champagne week continues: chicken with mushroom champagne sauce

The whole reason that I opened a bottle of prosecco the other day was the overwhelming desire to make risotto, and the save the single bottle of Reisling for a time I really wanted to enjoy a hefty amount of wine (which happens ... almost never). And the risotto was fantastic, really it was. Hands down amazing, even if I wished I'd changed some things up.

However, risotto may have been the least cool thing that came out of that bottle. I quite enjoyed drinking my way through a glass (or two) of prosecco each night. It was very enjoyable, and I was shocked at how bubbly it still was the second night. Plus there's something to be said for dancing around, cooking and drinking bubbles amirite? The ultimate winner, though, was dinner yesterday. Bunny went nuts and even I was quite crazy about it.

What was so amazing? Well, everything. I kinda went crazy. We had chicken in a champagne-cream sauce. Cornbread. Roast beets, which we both adore. Homemade butter (heck yes I did). What you need, though, is this champagne chicken recipe. Unreal.

Chicken with Champagne Mushroom Cream Sauce
adapted from cooks.com

Ingredients:

• 3 servings of chicken
• 6 chicken thighs OR drumsticks OR
• 3 chicken breasts
• Note: Bunny and I did drumsticks, because it's what was on hand. I think this would be ridiculous good with breast
• 1 cup of dry (brut) champagne, prosecco or sparkling wine
• 1/4-1/2 cup of milk
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped (I used red, but sweet onion would have been really nice)
• 1-2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms (we used less, but it would have been better with more)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt
• 2 tsp dried tarragon, divided
• 2 tsp garlic powder, divided
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tbsp (approx) olive oil

Directions

1. Mix flour, 1 tsp each garlic & tarragon, and salt in a bowl or on a plate. Lightly dredge each piece of chicken in the flour. Set aside.
2. Add oil to frying pan (Note: I do not recommend a non-stick pan for this. You want all the carmelized bits.), turn heat to medium. When pan is hot, add chicken to pan. Brown on all sides, approximately 3-4 minutes per side. When browned, remove from pan and set aside.
3. Add garlic and onion to pan, cook until translucent about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms to pan. Sprinkle remaining 1 tsp each tarragon and garlic powder over mixture. Saute mushrooms until softening and getting some lovely brown colour.
4. Add champagne (etc) to pan. Vigourously stir to deglaze. At this point, add chicken to pan, reduce heat slightly (to medium low) and cover. Let cook approximately 15-20 minutes.
5. In 15 minutes test for doneness. I like to take the temperature and always recommend this. I also tend to pull the chicken off a few degrees early. When done, remove chicken from pan.
6. The champagne sauce should be fairly reduced, thicker and nice and bubbly in the pan. Delicious. At this point, add your milk and let it quickly simmer for a few minutes, stirring.
7. Plate your chicken, spoon over sauce, ENJOY!

Notes:

• Bunny went crazy over this. One of the best meal reactions I've had in a long time, and that is saying something.
• I used milk because a) it's what I had and b) I didn't want to add a million calories to my sauce. If you want a richer sauce, go for the cream.
• Spices: we're garlic lovers here, so there's always garlic (often in multiple forms). Tarragon we just enjoy with mushroom. Again, if you're eating this spice it to YOUR TASTES.

little pieces of awesome

Lately there has been a lot of time, here. Time spent doing many things: writing and rewriting resumes and coverletters, sending them out. Bookmarking job listings. Following up with people, getting responses back, going to interviews. All good, job related things.

My life, though, is so much more than that. Just like I have never looked at a job, or a career, as defining me as a person (something I can't imagine ever happening, truly), being unemployed and looking for work does not define me.

The past week has been full of these little moments of amazingness and I thought I'd round up a few extra-awesome ones here. So here goes!

• Cuddle time. Even when I'm not in the mood for it, it's one of the most important parts of my "work week"
• Bunny kissing my forhead when I'm halfway asleep
• Making butter. Squeezing fresh made butter in bare hands. It's one of the reasons I've always loved baking - getting your hands right in there. There's something very viscerally appealing about something so basic as butter.
• Puppy snuggles
• Slow dancing to Bright Eyes in my living room. Every time Bunny and I slow dance at home it brings to mind the most vivid memory of the first New Years Eve we celebrated together, and how we came home from Nathan Phillips Square and danced around in our itty bitty apartment. He was wearing his African man-skirt.

Of course, none of those (or even all of those together) give you a picture of what my life is, or who I am. But they get awfully close to describing some of the best moments of me in the past few days.

