Rotisserie Chicken and Mushroom Pot Pie

Yield: 4 large servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Level I

Ingredients:

• 1 Pre-Cooked Rotisserie Chicken – any flavor (found in most grocery premade sections)
• 2 small cartons of pre-sliced or chopped mushrooms (I used one button, one baby bellas)
• 1 medium onion
• 1 carrot or 1/3 Cup pre-sliced
• ½ Cup Frozen peas
• 2 Tbsp dried rosemary (fresh would be even better)
• 1 Tbsp fresh ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp Season All Seasoned Salt
• 1 Tsp Cayenne Pepper Powder
• 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Cup Chicken Stock
• ½ Cup Wine Wine
• 1 Packet of Chicken Gravy mix
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 Roll of Pillsbury Flakey Layered Biscuits
• 1 large cast iron skillet (13” or greater)
• 1 small pot

Instructions:

Let the chicken cool in the refrigerator as necessary.

Preheat the cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Dice the onion and add to the pan. Next rough chop the mushrooms (if not already chopped) and add them to the pan. Next peel and thinly slice the carrots into rings and add them to the pan. Add season salt, garlic powder, and cayenne powder to veggies and toss in 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil. Cook the veggies down until reduced by about 50% and remove from the heat.

In the meantime, combine the chicken broth, wine, gravy mix, flour, black pepper and rosemary in a small pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir occasionally to avoid burning. Remove when slightly thickened.

Preheat the oven to 375.

Place the cooled chicken on a large cutting board and remove the legs and wings, which should pull apart easily because it’s so tender. These will not be used for this recipe. Next cut both pieces of breast meat off by running your knife down either side of the bone in the middle of the breasts. As you guide your knife along the bone, pull it outward gently to separate the breast meat from the bone. Visit Gourmet.com for a video demonstration

Roughly shred half of the white meat by using 2 forks and pulling the meat apart. This takes a little bit of time but is totally worth it. I use small dinner forks and hold them close to the ‘business end’ so they don’t bend. Next dice the other half of the white meat into small chunks, no bigger than ½ inch. You should have about 2-3 cups of chicken total.

Add the chicken, gravy mix, and frozen peas to the veggies in the cast iron pan and mix thoroughly. Gently pull each unbaked biscuit apart into 2 slices and lay on top of pot pie mixture. Bake the pot pie for approximately 15 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown.

Enjoy!

Zinfandel & Bloody Mary Braised Short Ribs w Bacon, Button Mushrooms, Shallots, Shredded Carrots, and Rosemary

(Copyright © 2010 Someday Gourmet)

Prep Time: 30 minutes (before goes into oven)
Cook Time: 3 hours total (2.5 hrs in oven, 30 minutes stove-top)
Difficulty: Level 2
Yield: 5-6 Ribs, 2-3 Cups Sauce

Ingredients

• 5-6 larger high quality beef ribs
• 2 ½ cups favorite bold red wine (we used Ravenswood Lodi Zinfandel)
• ½ cup Mr. & Mrs. T’s Bold & Spicy Bloody Mary Mix
• 1 cup Swanson low sodium chicken stock
• ½ package of bacon sliced into ½” pieces
• 1 med. package of white button mushrooms
• 1 cup loosely packed shredded carrots
• 8-12 pearl onions or 4-6 shallots
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 twigs of Rosemary or 2 tablespoons dried
• 3 tbsp coarse salt
• 3 tbsp coarse pepper
• 3 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1-2 tbsp red pepper flakes (to taste)
• 4 tbsp slurry (2 tbsp corn starch + 2 tbsp hot water) – prepare @ hr 2.5 of baking
• Dutch Oven

Directions

Remove meat from refrigerator and place on counter still wrapped to allow to warm to room temperature.

Preheat Dutch Oven to medium heat (6) and add bacon. Cook until brown and crispy. Remove and dry on paper towel lined plate. Drain bacon grease except for 3 tbsp and return to heat.

While bacon is cooking, clean and rough chop mushrooms then peel onions and cut in half (slice shallots if using). Combine Salt, Pepper, Smoked Paprika and Red Pepper Flakes in a small dish. Remove the ribs from the package and place on a cutting board bone side down. Remove any easily accessible pieces of fat and then rub in a heavy coat of the spice mix on all 5 non-bone sides of each rib. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty on this step, you really want to rub it in there.

Once the bacon is cooked and removed, add the ribs to the pan in 2 batches (3 at a time is usually right) bone-side up. Proceed to cook each of the 5 meaty sides for 4 minutes each until golden brown. Once placed, DO NOT MOVE THE RIB until time to turn; this will ensure a golden crust. After all the ribs have been completely browned, set aside. Do not drain!

Next add all veggies and garlic to the Dutch Oven and cook over medium heat until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Stir frequently.

Preheat oven to 300.

