French-style Chicken and Potatoes & Sticky Date Pudding

Main: French-style Chicken & Potatoes
Taste

Dessert: Sticky Date Pudding
Women’s Weekly Dinner Party Cook Book No. 3

“Learn how to cook, try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun”
Julia Child

Hi Everyone!

Julia Child nailed it with this statement. So many of us are fearful of cooking so just throw our hands up and say “oh, I don’t really cook” when, in actual fact, it can be a really relaxing and enjoyable pass time as well as bringing people together in the comfort of your home and not at some noisy restaurant.

I love French food and yes, I agree, it is not always an easy cuisine to replicate. So when I saw this recipe for French-style Chicken & Potatoes by Taste I just had to investigate. Taste recipes are always easy to follow and pretty much fail proof. I was, however, a little surprised that the recipe called for home made condensed cream of chicken soup. My first thought was that they would use a can. Silly me! The soup part of the recipe was very easy and can be made a day ahead if you wish. I also think it could be good as the base for a few different recipes which I will investigate and experiment with down the track.

Once the browning has been done it is a matter of just throwing everything in together

Once you’ve made the base (being the soup) it is just a matter of browning the chicken, onion and garlic and then throwing it all in together to cook away for approximately an hour. The wine, mustard and herbs makes for a mouth watering smell wafting through the house. Pretty darn easy and a real family pleaser. The flavour is heavenly. 9/10.

The Sticky Date is always a winner. I’ve been making this since the Dinner Party Cookbooks first came out. The great thing about this recipe is that you can do it ahead and freeze it before coating with the caramel.

Freezes well and can be used as a cake

It freezes really well and can be used just as a cake warmed with butter or as the full on dessert with homemade caramel sauce, ice-cream and cream. I like to have one of these in the freezer just in case. I cut it in half and freeze so that I have dessert for four at a moments notice. 10/10.

Next week the MAV is away at golf so we are trying a simple vegetarian stuffed capsicum dish which I’ve been wanting to try for some time but knew the MAV would not be a happy chappy.

Until next week.

From my table to yours with love x

French-style Chicken & Potato

Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

20 g unsalted butter
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp milk
½ c Massel chicken style liquid stock
large pinch of garlic powder
large pinch of onion powder
large pinch of dried thyme
large pinch of salt

French-Style Chicken & Potatoes

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
4 chicken thigh cutlets (with skin) (I used breasts with the bone in)
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
1 brown onion (sliced)
1 c dry white wine
1 c chicken stock
¼ c dijon mustard
2 tsp white sugar
3 carrots (cut into thick batons)
500 g baby red delight potatoes (halved)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme (plus extra to serve)

The Soup

Make condensed chicken soup: melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add flour. Stir to create a paste. Cook for 1 minute. Whisk in milk until mixture forms a smooth and thick paste. Gradually whisk in stock, onion power, garlic powder, thyme and salt until mixture is smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Set aside to cool for 10 mins.

The French-style Chicken & Potatoes

Preheat oven to 200°c/180°c fan-forced.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large heavy-based flameproof ovenproof dish over high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down. Cook for 3 minutes or until skin is light golden. Turn. Cook for 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Carefully drain any excess fat from dish. Return to heat. Add garlic and onion. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add wine. Simmer, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add Condensed Chicken Soup, ⅓ cup of water, stock, mustard and sugar. Stir to dissolve mustard. Add carrot, potato, rosemary and thyme. Stir to combine.
Return chicken to pan. Cover. Transfer to oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid. Bake for a further 20 minutes or until chicken is dark brown and cooked through. Stand 5 minutes. Serve sprinkled with extra thyme.

Main Course

French

Sticky Date Pudding

1¼ c chopped dates
1¼ c water
60 g butter
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
¾ c castor sugar
2 eggs
1 c self-raising flour

Butterscotch Sauce

1 c brown sugar
1 c cream
200 g butter

Grease deep 20cm round cake pan. Line base with paper, grease paper.
Combine dates and water in pan, bring to boil, remove from heat, add soda, stand 5 minutes. Blend or process until smooth
Cream butter and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until well combined. Beat in eggs 1 at a time.
Gently fold in sifted flour, then date mixture.
Pour mixture into prepared pan, bake in moderate oven about 55 minutes or until cooked through.
Cover pudding with foil if it becomes too dark during cooking. Stand pudding 10 minutes before turning onto wire rack over oven tray. Pour ¼ cup sauce over pudding, return to moderate oven, bake, uncovered, further 5 minutes.
Serve pudding with remaining sauce.

Butterscotch Sauce

Combine all ingredients in pan, stir over heat, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved, then simmer, stirring, 3 minutes.

Dessert

Modern Australian

French-style Chicken and Potatoes & Sticky Date Pudding