Oui, Chef

Fabulous Roast Chicken

Roast Chicken.

It's hard to think of two other words that fit so perfectly together, isn't it?

To my mind,  a well cooked roast chicken is about as fine a meal as you can eat.  There is just something about it....the tender juicy meat, the crispy, well seasoned skin, and please don't get me started about the aroma that fills the house while it cooks......it is absolutely intoxicating.

Why is it then that so few people I know actually make roast chicken on a regular basis? I know plenty of people who cook chicken regularly, either by cooking "parts" on the grill, or by sautéing cutlets indoors.  I know people that frequently make Buffalo Wings, Coq au Vin, or Chicken Fricasee, but never seem to get around to roasting a whole bird.  Why is that?

Chicken with Fontina, Proscuitto and Sage

This is my adaptation of a dish I saw Jamie Oliver prepare on Mark Bittman's "Minimalist" web show.  It is absolutely delicious, quick to throw together, and fun for the kids to help with. 

Grab a youngster that has a little anger to vent, hand them a heavy pan or meat mallet, and let 'em go to town smacking down the split chicken breasts to a nice, thin paillard (cutlet).  We used fontina, sage and proscuitto as toppings for these lovelies because that's what we had in our fridge, but by all means, substitute different herbs, cheeses, or cured hams as you wish.  Have a little iberico, or jambon de bayonne hanging around....they'll be perfect.  Shave some parmesan, romano, or grate some cheddar or gruyere, as long as your cheese melts well, it will work.  For the herbs, thyme, rosemary, marjoram....you name it, have some fun with this dish.

Chicken Pot Pie "Provencal"

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had holidays filled with lots of love, laughter and great food!  We here at "Oui, Chef" are just starting to get back into the swing of things after our holiday travel.  We're warming up the stove, cleaning the cobwebs from the pantry, and re-stocking the fridge so that we can share more fun, family friendly recipes with you as we launch into 2010.  Today we're sharing a chicken pot pie recipe that I came up with earlier in the Fall, and I have to say that I'm really proud of this creation....it ROCKS! 

The recipe calls for doing EVERYTHING from scratch, and as such, it is not a recipe that you will be whipping up for a weeknight dinner, it is more of a Saturday or Sunday cooking project.  That said, there are a number of shortcuts (I list them at the end of the post) that you could take when making this that would make it much less time intensive, and if you wanted to serve the filling "chicken ala king" style over some rice or pasta, you could easily pull this together during the week.

I have always been a big fan of pot pies, and I dare say, this was one of the best I've ever had, I do hope you give it a try.

Chicken Paillards with Lemon Caper Sauce

I think that many people struggle with cooking at home because they get bored.  Most people don't have the time, or the inclination to pull out a cookbook each night and push themselves to try a NEW recipe.  Instead, they rely on a handful of old favorites that they can make from memory, and cook them again, and again, and again, until everyone in the family finally cries UNCLE!

When kids are part of the mix, the challenges to more creative cooking are often multiplied.  When the kids are young, many families feel held hostage to their immature palates, and their unwillingness to eat anything but hot dogs, peas, and mac and cheese (yes, this was me as an ankle-biter).  As the kids get older, the fates unfurl a cruel joke on most families.  On one hand, the kids' are more accepting of experimentation, and they become eager to try new foods. On the other, the family's schedule becomes such that most people can only find time to slam together the quickest and most routine dishes for dinner.  In addition to the time constraints imposed by a busy family life, the pinch on the budget caused by the food intake demands of growing teens, has folks reaching for the mac and cheese and hot dogs all over again!