Chicken Wellington

Most of us are familiar with Beef Wellington, that decadent but delicious British dish of tenderloin encased in a golden brown puff pastry.  I've made it before, and I'll probably blog it someday, but usually when I get my hands on a whole beef tenderloin I can't help but cutting it up into thick steaks and grilling it to rare perfection.  But guess what, there's no reason you can't "Wellington" other things--chicken, for instance.  You get the savory deliciousness of all that puff pastry and fixin's, without the expense of the tenderloin.

I also like how this recipe makes individually-sized Wellingtons, as opposed to a whole tenderloin sized one that you slice and serve.  With this method, each diner gets more puff pastry, and that's really the whole point, isn't it?  I think I might apply this method to Beef Wellington as well in the future.

Note, in the recipe below, I'm only making two Wellingtons, so if you want more, just double or triple or whatever to your heart's content.


Chicken Wellington

1 Large Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast, Cut in Half Lengthwise
1 Large Yellow Onion, Diced
3 Tablespoons Butter
3 Oz Mushrooms, Diced
1 Teaspoon Fresh Thyme
1/4 Cup White Wine
2 Oz Gorgonzola or other Blue Cheese
1 Sheet Puff Pastry, Thawed and Rolled out about 10 inches square and divided in half
1 Egg, Beaten

Dice your onion

 And the mushrooms

Melt the butter in a skillet and sauté the onions and mushrooms until they are soft and starting to turn golden.

Add the Thyme and simmer for a minute or two.

Add the white wine and simmer until liquid is reduced and absorbed.  Reserve mushroom/onion mixture.

Slice your chicken breasts in half lengthwise and then sauté them until they are golden brown on the outside but still raw within--probably about 2 to 3 minutes a side.

While this is happening, crumble your gorgonzola

and roll out the puff pastry.

Until it is about ten inches square and then split it in two down the middle.

Add half the mushroom/onion mixture to the middle of one of the puff pastry sheets.

Then add half the cheese crumbles

Then place one of the chicken pieces on top

Whisk the egg until the yolk and white are mixed.

Brush the edge of the puff pastry sheet with the egg mixture.

Grab a corner of the pastry sheet and fold it inward.  Brush that edge with egg wash and then fold the other corner in.  Things should look like the photo below at this point.

Repeat process with the other side.  Should look like this now.

Brush with more egg wash and then fold the side flaps in and seal.  Looks like this now.

Flip over and place the 'Wellington' on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper.  Make the other Wellington(s).

If you want, reserve a little puff pastry dough and cut out some decorative shapes to place on the Wellington, like these leaf shapes for instance.

Brush the entirety of the Wellingtons with the egg wash

and bake for around 30 minutes at 400˚F.

Pull out the Wellingtons when they are golden brown--the chicken should have finished cooking perfectly inside.  Check it with a thermometer if you like.  145-155˚F should be proper.

Serve them while they're hot.  Oh, and these baby's are great with a sauce.  We recommend a nice Bearnaise Sauce.

Until Next time,



Don't be chicken, try this Wellington!


Chris

Thai Chicken and Coconut Soup

For the past few years, August has been soup month here at An Eat'n Man.  Why?  Who knows?  Perhaps it's because come August, we're so hot here in Texas that a big honkin' Five-Dollar-Fill-Up of a meal just puts us off, and something light is in order.  Or perhaps it's that Augustus Caesar, founder of Rome and namesake for the month of August, was a big lover of soup.  (actually, I can't back that up with paperwork)  Maybe it just happened.  I got nothin.'  Perhaps, just as they say at the end of crappy 1950s Sci-Fi movies, there are some things man just was not meant to know.

Well, one thing I do know is that this Thai Chicken and Coconut Soup is light and tasty and perfect for a hot August night.  Give it a go.

Thai Chicken and Coconut Soup

2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 Large Onion, Diced
2-3 Stalks Fresh Lemongrass, Sliced Thin
3 Cloves Garlic, Crushed
2 Teaspoons Ground Cumin
1 Teaspoon Tumeric
1/4 Cup Fresh Lime Juice
12 Cups (96 oz) Chicken Stock
1 Fresh Green Chile, Chopped, (or 1 can (4 oz) mild green chiles)
2 Tablespoons Thai Fish Sauce
2 Bone-in, Skin-on Chicken Breasts
2 Cups Unsweetened Coconut Milk
2 Tablespoons (Plus More for Garnish) Fresh Cilantro, Chopped


Dice the onion,

Then the lemongrass.

Sauté both in the oil until they are soft and beginning to turn golden.

Add the crushed garlic cloves and simmer for another two minutes.  Add the cumin, tumeric and lime juice and simmer another minute.  Add the chicken stock.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a good simmer.  Add the chiles.

Note, use a chopped fresh chile if you have it.  I didn't, so I fell back on my pantry goods and used some canned green chiles.

Add the fish sauce at this point as well.

Add the chicken breasts.

Note--astute readers of this blog may note that in the previous post I sort of ragged on the idea of boiling chicken.  Well, that hols true, except when you are making soup.  See, boiling the bird leeches flavor from it--when you're done you've got a bland bird and all the flavor is left in your boiling medium.  Of course if you are making soup, that's not an issue, because your boiling medium is staying with the bird.  Also, the way we are doing things here, not only is the chicken's flavor preserved in the boiling stock, but the flavors of all the things we are boiling the chicken with are sort of imbued into the chicken by reverse-osmosis or magic or whatnot.  It's a double barrel win-win for flavor, folks.  Oh, one thing more.  Make sure to use bone in, skin on chicken breasts.  Lots of flavor in dem bones and skin that you will extract.  You can discard the bones and skin later on.

Boil the whole concoction until the chicken is cooked and tender, 35 minutes or so.

