Posted by Michelle Butler Feb 12 2012, 9:29 pm in cooking, Expectations, food, Holidays, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, positive thinking, recipes
Yes, I know Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, but I have become a big fan of the holiday recently. When I was a kid, it was a great excuse to eat candy. That was always better than counting how many Valentine’s you received in your class as I never won that contest in elementary school. As more mature, romantic expectations got piled on that day, it may have gotten even worse. It wasn’t a day that made me feel good about myself.
But, I grew up and learned how to strike back! You need to take control of your expectations and the stories you tell yourself. I started to turn it into a sisterhood celebration day – kind of a Galentine’s Day to quote Parks & Recreation, a fun tv show on NBC. I started out by sending out Valentine’s to all my girlfriends who did not have a special man in their lives. I worked up to organizing happy hours or group dinners out. At times, they were even coed, but I’ve discovered that men can be even more morose on that day than women if they are not celebrating with a girlfriend. One year, I even had a dinner party at my home for some girlfriends and put on quite a yummy yet healthy spread if I say so myself.
Last year, I learned how fun and special this holiday can be when you are celebrating with a man who really rocks your world. Valentine’s Day was one of my first dates with my fabulous boyfriend, and it was so wonderful. I’ll never forget how good he looked standing at the bar waiting for me. I couldn’t believe that such a handsome man was there for me. I had started talking to the hostess before I saw him, and I literally lost track of what I was saying as he took my breath away. I’ll never forget that night.
This year, we are going to retrace some of our steps from that special night one year ago. We are going to a Spanish tapas restaurant in DC and will probably follow up with an after dinner tea at Teaism. (Yes, I am a wild girl!) I look forward to making more memories and enjoying celebrating romantic love with the man and with the other couples out that night. I realize the sap level of this post is reaching new heights, but I can’t help myself. We are too schmoopy often.
So for this Valentine’s Day, I hope you spend some time thinking about how you can make it special. I had some lovely celebrations with my family growing up, with friends later and now with the fabulous boyfriend.
If you are planning on cooking a special meal at home, I have a recipe or two you may want to consider. It is what I made for my ladies’ Valentine’s Day dinner party in 2009.
America’s Test Kitchen French Chicken in a Pot
Why This Recipe Works: Poulet en cocotte (chicken in a pot) is a classic French specialty—at its best, it’s a whole chicken baked with root vegetables in a covered pot that delivers incredibly tender and juicy meat. Sounds simple, but it’s actually more challenging than throwing chicken in a pot with vegetables. One potential problem is too much moisture in the pot, which washes out the flavor; another pitfall is overcooking. We wanted chicken in a pot that delivered moist meat and satisfying flavor.
We removed the vegetables—the liquid they released made the pot too steamy—and cooked the chicken by itself (after browning it in a little oil to prevent it from sticking). We also tightly sealed the pot with foil before adding the lid. To keep the breast meat from drying out and becoming tough, we cooked the chicken very slowly. After developing the basic technique, we revisited the idea of vegetables, and found that a small amount of potently flavored aromatic vegetables could be added if they were lightly browned with the chicken to erase most of their moisture. Finally, defatting the liquid in the pot rewarded us with a richly flavored sauce.
The cooking times in the recipe are for a 41/2 to 5-pound bird. A 31/2 to 41/2-pound chicken will take about an hour to cook, and a 5 to 6-pound bird will take close to 2 hours. We developed this recipe to work with a 5 to 8-quart Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid. If using a 5-quart pot, do not cook a chicken larger than 5 pounds. If using a kosher chicken, reduce the amount of table salt to 1/2 teaspoon. If you choose not to serve the skin with the chicken, simply remove it before carving. The amount of sauce will vary depending on the size of the chicken; season it with about 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice for every 1/4 cup.
Ingredients:
1 (41/2 to 5-pound) whole chicken, giblets discarded, wings tucked under back (see note)
1 teaspoon table salt (see note)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped medium
1 small celery rib, chopped medium
6 medium garlic cloves, peeled and trimmed
1 bay leaf
1 medium sprig fresh rosemary (optional)
1/2–1 teaspoon juice from 1 lemon (see note)
1. Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and heat the oven to 250 degrees. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with the salt and pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until just smoking. Add the chicken, breast side down, and scatter the onion, celery, garlic cloves, bay leaf, and rosemary (if using) around the chicken. Cook until the breast is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken breast side up and continue to cook until the chicken and vegetables are well browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Off the heat, place a large sheet of foil over the pot and cover tightly with the lid. Transfer the pot to the oven and cook until the thickest part of the breast registers 160 to 165 degrees and the thickest part of the thighs registers 175 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 1 hour and 20 minutes to 1 hour and 50 minutes.
4. Remove the pot from the oven. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and let rest 20 minutes. Strain the chicken juices from the pot into a fat separator, pressing on the solids to extract the liquid; discard the solids (you should have about 3/4 cup juices). Let the liquid settle 5 minutes, then pour into a saucepan and cook over low heat until hot. Carve the chicken, adding any accumulated juices to the saucepan. Season the sauce with lemon juice to taste (see note). Serve the chicken, passing the sauce separately.
I have served this with a soup or salad starter, baked or dijon roasted potatoes and vegetables such as roasted asparagus, roasted carrots and fennel or not your mama’s brussels sprouts. The dessert is often apple oat crumble, a real favorite of mine.
Are you a fan of Valentine’s Day? Any special memories or suggestions you would like to share?
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