FFWD: Chicken B'stilla

I was a little apprehensive about this week's selection. Mostly because the ingredients is all 100% chicken. I have nothing against chicken. My issue is that we don't eat that much meat. And there is nothing else in this dish, except for eggs of course, which again, is also protein and chicken-base.

So then I tried to think of what I could add to the recipe so I could use less chicken and at the same time  will not alter the taste so much. And it took me about 10 seconds before I figured it out.

MUSHROOM!

Problem solved.

This dish is easy but it has a lot of steps that require you to wait (chicken needs to marinate for 1 hour, then simmer for 1 hour, then cool down, etc). Not a big problem for me as I can do other things while waiting, such as making cakes for HCB.
I followed the recipe exactly, except for I used 4 chicken thighs (instead of 8) and about a pound of cremini mushrooms. I diced the mushrooms and sauteed them on the side with EVOO and butter. Then they are  added to the thickened broth along with the shredded chicken.

I did get whole wheat fillo dough instead of regular fillo dough. I didn't use to like whole wheat flour but now that I'm used to it I love the taste (it's healthier as well).

Fillo dough is a bit annoying to work with. It's so fragile and thin that it breaks when I try to drape it into the pan. Good thing that they're all covered with the filling anyway, so it doesn't have to be pretty.

With the addition of mushrooms, this recipe makes one 9 inch Chicken B'stilla and a mini 4 inch one. I like the mini one, it's so cute.

Tasting impressions:

We love this dish so much that I have made it twice (both times with mushroom). And it will definitely get made again many many times in the future :).

FFWD: Chicken for Les Parreseux

I have never made a whole roasted chicken before. I have made roasted turkey once for Thanksgiving, and have always had turkey for Thanksgiving that other people have made. I am never really a big fan of it though. It doesn't have a lot of taste and I ended up eating a lot more side dishes than the actual turkey :).

So when Laurie posted the Chicken for Les Parreseux as one of the 8 recipes to be voted for November menu, I did not vote for it. Roasted turkey, roasted chicken, they are both birds I figured, so if one is not very tasty, the other wouldn't be either. See how my method of deduction/conclusion went? :)

But alas, people voted for this one, maybe because November is Thanksgiving month? And so I thought, I might as well make it.

There is only 2 of us in the house, so I opted for getting a smaller chicken.

The good thing about a smaller bird is that it fits nice and snugly in my 5 qt Dutch oven.

Another good thing about getting a young chicken is the meat will be more tender.

I followed Dorie's instruction of roasting the chicken first for 40 minutes. Then added the vegetables.

As you can see, I did not follow her instruction of using just a couple of carrots and potatoes. Instead, I added a boatload of them. I think in total I used 8 carrots and 2 handful of fingerling potatoes.







I added dried rosemary and thyme all over the chicken, giving it a lot of seasoning. Once the chicken and veggies finished roasting, I made pan sauce by adding 2 cups of water and a teaspoon of chicken broth and scraping off all the burnt bits in the dutch oven. There wasn't any liquid left from the chicken, so I figured the chicken broth would be a good idea. Then I just let the liquid boil until it's slightly reduced.

You can see the potato gratin in the above picture. The tart on the left is Tart M....... which I will blog about when it comes to menu rotation.

Tasting impression:
This is so good! The chicken is very tasty and the sauce is delicious. The veggies goes along well with it and they are nice and soft. I am changing my mind now about roasted birds - well, at least roasted chicken. I am so going to make this again.