Chicken Grand Mere Food

POULET DE GRAND-MERE

Steps:

• For the chicken: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt. In a large saute pan, heat enough clarified butter to coat the pan over medium-high heat. Add half the thyme and continue to heat. Place 2 of the chicken breasts in the pan skin-side down and sear until golden brown, basting the flesh side with fat from the pan. Flip the breasts, brown on the other side and baste. Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet. Cook the other 2 breasts in the same manner, adding in the remaining thyme sprigs.
• Place the baking sheet with the seared breasts in the oven and bake until the chicken is firm to the touch, 7 to 8 minutes. Allow to rest before slicing.
• For the just: While the chicken is in the oven, pour off any excess fat in the saute pan and place over medium-high heat. Add enough clarified butter to coat the bottom of the pan and add the bacon lardons. Cook until crispy, and then remove to a plate and reserve. Remove any excess fat from the pan if necessary. Add in the onions and sweat until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat, add in the mushrooms and season with salt. Cook the mushrooms until golden brown on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add in the white wine and scrap up all the brown bits that have collected on the bottom of the pan. Cook down until the wine has reduced by half. Add in half of the chicken stock and let simmer about 5 minutes. Add in the remaining chicken stock and reduce until slightly thickened Remove from the heat and swirl in the butter. Taste and season if necessary.
• Serve the sliced chicken with the jus and garnish with chopped parsley.

CHICKEN GRAND-MERE

Steps:

• Pat chicken dry; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Heat 1 T. butter and the oil in Dutch oven or deep 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add several pieces chicken and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter and repeat with remaining pieces.
• Reduce heat to medium; add onion, garlic, and thyme. Saute until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Pour off all but 1 T. fat. Carefully pour Cognac into pan and scrape bottom of pan to loosen browned bits. Return chicken to pan, placing breasts on top. Pour in wine and broth and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered until chicken is tender, 30-40 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to warmed serving platter; cover with foil and keep warm. Cook sauce over medium-high heat until reduced by almost half, 12-15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, fry bacon in separate large skillet over medium heat, until golden, about 8 minutes.
• While bacon is cooking, cut potatoes into 3/4-inch dice and add to bacon in skillet. Fry, stirring frequently, until golden, 5-7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove bacon and potatoes to bowl.
• Add mushrooms to skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 3-4 minutes. Add mushrooms to potatoes.
• Spoon off fat from sauce. Add mushrooms, potatoes, and bacon and stir to coat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until hot, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in half the parsley and the remaining 2 T. butter. Taste and adjust seasonings. Pour sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve hot.

SUPRêME DE VOLAILLE FERMIèRE à LA CRèME (CHICKEN BREAST IN CREAM)

Steps:

• Set the chicken in a large, deep pot. Add the chicken stock, then add enough water to cover the chicken completely. Heat over high until the temperature of the cooking liquid reaches 160 degrees and is hot enough to steam. Cook the chicken until the inner thighs reach a temperature of 145 degrees, 30 to 40 minutes, monitoring the temperature and reducing the heat as needed throughout the cooking process to make sure the liquid stays under a simmer. Remove chicken from liquid and let rest until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes.
• While chicken rests, start the sauce: In a medium saucepan, whisk the butter and flour over low heat until the mixture melts into a thick, pale roux, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly add 3 cups of the hot chicken stock to the roux, whisking constantly over low heat, until roux and the liquid are emulsified. Bring to a simmer and cook, whisking occasionally, until the mixture is reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes. (Let the remaining stock cool, then refrigerate or freeze for future use.)
• Meanwhile, remove the legs (they will not be fully cooked) and set them aside for another use (see Note). Carefully remove the skin from the chicken breasts, then, starting with the pointed end of each breast, separate the breasts from the breastbone, with your thumb if possible (or your knife if necessary), gently moving your thumb down the center bone that separates the two breasts on each side. Using a knife, ensure that you remove the rest of the breast meat (including the filets) from the bone without tearing; remove and discard any membranes from the surface of each breast. (The meat nearest the bone might still be slightly uncooked, but it will cook through in Step 6.)
• Whisk the cream into the sauce in the saucepan, and continue to cook at a simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and has reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, another 15 to 20 minutes.
• Whisk in the mustard, then lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then add the port, if using.
• Add the breasts to the sauce to reheat, basting them until fully cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer each breast to a warmed plate and slice thickly, if desired. Gently spoon the sauce over the breast to serve.

CHICKEN FRICASSEE

Steps:

• In a resealable plastic bag, combine 2-1/4 teaspoons flour, salt, pepper and thyme. Add chicken and shake to coat. In a small skillet, brown chicken in butter. Remove chicken and set aside. In same skillet, saute the mushrooms, onion and celery until crisp-tender. Return chicken to the pan. Add water and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until chicken juices run clear, turning occasionally., Place remaining flour mixture in a bowl; stir in milk until smooth. Stir into pan juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Discard bay leaf. Sprinkle with parsley.