ONE POT+6 INGREDIENTS = PERFECTION
Happy Spring! Elizabeth cooked up a winner winner of a chicken dinner for you this week, and have you heard of the new hot chick on the block? She’s Panettone’s flirty Spring Sister, and we’re swooning!
MUSTARD WHITE WINE CHICKEN
EK: Anthony inspired me to create this mash-up of a very simple Wolfgang Puck dish and my favorite Julia Child recipe called Chicken Diablo. It is essentially Boneless Skinless Chicken with a White Wine Mustard Sauce and I added sautéed mushrooms because I love a mushroom moment!
EK: When Anthony created his smoked chicken salad (based on the chicken salad that Wolfgang Puck made at his restaurant, Ma Maison) he also told me about a recipe that Wolfgang made on Good Morning America when Anthony was the food producer. The recipe is for Veal Medallions in a Meaux Mustard Sauce. Meaux Mustard is the whole-grain Dijon mustard that you can now buy almost anywhere—including Trader Joe’s—and that is where I bought mine.
AU: Yes! Of course we didn’t cook veal medallions on GMA, but Wolfgang adapted it, using a spatchcocked chicken instead. It was such a simple recipe: chicken, whole-grain mustard, port wine, and some heavy cream. And probably some butter, because well, it’s French after all. It was one of those gee-whiz moments to watch him create such an elegant dish with the flick of his wrist and a few simple ingredients on live television.
EK: I love a good chicken and mustard-sauce recipe. In fact, my favorite Julia Child recipe is her Chicken Diablo, which is a butterflied chicken slathered with Dijon mustard, butter, green onions, and white wine. The dish is finished off with breadcrumbs which become crunchy, and the smell in your house while it roasts is absolutely intoxicating.
This mustard pan sauce made me think of the Julia Child recipe, and so I decided to mash up the two and create a skillet dinner that I could make in advance, and, heat up when it was dinner time.
Instead of a whole chicken, I used boneless skinless chicken thighs so that nobody has to cut around the bone. This way, the chicken and the sauce can be served on top of rice and it will be easy to eat. Because I love mushrooms, I also decided to add 10 ounces of sautéed mushrooms.
It is one of the easiest recipes you will ever make with one of the biggest flavor bangs for the buck! That’s what butter, white wine and shallots will do to protein!
I used chicken thighs but you could use a mixture of white and dark meat, or all of one or the other, just make sure to use skinless and boneless chicken.
EK: The real flavor comes from browning the chicken in butter and then cooking the shallots in the same butter that cooked the chicken which adds another layer of flavor to the shallots. Finally melting the brown bits—technically called “fond” that stick to the pan—with white wine for that roasty rich flavor. You can see how brown and rich the liquid is, and that is because of the super flavorful fond that is dissolved into the wine and the shallots in the final square above.
Speaking of wine, I used 1 1/2 cups of white wine where Wolfgang only used 1/2 cup of port in his recipe, and I reduced the heavy cream to 1/2 cup where he used 1 cup. That is the difference between me and the French man: I go heavy on the wine and lighter on the cream:) ! You can switch the proportions if you like, but I like it lighter and winey-er.
I served the dish with rice—from my rice cooker! and little English peas and butter. It’s a throwback dinner that makes my taste buds and my belly very happy:).
HIPP-ITY HOP, EASTER IS COMING!
EK: To say that I am a fan of Olivieri 1882, is not nearly strong enough. I am an uber fan. The sweet yeast cakes that come from their 6th generation bakery defy logic. The crumb is light and delicate and it stays deliciously moist even though it is baked in Italy, contains no preservatives, and is shipped to the USA.
You may be familiar with Panettone but this time of year, it is the Colomba di Pasqua that is being baked for Easter.
AU: I love a good panettone… when done well, it’s exceptional. Colomba di Pasqua means “Dove of Easter” in Italian.
EK: The Colomba is a traditional, yeasted dove-shaped cake “known for its feather-light texture, and heady floral, orange aroma—think of it as panettone's springtime cousin,” says owner Nicola Olivieri. The 4-day production process, long fermentation, and no preservatives leads to a fluffy, rich yet refined final product that has won a slew of awards in its native Italy.
Drawing on more than 140 years of experience, Olivieri 1882’s Colomba Classica is handmade, and features the best raw ingredients including Tahitian Bourbon vanilla bean, centrifuged Belgian butter, and Italian acacia honey. The cloud-like sweet bread is studded with candied orange and topped with an almond, hazelnut, pine nut, and pearl sugar glaze.
The Classica is the original flavor and the one that Anthony and I tasted, but like the Panettone, Olivieri 1882’s Colomba comes in a variety of flavors including Triple Chocolate, Apricot Salted Caramel, Tangerine and Cardamom, and more. The Colomba is $75, which includes shipping to your U.S. doorstep in 48 hours or less.
Place your order here and use the code KARMEL10 for 10% off. Happy Easter Hunting!
I can’t wait to try this! I’m all for “winey-er” dishes. 🍷