I cannot believe how long I’ve left you all hanging!  How rude of me to leave a couple jars of jam as my final recipe post since September.  I don’t know what you’ve all been eating for the past four months, but I’ve been learning plenty of amazing new recipes that I’m dying to share.

My mom gifted me with Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” after she saw “Julie and Julia.”  I’ve been too intimidated for this recipe book since I received it in August, but when 85 year old Grandma Ellie effortlessly whipped out Boeuf Bourguignon for the family over Christmas break, I realized that these high-falutin’ French recipes are manageable.   I’ll post the slow-cooker version of Boeuf Bourguignon in another post.

I made several modifications to this recipe, but it still turned out “rich and delectable” as touted in Julia Child’s cookbook.  Take a look at my satisfied dinner guests:

Here is the recipe along with my modifications (Serves 4-6 people)

Ingredients:

2  1/2 to 3 lbs. of cut-up frying chicken

3 Tbsp. butter

A heavy, 10-inch fireproof casserole

A slow-cooker (my modification)

1  1/2 cups thinly sliced yellow onions

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp white pepper (i used regular pepper)

1/4 tsp curry powder

1/3 cup cognac, Calvados, Madeira, or port; or 3/4 cup dry white wine, or 1/2 cup dry white vermouth (I used white wine)

3 cups whipping cream brought to a boil in a small sauce pan (I used one can 2% evaporated milk, preheated in the slow-cooker).

Salt and pepper, drops of lemon juice, 3 to 4 tbsp whipping cream (used to finish the sauce at the end of cooking).

Directions:

Dry the chicken thoroughly.  Turn it in hot butter for 4 to 5 minutes, until the meat has stiffened slightly but has not browned.  Remove to a side dish.

Stir the onions into the butter in the pan.  Cover and cook very slowly for 5 minutes, or until the onions are fairly tender but not browned.

Return the chicken to the casserole pan, cover and cook slowly for 10 minutes until it swells slightly and stiffens, but does not brown.  Turn it once during this period.

Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and curry powder.  Pour in the spirits or wine, raise heat, and boil rapidly until the liquid has almost entirely evaporated (I didn’t let the liquid evaporate very much because I knew it would reduce in the slow-cooker).

This is where I totally change the recipe to work with the slow cooker.  Place the chicken with onions and sauce into the slow-cooker at high heat for 4 hours.  My slow-cooker automatically switches to “warm” after the four hours is up.

When you are about to eat you’ll want to get the risotto started as it takes about 20 minutes.  (Risotto recipe below).  While the risotto is simmering, remove the chicken from the slow-cooker and pour the sauce into a small pot.  Boil rapidly until it reduces enough to coat a spoon lightly.  Correct seasoning (I added quite a few more sprinkles of the curry powder), adding lemon juice to taste.  Off heat, beat in additional cream (I used real cream in this step) by spoonfuls to smooth out the sauce.  My sauce was a little runny, probably because I used 2% evaporated milk for the cooking portion of the recipe.  To thicken up the sauce I just mixed a tsp of flour in with the cream and then added it to the sauce.

Risotto:

This is the standard French method for braised rice, rice sauteed in fat and onions, then cooked in seasoned liquid.  The rice is first sauteed slowly in butter for 2 to 3 minutes until it turns a milky color.  This prevents the rice from becoming sticky by cooking the rice-flour coating. I have never cooked rice in the oven before, but it turned out great!  The oven regulates the heat better so that the liquid is absorbed into the rice in 18-20 minutes.  It is important to only stir the rice once all the liquid has been absorbed.  Recipe serves 6 people.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup finely minced onion

4 tbsp butter

A 6-cup fireproof casserole about 8 inches in diameter with a tight fitting cover (I just use a good size wok with a lid)

1  1/2 cups clean, unwashed, raw rice

3 cups boiling liquid, depending on what your risotto is to be served with:

chicken stock or chicken broth, brown stock, or canned beef bouillon and water, mushroom broth and water, white wine fish stock, white win or white vermouth, and water, or water only. (I used chicken broth.)

Salt and pepper

A small herb bouquet: 2 parlsey sprigs, 1/3 bay leaf, and 1/8 tsp thyme tied in cheesecloth (I used the bay leaf and dried thyme without tying them in cheesecloth)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook the onions and butter slowly in the casserole for about 5 minutes until tender but not browned.

Blend the rice into the onions and butter and stir over moderate heat for several minutes, not letting the rice brown.  The grains will at first become translucent, then will gradually turn a milky color.

As soon as the rice looks milky, pour in the boiling liquid.  Add the herb bouquet, and salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to simmer, stir once, cover the casserole, and set in lower third of preheated oven.  As soon as the liquid maintains itself at a very slow boil, in 4 to 5 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degree; the boil should be regulated so the liquid has been absorbed by the rice in 14 to 15 minutes.  Do not touch the rice during this time.  Then uncover the casserole; tilt it and lift rice with a fork to see if all liquid at bottom of casserole has evaporated.  If not, return to oven for 2 to 3 minutes more.  Then remove the casserole from the oven.  If you wish the rice to be slightly al dente, uncover it.  If you wish it to become a little more tender, leave it covered for 10 minutes.  Discard herb bouquet.  Fluff rice with a fork and correct seasoning.

This was Jesse’s “Welcome Back” dinner.  He just returned to BYU after serving his mission in Brazil for two years.  I’m sure it will be the first of many family dinners with the three Cobell sibs here in Utah.