The Mistah has this habit that drives me kinda batty. When we sit down to eat, he’ll say, “So tell me about this”. I know this is his way of expressing interest but what I want to say most of the time in response is, “It’s a hot plate of food, now hush up and eat before it gets cold”.
When I served up Chicken and Mushrooms, I jumped ahead in our usual script. As I handed him his plate, I said “It’s chicken and sauce.” You see, another peculiar habit is his fascination with ‘sauce’. Doesn’t really matter what kind, he’s into sauce. And if a dish isn’t served with some, he’ll go rooting around in the refrigerator to see if there isn’t something of the sauce variety that he can put on his plate. This has seriously led to more than one uncomfortable silence at the table after he’s doused something in soy sauce.
So it really didn’t matter what else I said. Sauce was the magic word he needed to hear.
Chicken and Mushrooms
Adapted from Melissa d’Arabian
BAH Note: This is one of those dishes that tastes even better the next day. You might want to just go ahead and make a double batch to make sure you have some tasty leftovers.
- 2 pounds bone in chicken thighs, skin removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon herbs de provence
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Dry the chicken with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat half of the oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown the chicken on both sides, working in batches if necessary. Transfer the browned chicken to a plate.
Add the remaining oil to the pot and cook the onions until they begin to soften. Add a quarter cup of the chicken broth to get any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and flour to the mushrooms and onion and cook for a few minutes. Add the wine and deglaze the pot. Return the chicken to the pot and add the and herbs de provence and the remaining chicken broth. It should come almost to the top of the chicken. Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven. After 25 minutes, remove the lid and continue to cook another 25 minutes.
Carefully remove the pot from the oven and transfer the chicken to a plate. Set the pot over high heat and reduce the sauce until it thickens a bit. Turn the heat off and gradually add some of the sauce into the sour cream until it is loose. Add the sour cream mixture into the pot and stir to combine.
Return the chicken to the pot, coat thoroughly with the sauce, and serve over noodles.
Bon Appetit Hon 