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| Sunday dinner |
It's been another busy week around here so I'll keep this short. We loved this recipe. It reminded me of one of my favorite dishes from growing up. We didn't eat very much meat at our house, but for Shabbat dinner on Friday nights my mom would often make chicken. My favorite was a baked chicken dish with potatoes and carrots. I never gave too much thought to what was in the dish, and I was shocked when I finally asked my mom for the recipe and it involved onion soup mix and apricot preserves. My mom shops almost exclusively at the organic co-op, and almost never uses packaged anything! This was almost as shocking as the time I discovered that she made my favorite chocolate cake by adding an extra cup of chocolate chips to a boxed cake mix...But anyway, I have no problem reaching for packages when I'm short on time, and I still love that chicken!
This chicken was certainly more sophisticated than my childhood favorite, but also very comforting in a way only meat and potatoes can be. I loved the complexity that the armagnac gave the dish, and I also liked the addition of the prumes. I'm curious to see if buying armagnac was really necessary. I wasn't planning on it but I was out of cognac anyway so I decided to give it a try. I also really loved how easy this dish was - I set it up and then had plenty of time to make an onion soup for later in the week and the Quarter-Quarts cake (which I'll write about next time) while the chicken baked. We almost never eat in front of the TV, but we made an exception this Sunday so we could watch the end of the Broncos-Steelers game (I don't even know what to say about Tebow), and this was a perfect easy and comforting meal to end the weekend. I also thought the leftovers held up very well - maybe even improving.
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| Chicken out of the oven |
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As part of my goal to catch up on all the recipes everyone made before I joined FFWD, I made the Spiced Butter-Glazed Carrots to go with our dinner on Wednesday night. We loved these - I really thought the cardamom added a lot. They were much more interesting than my usual glazed carrots (not that there's anything wrong with those!). I served it with some string beans, and an onion soup.
Everything looks delicious here! We liked the chicken and will make it again maybe with a few changes, just for fun- I liked the simplicity of the recipe just as written. I have to remember to try some of the veggie dishes too, they sure look good;-)
ReplyDeleteYour chicken looks great! I think I need to try the carrots again and tinker with them a bit. Mine came out cloyingly sweet, and I didn't like them. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteYou might be right, I really liked these but I do have a very high tolerance for sweet...I do think the cardamom was a great idea, so maybe worth trying again.
DeleteLooks like a delicious meal - and I'll have to go back and try the glazed carrots, thanks for the reminder! I can't remember the result of the game as there have been too many games on in our house since August - college, NFL, hockey - thankfully the NBA was on strike or I'd never have a chance to watch House Hunters International! Have a great weekend if you are watching the games tomorrow night or Sunday!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading about your shock at some of the shortcuts parents would make. Case in point, my grandma's cocktail meatballs: equal parts ketchup and pancake syrup, sauteed onions, squirt of mustard. I think in my Grandma's case, it has to do much with the fact that when she was relatively young, prepared foods were the IT things. I'm kind of glad we've reverted to local/fresh/natural, although every now and then one of those childhood classics can't hurt.
ReplyDeleteThat's too funny. I think you're exactly right -- even watching Mad Men it's amazing how excited they are about prepared foods.
DeleteYour chicken and carrots look fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThere was just an episode on America's Test Kitchen that did a taste test on homemade brownies and boxed brownies--most of the "people on the street" preferred the boxed brownies. Guess it all depends on what you're used to.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting - I wonder which boxed brownies they used. I prefer homemade, but I definitely know a lot of people who prefer boxed!
DeleteOh yum- everything looks oh so good. And pretty - loved the shots on that pretty wooden table - I love onion soup. Speaking of which, how cute about your mom's tricks :) I recall asking my mother in law years ago for her own mom's special chicken cheese soup recipe. She used to bring it to football tailgates and other events and it was an amazing treat. When we got the recipe we learned it was something along the lines of Campbell's soup with shredded cheese and a few other things chucked in. Mystery revealed.... :)
ReplyDeleteWe loved this and didn't use Armagnac. I want to try it though! It sounds wonderful. Those carrots were delicious! We're watching the Patriots play the Broncos as I read through FF posts:)
ReplyDeleteWhat a boring game that turned out to be :-) I'm watching the Giants/Packers while I try to catch up...Great to know the Armagnac isn't necessary. I would definitely like to make this gain, and the Armagnac is so expensive.
DeleteI had to laugh about your discovery of your organic mom's "secret ingredients". I never have a party with Lipton's Onion Soup Mix Dip, with Ruffles. I loved this chicken dish, though I longed for crispier skin.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, there were very few foods that didn't come from some sort of package... Which is weird considering that my dad grew up on a farm. I guess that's just the way it was :-)
ReplyDeleteI did like those carrots when we made them - but they were on the sweet side (almost candied). But candied veggies =who can complain!
My son still talks about the glazed carrots with cardamom. I agree that the prunes added so much flavor to the armagnac chicken sauce and we also enjoyed this as leftovers just as much as the first night. A perfect meal to eat while watching the game. Enjoyed reading your post and chuckled about the package onion soup - still remember the onion dip my mom used to make. Sometimes you just can't get the taste of those memories of childhood food without adding a packaged something.
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