Remove the chicken breasts.

Let cool slightly (or wear food prep gloves) and then shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Add the shredded chicken back to the soup, then chop the cilantro

and add it to the soup.

Finally add your coconut milk.  Simmer 10 minutes for, stirring frequently until the coconut milk is combined through and the soup has returned to a simmer.

Serve immediately with a little extra cilantro for those that wish it.

Until next time,


Chris

Smoked Chicken Pesto Stuffed Shells

Here’s a simple yet tasty dish that utilizes one of the most versatile of all smoked foods, smoked chicken. 

Unlike pork and beef, chicken doesn’t really have a long history as a smoked food.  Historically, it was boiled, but at some point in the early Twentieth Century, someone got the bright idea to throw a chicken into a smoker, and the results were fantastic.  Unlike tough cuts like beef brisket and pork shoulder, which need a lot of low and slow cooking to become tender, chicken is natively tender, unless of course you overcook it.  It’s also very moist and porous, which means it takes on smoke flavor readily, and doesn’t need a long time to cook.  I usually buy lots of chicken when it is on sale, smoke it, and freeze the pieces for later cookery.  You can find more info on my yard bird smoking technique here.

Anywho, for this dish, I’m utilizing some of the smoked chicken I’ve pulled from the freezer and thawed.  You could of course make this dish with chicken you’ve cooked any old way (hopefully not boiled, though), but I think the smoke flavor combined with the cream cheese and other ingredients really makes this dish sing. 

Smoked Chicken Pesto Stuffed Shells

2 Cups Smoked Chicken, Diced

6 Oz Mushrooms, Sliced

1 Medium Onion, Diced

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 or so Cloves Garlic, Minced

1 Package (8 oz) Cream Cheese

1 Cup Freshly Grated Parmesan cheese

1 Cup Freshly Grated Asiago cheese

1/2 Cup Prepared Pesto

Salt and Pepper to taste

12 or so Jumbo Pasta Shells, Cooked Just Under Al Dente

Parsley, for garnish

Start water boiling for your pasta shells.  Preheat Oven to 350˚F.  Sauté mushrooms and onion 

until cooked and just start to turn golden.  

Add minced garlic and cook one minute more. 

Meanwhile, tend to that chicken breast.  

This recipe uses a breast that I’ve presmoked.  You can use whatever you like, but the smoke flavor really makes the dish.  Dice the fully smoked breast up into small pieces. 

Add the chicken and the cooked mushrooms and onions to a food processor.  Pulse a couple times to chop everything up.  Add to this the cream cheese, 3/4 cup of the Parmesan, 3/4 Cup of the Asiago and the Prepared Pesto.  Salt and Pepper to taste.  

Pulse a few times until everything is mixed up, but don’t do too much, or you’ll end up with a paste.  We still want some small chunks of chicken and mushroom in there. 

Cook your pasta shells until they are firm but not cooked through.  This will help them hold their shape and stay together while you stuff them.  They will finish cooking in the oven. 

Stuff the shells with a tablespoon or two of the mixture.  

Place the shells in a greased casserole dish.  

Cover with foil.  

Bake 30 Minutes at 350˚F, then remove foil and dust the shells with the remaining Parmesan and Asiago.  Increase temp to 450˚F and bake another few minutes, until cheese topping melts and starts to turn golden brown.  

Remove from oven and serve. 

These go great by themselves or you can drizzle some red sauce over them, or serve with a side salad, or whatever.  This one’s all about simplicity. 

Until next time,

Chris

  

Roman Chicken

So at the start of all the recipes here on An Eat’n Man I like to tell a little hoopdedoodle  about the dish, you know, its history, origins, interesting trivia, whatnot.  Well, for this dish—I got nothin.’  I’ve searched high and low for info about Roman Chicken, from Apicius to Zed and I got zero.  I’ve found lots of recipes for it on the net, most penned by Giada De Laurentiis.    In fact, after much searching, I was beginning to think that Giada invented the dish herself, but I found a reference on Nigella Lawson’s site that mentioned tasting the dish in Rome in the 70s, so perhaps it does predate Giada. 

As to what is particularly Roman about the dish, I think that perhaps this just means it is a dish popular in Rome the city, and not any connection to Ancient Rome.  (The ancients wouldn’t have had access to bell peppers or tomatoes, which are native to the Americas)

Anyhoo, regardless of where the dish comes from, it is a tasty and unique way to feature chicken, so let’s give it a try.    

Roman Chicken

2-4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1 Red Bell Pepper, Julienned

1 Yellow Bell Pepper, Julienned

4 Oz Prosciutto

3 Cloves Garlic, Chopped

1 14 Oz Can Diced Tomatoes

2/3 Cup White Wine

1 Tablespoon Fresh Thyme, Chopped

1 Tablespoon Fresh Oregano, Chopped

1/2 Cup Chicken Stock

2 Tablespoon capers

Fresh Parsley

Heat the olive oil medium hot in a large skillet.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sauté it until browned but not necessarily cooked through.  

While the chicken is cooking, julienne your bell peppers 

and the prosciutto. 

Remove the chicken from the skillet and add the bell peppers and cook until the peppers are soft and just starting to brown.

Add the prosciutto and cook for a few minutes more.

Add the garlic and cook briefly. 

Add the white wine 

and stir to loosen any browned bits.  Add the tomatoes.

Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. 

Return the chicken to the skillet and simmer until the chicken is cooked through.  

Remove and keep warm. 

Mince the oregano and thyme.  

Add it to the sauce. 

Don’t forget that fresh parsley.  

Chop some up fine and add it to the sauce. 

Oh, and then there's my favorite part--the capers!

Add them to the sauce.   

Serve the chicken with the sauce.  Enjoy!

Until Next Time,

Ciao,

Chris