Roast Chicken with Redwine Sauce

Yeah so those of you who know me know that i am a chicken fanatic, infact people close to me have predicted that my glorious life would probably end due to a condition that could be called Chickenitis.  Yes and i thoroughly live up to these accusations.  The picture shows Roast Chicken with Spaghetti, will cover the Roast Chicken in this post.

Ingredients:

2 Whole Chicken Legs (Skin on or skinless is a personal choice bit if oven roasting it then i would suggest skin on)

1tsp Chilli Flakes
1tsp Pepper
Salt to Taste
Olive Oil

For the Sauce:

1/2 Cup Chicken Stock (this could be from chicken cubes as well)
1/2 Cup red wine
Finely chopped garlic
1tsp Dijon Mustard
Pinch of dried Thyme leaves (if using fresh thyme then half a tsp)

Method:

Marinate the chicken for a minimum of 30 mins the marinade being chilliflakes,pepper,salt and olive oil (you can also marinate it much earlier)

If Pan Roasting it then:

Sear the Chicken on high heat both sides for a couple of minutes, reduce the heat and cook through.  Once cooked remove chicken and in the same pan make the sauce.

If Oven Roasting it then:

Sear Chicken on high heat on both sides for a couple of minutes and pop into a pre heated oven and cook at 200 deg C for 40 mins.  If you are using chicken which has skin on then make sure that when in the oven the skin side is up. Once cooked transfer chicken and use the same pan to make the sauce

Sauce:

On high heat and into the residual juice from the chicken add garlic, before the garlic burns add the chicken stock, after a couple of minutes add the wine.  Now allow this to reduce to half (this should be done on high heat) once reduced add the mustard and thyme leaves stir it in and in a minute take off heat.

This is a very thick and rich sauce so do not fully dunk the chicken into this just sprinkle on top of the chicken or serve as a side.

Bon Apetit from Mimi

Potato Garlic Bacon Bake...

This is an easy-to-do midweek dinner, very creamy and filling. No crust, just layers of flaky, smoky potatoes (thanks to the bacon!) and a creamy sauce. You could add a layer of grated cheese, but I think its pretty rich the way it is. Peas and parsley would also be good, and of course carrots! (Serenity is a BIG carrot lover, he recommends adding carrots to EVERYTHING!!

Potato Garlic Bacon Bake.

Ingredients: Potatoes (depending on how many you're cooking for!)

Cream (again, you need just enough to cover the potatoes, but not make it too watery!)

Onion

Garlic (as MUCH of it as you like - we LOVE garlic!)

Bacon bits (this is a VERY handy addition to your pantry, quick and adds so much to any dish)

(Get a friend who's coming down from somewhere to get you a bag and store it in the fridge! 

Failing this, you'll need to dice up bacon really small and fry it - 

a little fat is good, but if the bacon is too fatty, you'll need to trim it!)

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil / Butter

Method: - Thinly slice the potatoes (i scrubbed them and left the skin on) and lightly cook.

DO NOT OVERCOOK the potatoes. They need to be cooked but still firm.

- Fry the onions in butter / olive oil. Saute the garlic. Caramelize and keep aside.

- Lightly saute the bacon bits to heat through and release flavour (or fry them if you're using raw bacon)

- Mix in the sauteed onions. Add the cream and cook - take care not to make it too watery (my sauce was, but it still tasted great!)

- Layer the potatoes in a baking dish. Pour the onion - cream mixture to cover the potato slices.

- Bake in a 200 C pre-heated oven for around 45 minutes till the top is golden brown. 

Notes: I have not used any thickening agent, so the sauce is a bit runny.

If you're feeling guilty about the cream sauce, you could make a sauce with a lesser percentage of cream, thin it out with milk and then thicken it with flour... like a white sauce roux. Chives would also be a great addition! 

Bon Appetit from Fifi !