I've survived the second week of culinary classes! Hooray.
This week was amazing -- it actually started out with Grandpa's birthday on Monday (I made chocolate chip walnut cookies), Scones and Muffins on Tuesday, and has ended (so far) on Chicken & Chausser and Rice. ♥
Chicken & Chausser with Rice:
2 Chicken Breasts
Flour
Salt
Pepper
Oil
6 oz Mushrooms (Quartered)
2 oz Shallots (finely diced)
2 oz Butter
1/4 tsp Thyme
½ cup White Wine
½ cup veal (or beef) broth
8 oz diced Tomato
1 cup long grained rice
1½ tbsp carrots (finely diced)
1½ tbsp onions (finely diced)
1 tbsp celery (finely diced)
1 clove garlic (smashed)
2 tbsp butter
2 cups chicken stock
Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Heat up your sauté pan. Add about 1½ tbsp oil. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts. Lightly coat them in flour, shaking off any excess. Place the chicken breasts skin-side down in the pan until browned. Flip them, adding more oil if needed. When both sides are browned, stick the pan in the oven for about 5 minutes, until the chicken is just done.
In another pan, sweat the carrots, onions, celery, and garlic in about 2 tbsp of oil. When the onions are translucent, add the rice. Make sure all of the rice is coated with the oil.
Cook the rice until the grains start turning white, then add the chicken broth. When the rice mixture comes to a boil, turn down the heat and put a lid on the pan. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, until the rice is done.
Take the chicken out of its pan (I put it on the lid of the rice - keeps it warm), and put the pan back on the heat. When the pan heats up, add the mushrooms and shallots (if tthe pan is too dry, you can add some oil). When the mushrooms start to caramelize, sprinkle in the thyme. Don't let the mushrooms get too brown! Add the tomatoes, and mix those around to start the deglazing process. Wait for about a minute, then add the white wine. Let that incorporate, and then pour in the broth.
Let the sauce reduce. Add in the 2 oz butter. When the butter melts, put the chicken in the sauce, just to warm it back up.
Plate it and enjoy!
Cookies:
2 sticks Salted Butter (Softened)
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1 cup Light Brown Sugar (lightly packed)
2 Eggs
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Baking Soda
Pinch of Salt
2 cups Flour
2 cups Oatmeal
12 oz (one bag) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 cup Walnuts (chopped)
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add in eggs and mix well.
Sprinkle in cinnamon, baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Mix until combined. Stir in flour, half a cup at a time. Mix well. Add in oatmeal and stir until combined.
Mix in chocolate chips and walnuts, making sure they’re distributed evenly throughout the dough. Dough will stick together.
Roll dough into 1″ balls and place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown. The center may look slightly spongy, but should not look wet. (If using a convection oven, turn cookies halfway through baking.)
Serve with a glass of milk and a lot of napkins. ♥
