Mustard’s delicious disappearing act: Roast Chicken Breasts with Mustard and Sage

Chicken breasts are briefly marinated in olive oil, sherry vinegar, Dijon mustard and fresh sage, then roasted. The mustard quietly blends in, taking on a subtle role. Recipe below.

Mustard is pretty much our favorite condiment. At any given moment, we have five or six varieties in our fridge. We give each other mustards as stocking stuffers. We love its brash, tangy brightness when slathered on things and all the ways it can be transformed by various makers—a current favorite is Edmond Fallot’s Walnut Dijon Mustard. But a curious thing happens when you cook with mustard. It disappears. Continue reading “Mustard’s delicious disappearing act: Roast Chicken Breasts with Mustard and Sage” →

Variations on a delicious theme: Hoisin Chicken Thighs, grilled or roasted

Hoisin sauce brings a barbecue sauce-like flavor to this chicken dish equally at home on the grill or in the oven. Ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce and rice vinegar add their own flavor notes.

The kitchen in our new old house is still very much a work in progress. As is the rest of the house. But we entertained our first non-family member on Memorial Day. It being the traditional kickoff weekend for grilling, we had bought a new charcoal grill the previous weekend. What we didn’t do in the ensuing week was assemble it. So instead of a cookout, we had a cook-in. And the in-progress kitchen performed beautifully. Continue reading “Variations on a delicious theme: Hoisin Chicken Thighs, grilled or roasted” →

Simple French cuisine to the rescue: Braised Chicken with Scallion Purée

This rustic French dish with a base of coarsely puréed scallions and potatoes is perfect for when April isn’t playing nice—as it wasn’t in April 2009, when we first shared this recipe.

The kitchen in our new old house is still half-assembled, but functional. The meals we’re cooking are still mostly functional as well—good, filling, but not necessarily post-worthy. So while we’re still getting things under control, culinarily and otherwise, please enjoy this recipe inspired by a lovely Amanda Hesser cookbook we haven’t managed to unpack yet. [Read more here…]

Inspired by Portland and cassoulet: Duck Breasts with White Beans and Sausage

We’ve shared an impressive number of duck recipes here at Blue Kitchen. This one, a quick take on cassoulet inspired by a lovely meal at Clyde Commons in Portland, Oregon remains one of our favorites.

French cooking is usually thought of as elegant and refined. And indeed, it’s no accident that the term that defines high-end dining, haute cuisine, is French. But fancy isn’t all they do. When it comes to comfort food, few can outcomfort the French. Hanger steaks with frites, coq au vin, gratins filled with cream and covered in cheese… [Read more here…]

Four recipes for versatile, quick(ish) lentils

Lentils cook up faster than most other dried beans and pulses, usually in 30 minutes or so without soaking. No wonder they’re favored by so many cultures. Here are four flavorful ways to use them.

We’re quickly becoming regulars at the recently reopened Johnny’s Grill in our Logan Square neighborhood. Besides great cocktails and elevated takes on standard diner fare, Johnny’s new chef/owner Sarah Jordan offers delicious surprises like an excellent fish & chips and a fragrant red lentil dal. The latter, a staple of Indian subcontinent cuisine, inspired this post. Continue reading “Four recipes for versatile, quick(ish) lentils” →

By the book, sort of: Gordon Ramsay’s Sticky Lemon Chicken

Inspired by the “fowl-mouthed” celebrity chef, this lively, weeknight-quick dish from the Blue Kitchen archives first appeared in February 2009. Recipe below.

When children are very young, their first experiences of playing with other children are actually playing next to other children. They don’t truly interact with one another, but for them, playing side-by-side is the beginning of their social lives. There’s a school of thought in cooking that mirrors this experience, the idea that putting ingredients next to one another actually achieves some meaningful interaction among them.

You know what I mean—recipes that include instructions like “lay sprigs of rosemary around the roast” or “place a whole peeled apple in the chicken cavity”… Or my favorite, recipes that instruct you to rub lamb chops, steaks, slices of baguette or anything with a cut clove of garlic. In my experience, this technique is a perfect way to waste a clove of garlic and five or so minutes of your life. It adds nothing to the flavor of anything, so far as I can tell. Ingredients have to fully commit to a dish and mix it up with the others to have an impact on the final taste.[Read more here…]

Not a TV dinner, but television-inspired: Chicken Fennel Soup

Fennel bulb, onion, celery, carrots, garlic, chicken, cannellini beans, pasta and lemon. What else do you need to know? Recipe below.

I’ve been not cooking lately. Yes, we’ve been crazy busy at times, with long hours away from home and non-meshing schedules. But it’s been more than that or simple midwinter malaise. I just didn’t seem to be in the mood to get in the kitchen, even when all the ingredients for a particular dish were in the house. I needed a kick in the pants to get over myself. It came in the form of a PBS show. Continue reading “Not a TV dinner, but television-inspired: Chicken Fennel Soup” →

A road trip and Roast Chicken Provençal

Chicken thighs are browned, then roasted with shallots, lemons, garlic and what sounds like way too much herbes de Provence. It isn’t. Recipe below.

Last week, I wrote about how we would spend Christmas. Christmas Eve dinner in Chinatown (at Lao Shanghai—delicious), a movie Christmas day (Spotlight, a surprisingly uplifting film for such a heavy subject) and a simple roast chicken dish for dinner. It was good. The dish you see above was my second attempt, cooked last night with a few tweaks. It was very good. Continue reading “A road trip and Roast Chicken Provençal” →

Six roasting/braising recipes = six reasons to turn on the oven again

When the weather turns cool, warm things up by firing up the oven and roasting or braising. Here are six recipes from the Blue Kitchen archives.

Last week, autumnal weather inspired me to roast some chicken with grapes, mushrooms and shallots. The cool weather continues, and so does the desire to cook meaty dishes in the oven. We’ll start with some lamb. Continue reading “Six roasting/braising recipes = six reasons to turn on the oven again” →

Seasonal times two: Roasted Chicken with Grapes, Mushrooms and Shallots

Grapes, in season now, are roasted in chicken pan drippings with mushrooms, shallots and rosemary for a deliciously autumnal dinner. Recipe below.

Seasonal cooking can refer to working with ingredients that are in season. It can also refer to using seasonal cooking methods. This week’s recipe is a mix of both. Temperatures recently took on an autumn coolness here, encouraging me to turn on the oven and roast something for the first time in a while. For the seasonal ingredient, I chose grapes. Continue reading “Seasonal times two: Roasted Chicken with Grapes, Mushrooms and Shallots” →