Rachael Rays Tuscan Chicken Food

BRAISED CHICKEN SAUSAGES

Steps:

• Put all ingredients in a large high sided saute pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-high and cook until stock has evaporated and a glaze has formed over all. With tongs toss sausages with onions and serve.

CLASSIC BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Add the butter to the oil in small pieces and when the butter foams, add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and bay and stir, about 5 minutes. Add pancetta and stir 8 to 10 more minutes to render and crisp. Add about a third of the beef and crumble it with a wooden paddle or spoon, let all of the liquid absorb and let the meat begin to lightly caramelize before adding the next third; repeat. Season the meat with salt, pepper, white pepper and nutmeg. Add white wine, about a quarter to a third of a bottle, then stir and let it absorb into the meat. Scrape up all of the fond or the drippings from the meats and vegetables, being careful not to burn the meat. Add milk, tomatoes and about 1 cup stock, a piece of cheese rind from Parmigiano-Reggiano if you have one, then lower heat to simmer, partially cover and cook the sauce 2 1/2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally and thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Add up to 1 extra cup of stock if needed if sauce gets too thick. The perfect traditional Bolognese should be buttery, uniform and emulsified, the consistency of rich, tender, pourable oatmeal. Remove bay leaf and the rind, if using, from the sauce. Sauce may be made a few days ahead as the longer it sets, the better it gets.
• To serve, cook pasta in salted water 1 minute less than package directions for al dente. Reserve 1 full cup of starchy cooking water, then drain pasta and place back in hot pot.
• Combine pasta with about two-thirds of the sauce, the cooking water and a couple of handfuls of grated cheese, tossing with tongs to combine.
• Serve pasta in shallow bowls with a little torn basil.

RACHAEL RAY'S TUSCAN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat a large, heavy, deep skillet over medium high heat.
• Season chicken with salt and pepper.
• Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, half the chicken pieces and a couple of crushed cloves of garlic.
• Brown chicken 2 minutes on each side and remove from pan.
• Add remaining oil and swirl around pan. Add remaining chicken pieces and garlic. Brown chicken 2 minutes on each side and remove.
• Add vinegar to the pan and let it sizzle till most evaporates.
• Add butter, shallots, and rosemary to the pan and cook 2 minutes.
• Add flour and cook 1 minute.
• Whisk in wine and allow to reduce and thicken for 1 minute.
• Whisk in broth and bring liquids up to a low boil.
• Return chicken to the pan and simmer over moderate heat 7 to 8 minutes for boneless (or nearly double that for bone-in) to cook chicken thoroughly.

PARMESAN CRUSTED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH TOMATO AND BASIL AND POTATOES WITH PEPPERS AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
• Cut fingerling potatoes into halves or quarters, depending on thickness of fingerlings -- thin, small fingerlings may also be left whole, larger potatoes should be quartered to speed cooking process. If you are using small red potatoes, halve or quarter them in the same way.
• Cover a large cookie sheet with foil. Place potatoes on cookie sheet. Combine with peppers and onions, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Coat the potatoes, peppers and onions with extra-virgin olive oil just enough to coat vegetables in a thin layer, 2 to 3 tablespoons. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Place potatoes in the oven and roast 20 to 22 minutes, until potatoes are just tender and peppers and onions are crisp at edges. Toss mixture with tongs, turning the potatoes after 15 minutes. When the potatoes are cooked, transfer them to a serving dish and peel the foil off the cookie sheet and discard for super-quick clean up!
• While potatoes cook, prepare chicken. Roll out a 2-foot piece of waxed paper or foil near the stove top. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat -- your pan must be very hot when the chicken is added. Pile the shredded cheese on the work surface created with the waxed paper or foil. Season your chicken breasts with black pepper but no salt; the cheese will add enough salt to the taste of the dish. Press the breasts firmly into the cheese. Coat both sides of breasts with as much cheese as possible. Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to the skillet, 1 turn of the pan. Set breasts into the skillet and cook 7 minutes on each side, until cheese forms an even, golden casing around the tender chicken breasts.
• While chicken cooks, combine chopped tomatoes with basil in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to your taste.
• Drain off any excess oil from chicken as you remove it from the skillet. Top chicken with big spoonfuls of raw sauce and serve with potatoes, peppers and onions.

MONTALCINO CHICKEN WITH FIGS AND BUTTERED GNOCCHI WITH PANCETTA AND NUTMEG

Steps:

• ** This dish uses Rosso di Montalcino wine (an affordable, younger version of Brunello -- I call it "Baby Brunello") but you can substitute any dry red wine you like.
• Heat a deep skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 4 turns of the pan, and the cut pancetta. Brown the pancetta, 3 to 4 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.
• Place a pot of water on the stove to boil for the gnocchi.
• While pancetta browns, season the chicken chunks with salt and pepper and dredge in a little flour then add to the hot pan. Brown the pieces a few minutes on each side over high heat, then scoot the meat to the edges of the pan and add the onions, garlic and chopped figs. Saute 5 minutes, combine chicken with onions and figs then add the wine and cook it down 5 minutes or so until only about 1/3 cup remains. Add chicken stock, parsley, lemon zest and thyme to the chicken and stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer cook another 10 minutes, while you make the gnocchi.
• Add salt and gnocchi to boiling water and cook to package directions, drain, 4 minutes for fresh gnocchi, 6 minutes for frozen. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Melt butter and brown it. Drain gnocchi and add to skillet. Raise heat to medium-high and lightly brown the dumplings. Season gnocchi with salt, pepper and nutmeg, turn to coat and add chives, toss and remove from heat.
• Adjust the seasonings on the chicken with figs. If you would like a little more sauce, shake another half cup of stock into the pan. Serve the chicken and figs in shallow dishes, the gnocchi piled in the center of the bowl on top of the chicken. Garnish with crisp pancetta sticks.

RACHAEL RAY'S ITALIAN CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Place a large pot of water on to boil for gnocchi.
• Heat a pot with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, a turn of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and lightly brown. Remove to a plate and add another tablespoon of olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter and heat. Add mushrooms, carrots, celery, and bay leaf, season with salt and pepper. Soften 5 minutes, sprinkle in flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in 2 1/2 cups stock, slide the chicken back into the pot and simmer to allow sauce to thicken.
• Place the remaining 1/2 cup stock in food processor with basil, parsley, garlic, pine nuts and cheese, salt and pepper. Turn processor on and pour in the remaining few tablespoons oil.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat with the zest of 1 lemon.
• Salt cooking water and drop gnocchi in the water, cook until the gnocchi floats, drain and add to the lemon butter and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss the gnocchi 2 to 3 minutes in lemon butter until light golden at edges.
• Turn heat off chicken and stir in pesto sauce. Serve the chicken in shallow bowls and top with lemon butter dumplings.

RACHAEL RAY'S ROASTED CHICKEN AND SAUSAGES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• In a large, shallow roasting pan, dress chicken and sausages with about 1 tablespoon of EVOO.
• Season with chopped rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper.
• Toss the potatoes, shallots and black grapes with remaining EVOO, salt and pepper and add to the roasting pan.
• Bundle the rosemary and thyme sprigs and toss them in the pan as well.
• Roast 45-50 minutes until the meat juices run clear and the chicken skin and sausage casings are crispy.
• To serve, arrange meat, sausage, potatoes, shallots and grapes on dinner plates and garnish with pan juices and balsamic drizzle.