Add 2 cups of the wine, all the stock, Bloody Mary mix, and Rosemary and turn heat up to high and bring to boil stirring gently but frequently. Reduce sauce by 1/3 – 1/2. Add ribs and ensure fully covered by the liquid. Place a piece of aluminum foil over the Dutch Oven and then cover with the lid to securely seal the steam in.

Bake for 2.5 hours. Remove from oven and transfer the ribs and any bones that have fallen off to a serving dish. Cover with foil and set aside. Bring the remaining sauce over high to a boil and add the slurry and the rest of the wine. Reduce by 1/3 or so until just slightly thicker, pour over ribs, and serve immediate.

Chef’s Notes

• This sauce would taste good over anything! Consider using over oven-roasted chicken breasts (40 minutes @ 350) or even basted over a London Broil
• Embrace the Bloody Mary Mix. Nearly every recipe out there calls for tomatoes in some form or another for braising. In this case, we get our tomato base but even more layers of additional flavor that just melt nicely into the background of the wine.
• Good meat in, great meat out. Bad meat in, mediocre meat out. You get what you pay for on this meal and picking up high quality, low fat ribs from your butcher will go a long way. 

The "World's Greatest Turkey"

 

(Copyright © 2009 Someday Gourmet) 

This was delicious!  SO easy. SO moist. :)

Inspired by:  Allrecipes.com | World's Best Turkey
Prep Time:  30 mins
Cook time:  3 1/2 hours
Difficulty:  Level II
Yield: 1 Turkey

Ingredients

• 10-12 lb Turkey, fully defrosted
• 1/2 cup of butter, softened
• Fresh Herbs (Ex: Rosemary, Thyme, Sage)
• 1 Apple of your preference
• 3/4 Bottle of Champagne
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
  
• 1-2 tbsp salt
• 1-2 tbsp pepper
• 1 tbsp Flour
• 1 Reynolds® Oven Bag, Turkey Size

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F.

First, remove all jewelry from your hands.

Next add flour to baking bag and shake until the inside is coated.  Place into a roasting pan at least 2" thick.

Wash and quarter the apples and coat in cinnamon, set aside.  Next prepare your herbs by removing stems and finely chopping.  Add herbs to the softened butter and gently mix into a consistent spread.

Remove the neck and giblets from the turkey, wash thoroughly and pat dry.  Gently loosen the skin and rub the butter mixture under the skin.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on the skin and stuff the apples inside of the turkey.  Tie the legs together with kitchen twine (optional).

Place the turkey into roasting bag and pour the champagne over the turkey, inside and out.  Close and tie the bag and cut 6 1/2 inch slits in the top for ventilation.  Insert meat thermometer through bag into thickest part of inner thigh, not touching bone. Tuck ends of bag in pan.

Roast for 3 hours and 30 minutes in the roasting bag or until meat thermometer reads 180°F.

IMPORTANT! Let stand for 20 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Chef's Notes

• The skin will crisp up inside of the baking bag so there is no need to "brown".  Removing from the baking bag early may cause legs and wings to dry out.
  
• After finished cooking, thicken the juices with flour to make a delightful gravy.  Consider adding allspice to the gravy for more flavor.

More Photos

Orange-Balsamic Glazed Chicken over Baby Spinach & Arugula Greens

(Copyright © 2009 Someday Gourmet)

Inspired by: Rachael Ray

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Difficulty:  Level III

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola or other high smoke tolerance oil
• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts or any combination of light and dark meat
• 1 stalk of broccoli - soaked and cut into florets
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
• 2 teaspoons fresh or dried rosemary
• 2/3 cup orange marmalade
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup low sodium chicken stock
• 2 scallions, whites and greens, finely chopped
• 4 cups baby arugula and spinach leaves

Directions

In a large pan, heat the oil over medium-high to high heat.

Season the chicken liberally with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. When the oil is hot and ripples, add the chicken and brown for 5 minutes, then turn and sprinkle with rosemary. Add the broccoli and cook together with the chicken until the chicken is tender and cooked through, about 3-5 minutes more. Remove from pan and cover with foil to keep warm.

In a small bowl, stir together the marmalade, vinegar and stock and pour into frying pan used for chicken. Bring to boil and cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until the sauce begins to thickened and become a glaze. Slice the chicken and return to pan along with the scallions and cook for a minute longer until thoroughly coated.

Arrange greens on a serving platter and top with the chicken and broccoli.  Drizzle the extra sauce over the dish and serve.

Chef's Notes

• The use of the right oil is key. You need to get it nice and hot to properly cook the chicken and a low smoke point oil will smoke up your kitchen in a hurry.
• I always use low sodium stocks. You can always add salt later but you can't undo an over-salted sauce!
• During the reduction, be sure to stir the sauce constantly and to scrap the bottom. The sugar from the marmalade can burn quickly if left unattended.

Chicken Breasts With Orange-Balsamic Glaze