Monday, October 29, 2012

Cat Cora's Chicken Stroganoff

Woot!  Another free evening.   On the way home tonight I was racking my brain on what to make for dinner.  It's fall and the weather starting to turn which makes me crave comfort food.  Then I remembered watching a video online of Cat Cora demonstrating her chicken stroganoff that's supposed to be warm and comforting.  Let's do it!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39521937/ns/today-food/t/cat-coras-chicken-stroganoff/


 Ingredients:


  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more if needed
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more if needed
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup minced shallots
  • 1/4 cup Marsala
  • 3/4 cup rich chicken stock or low-sodium stock
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon, plus 6-8 sprigs for garnish
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • noodles or rice


Instead of buying boneless chicken thighs, there was a sale on drumsticks so I decided to go with that and do the deboning myself.  The 5 chicken drumsticks costs $3.28 when a package of 6 boneless chicken thighs cost over $10.  Plus you get the personal satisfaction of being able to exercise your butchery skill!  The only thing about the drumsticks is that there are a lot of sinuous which is annoying to remove.  Cut up the chicken into bite sized chunks, season, and then set aside.
Here's the rest of the "Mise en Plas" (Fancy French cooking term for prep).  I basically sliced up some mushrooms and shallots and a 1/4 onion.  The mushrooms and onions is not in Cat Cora's recipe but I had a leftover 1/4 onion I wanted to get rid of - and mushrooms is traditional in Stroganoff.  I rip the leaves off some fresh tarragon and gave it a rough chop.
Heat up some olive oil and soften the shallots, onions, and mushrooms.
When the shallots, onion, and mushrooms are soft (around 5 min) create a well in the middle and throw in the chicken.  The middle of the pan is the hottest so it's where you want the chicken to be.  Your instinct is to start stirring it around but leave it to sear for a couple of minutes, then flip the chicken and sear the other side, and then you can start stirring it all together.
 After you cook the chicken set aside.
In your pan, pour in the Marsala wine.  Use your spoon to deglaze the fond on the bottom of the pan.  Then pour in your chicken stock and reduce for a few minutes.
Stir in the dijon mustard and tarragon.  After the mustard is disolved, throw back in the reserved chicken / shallots / onions.  Then stir in the sour cream.
After you let it simmer for a few minutes (don't let it boil or the sour cream may split), you're done!  Serve on some plain noodles.  It was pretty yummy!  The fresh tarragon was interesting.  The herb gave it a bit of a different element that I'm not used to - but kinda acts as a counterpoint to the richness of the dish.

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