It's February and I was thinking about sexy, sultry recipes I could share because that's what we do in February, right? Heart shaped meatloaf and platters of oysters are pretty obvious by now. Instead. I present a silky French concoction that to me is simple decadence on a plate. I mean, it's French so it must be l'amour!
Ingredients for 2-4
1 Tblsp olive oil
4 chicken thighs with skin and bone
2 shallots diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tblsp whole-grain Dijon mustard
2 Tblsp Dijon mustard
2-3 Tblsp heavy cream
Parsley chopped for garnish
Instructions
Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Wash and dry your thighs thoroughly and season with salt and pepper. Pre-heat a cast iron or stainless steel skillet over medium high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan and then add the seasoned chicken skin side down and sear until the skin is crisp, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter skin side up and set aside.
Add the diced shallots to the pan and cook until tender. Pour the wine in with the shallots and stir, scraping up those yummy bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine for a few minutes until almost evaporated. Stir in the broth and whole grain mustard. Lower the temperature and bring to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pan skin-side up. Don't forget to pour any juices from the platter into the skillet!
Place the skillet in the oven uncovered and braise about 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Chicken should have an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Remove the chicken one more time to a clean platter and place the pan back on the stove top over medium heat. Whisk in the smooth Dijon for a couple minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cream.
Salt and pepper the sauce to your liking and serve underneath the chicken to keep it crisp. Garnish with chopped parsley.
To make this dish a bit more sexy, I sometimes add a few artichokes cut in half. I stir these in with the smooth Dijon and heat through. Add sauteed French green beans and a baguette and you've got dinner. Vous êtes le bienvenu!
Items available at The Pot Rack to assist in the making of this dish:
Barebones Cast Iron Skillet
Maverick Digital Thermometer
Mrs. Anderson's French Roux Whisk
This mustard chicken thigh recipe has been a favorite of mine for years because creating easy and interesting sauces to plate with chicken can prove challenging. These ingredients are always on hand in my fridge and it’s just plain full proof.
Poulet à la Moutarde. AKA chicken in mustard sauce, has a fun historical beginning.
“Reine Geneviève Bourgogne, first wife of the Mayor of Dijon, was preparing a chicken for the "prince of gastronomists". There was a serious incident in the kitchen which almost compromised the meal and the reputation of the hostess as a good cook. What incident? A jar of mustard fell into the casserole dish and spread out over the poultry as it cooked. Unable to get the condiment out, she added white wine, crème fraîche and grated comté. This mixture pleased the famous gastronomic critic. He congratulated the mistress of the house for this recipe and named it after his host. It is known as Chicken Dijon.”
I love fun stories like this one and reflect on the fact that accidents in the kitchen have created some of the best dishes.
· Potato Chips came to be when a customer at a resort in 1853 complained that the chefs’ crispy potatoes were not crispy enough. The incensed chef sliced a potato super thin and fried it literally to a crisp! Potato Chips have been popular ever since.
· Chocolate Chip Cookies were accidently invented by Ruth Wakefield in 1938. While baking cookies one day, Ruth ran out of ordinary baking chocolate, so she took a semi-sweet chocolate bar and added broken chunks to the dough, creating the first batch of chocolate chip cookies.
· Tarte Tartin came to be in the late 1800s when Stephanie Tartin accidentally overcooked some apples. To keep the apples from browning further she put a crust over them. When she served it, she flipped the whole thing over so people would not notice any burn marks.
What mistakes have you made in the kitchen that resulted in a family favorite? Send them to erika@thepotrack.com and we’ll share them on our Facebook page!