. Once it’s melted, add the carrots, celery and onions and cook for five minutes or until they are almost tender but not browned. Remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside until later.
Place the chicken stock in a saucepan and bring it to boil, then let it simmer. You’ll need it boiling or near boiling in a few minutes.
Meanwhile, place the chicken in the casserole. Cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes, turning the pieces every minute until the meat has stiffened slighting, without coloring to more than a light color.
Lower the heat, cover, and cook the chicken slowly for 10 minutes, turning it once. It should swell slightly, stiffen more, but not deepen in color.
Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper and flour and turn the pieces so all the sides are coated with flour and cooking butter. Add the veggies back in, cover, and cook slowly for another four minutes, turning the chicken pieces halfway through.
Now, add the boiling stock, the wine, and herbs to taste. (It really starts smelling delicious at this point!).
Bring the whole thing to a light boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer slowly for 25 to 30 minutes or until the chicken is done and the juices run clear. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and set into a covered dish to keep it warm.
Bring the mixture left after the chicken is removed to a boil, stirring frequently, until the sauce reduces and thickens enough to coat a spoon. This took me about 10-12 minutes of heavy boiling and constant stirring. Turn off heat for now.
In a mixer, beat egg yolks and cream. Ladle out one cup of the boiling liquid and slowly add it to the egg yolk and cream mixture. You don’t want to add it too quickly and cook the eggs. Whip it all on medium high. Once you’d got a whole cup in with the cream and eggs, ladle out a second cup and add that to the cream and eggs.
Then, take your creamed sauce and pour it back into the dutch oven. Set it over medium high heat against and boil it for one minute, stirring constantly. Take it off the heat for the final time and add the pinch of nutmeg and stewed mushrooms.
Serve your chicken pieces with ladles of the cream and veggies and mushrooms over the top. Enjoy!