Chicken Creole Redux

When I told my mom that I was cooking Antoine's recipe for Chicken Creole, she said, "Oh, I like dark meat, preferably a thigh, but a leg will do." Um...Okay. When I asked if she'd like me to bring her some for lunch she said, "Oh, no, I've got a nice lunch here." Which in old-lady-from-New-Orleans-speak means "Hells yes, dumb ass." When I got to the home, she acted surprised to see me, even though we'd only spoken an hour before and I told her I was bringing her lunch. Ah, old Southern habits die hard.

Lunch was indeed a hit. So much so, Mom decided to give me cooking tips, always a sign that she really enjoyed her meal. She would have liked the chicken cooked in the sauce a bit longer, not much longer, say 5 minutes or so. She was right, I think, but c'mon. How the woman knows food without ever having cooked is beyond me.

So here's the revised recipe. I like to carve up my own chickens, its a whole lot cheaper and I find it kinda fun, so I've left that in the recipe. I also think bone-in chicken makes for a better dish. When I disjoint a chicken, I wash the pieces and let them sit uncovered on a plate in the fridge for 3o minutes before drying them. Its something Dorothy did, and I'm not sure why or what purpose it serves, but I do it too.

Chicken Creole
Antoine's

1 (3 1/2 lb.) frying chicken
1/4 cup olive oil
1 20 oz. can of whole tomatoes, chopped with juice from the can
2 Tbs. butter
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne
Several grinds of fresh black pepper
2 sprigs thyme
1 Tbs. minced parsley
1 large bay leaf or 2 small
3 minced cloves garlic
1 Tbs. flour
6 chopped shallots (green onions) or 1/2 cup minced white onion
5 Tbs. chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup white wine

1. Disjoint chicken, wash and dry.

2. Add olive oil to a large skillet or Dutch oven. Heat over high heat and add chicken. Saute, browning on both sides. Roughly 8 to 10 minutes. You may have to do this in batches.

3. When brown, remove the chicken and set aside.

4. In another large skillet, simmer tomatoes and 1 Tbs. of butter together 10 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally.

5. Add salt, pepper and cayenne to the tomatoes and simmer 10 more minutes.

6. Add thyme, parsley, bay leaf, and garlic and cook 15 minutes, or until sauce is thick. The sauce will have thickened considerably by this point. Remove from heat.

7. Pour out any oil left in the Dutch oven or large skillet used to cook the chicken, making sure not to disturb any of the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.

8. Add 1 Tbs. butter to pan and heat over high heat, stirring to break up what has browned on the bottom of the pan. When the butter begins to foam, blend in flour, and cook until brown. This is usually very quick, a minute or two.

9. Add shallots or onion and bell pepper and brown slightly, about 2 minutes. Add wine, stirring constantly until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.

10. Combine wine and tomato mixtures and add chicken. Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 to 55 minutes, or until chicken is tender. Stir occasionally, especially in the beginning of the cooking, as it can stick a bit. Serve with steamed rice.
Serves 4-6.

Up next is another chicken classic--Chicken Clemenceau. Its an Arnaud's recipe, and its a bit of a mystery, as you'll see.

Chicken Clemenceau
Arnaud's

1 (1 1/2 lb.) spring chicken
1 stick butter
1 small can of green peas
2 medium-sized potatoes diced and fried
6 mushrooms, diced
1 clove garlic minced
1 sprig parsley minced

Cut chicken into 8 pieces. Saute slowly in butter until well browned and cooked through. Add remaining ingredients and saute 5-10 minutes.
Serves 2

Just a couple of observations. First...Huh? Saute the chicken in butter? Slowly? How about a little help with that. A time maybe or a fire height? And the uncooked mushrooms are going to cook enough in 5 minutes? Hmm....And this is one of the more sensible and easy-to-follow of the Arnaud's recipes.

I'm not sure Mom's going to be asking for a thigh from this one!