Champagne Adventures + Risotto

Last night, Bunny and I had a blast. He was off school at about 3:30, so we met up to get groceries (and I was pleasantly surprised with the total, especially since it included a bulk chocolate chip purchase and a quart of heavy cream - staying on budget makes me happy) and then came home for reading snuggles before I got to work with dinner.

A couple weeks back, I posted about the surplus of champagne and lack of any other decent wines in our home. This week, some of that champagne (well, prosecco ... I call all sparkling wines champagne even though I shouldn't) is getting put to use in the kitchen. Case in point: tonight, I will be making chicken with a champagne cream sauce.

Last night, though, I tackled a project I've long wanted to do: risotto. Oh, I know I've made barley risotto before, but it's not nearly the same. Delicious, but different. This was a simple mushroom risotto, which certainly didn't come out perfect but came out very good for a first try (especially considering I didn't particularly use a recipe. Just elements of recipes. We've talked about this before, right?).

Also in the re-occuring theme of discovering old music I have loved, I danced around to Bright Eyes I'm Wide Awake it's Morning while cleaning/cooking. I had forgotten how clearly Lua was about cocaine, and how heartbreaking Poison Oak is. How much I love his spoken word lead-ins to albums. The haunting beauty of Landlocked Blues, how much Road to Joy makes me smile and how some lines from Another Travelling Song snag my heartstrings.

Mushroom Champagne Risotto
(basic outline from Smitten Kitchen - asparagus, artichoke and mushroom risotto)

Setting Up:
Open champagne/prosecco/sparkling drinks. Pour glass for yourself. Turn on favourite music. Begin.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (approximately - I had a leeeetle bit more) arborio rice
• 4 cups (again, approximately. I don't do exacts) chicken broth
• Substitute: Water + chicken bouillon
• 3/4-1 cup dry (brut) champage etc
• 2 cups finely sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp finely chopped onion (I used red)
• minced garlic to taste (I used about 4-5 cloves)
• Olive oil to coat pans.
• Salt, to taste
• 1-2 tsp dried tarragon
• 1-2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus more to garnish

Directions:

1. Slice or chop any and all ingredients that need slicing or chopping.
2. Put approx 1 tbsp olive oil in saute pan over medium heat. When hot add 1 tbsp chopped onion and minced garlic (1 clove here, for me). Saute until translucent, then add mushrooms to pan. Season liberally with salt and 1 tsp each tarragon and thyme. Saute, occasionally moving, until they begin to smell meaty and substantially reduce in volume. (Took me about 5 minutes). Remove from heat, set aside for later.
3. Bring chicken stock to a boil, reduce to simmer. The stock should stay lightly simmering the entire time you're cooking. Add approximately 1-11/2 tbsp olive oil to pot/dutch oven, bring to medium heat. Add 1/4 cup chopped onions plus garlic, season lightly with salt, 1 tsp each thyme and tarragon (or to taste). Saute until translucent.
4. Add arborio rice to onions, stir to coat with oil. Stirring frequently, cook approximately 5 minutes, until it begins to smell nutty. Bring heat down to medium low, add champagne to pot. Stirring gently but constantly until champagne is fully absorbed.
5. Slowly add broth, one ladleful at a time (my ladle holds between 1/2 to 1 cup), stirring until fully incorporated. Keep heat low - the risotto mixture should not be bubbling, just absorbing. Once each ladleful is absorbed, add another. Stir.
6. This process should take about 30-45 minutes. After about 30 minutes, taste rice for doneness, it probably won't be done but it never hurts to check. Keep adding ladles of broth and incorporating until rice tastes done. (I like the rice softer, some people might like a more al dente risotto. If you're the one eating, cook it until you like the texture.) If you start running out of broth before your risotto tastes done, bring some water to a boil in your kettle (or the same pot) and use that. It's not an exact science.
7. For a finished risotto, you're looking for something that "spreads" when plated. It should be fairly loose, and very very creamy. When your rice tastes done, at this point you're adding liquid for texture. If the risotto doesn't feel loose, add more broth and cook a minute more.
8. Remove from heat, add parmesan and sauted mushrooms, stir to incorporate.
9. Plate! Sprinkle additional parmesan over the risotto to taste (Bunny and I like lots). Enjoy. Let your significant other tell you how "This is just soooo good. Make it again? Can I have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow?" and complain that there's no meat, because I swear he's half way to being a carnivore.

Notes:

• Don't like mushrooms? Use fresh cooked peas, or small cubes of cooked squash, or whatever your heart desires.
• You could probably saute the mushrooms while the risotto is cooking, and I probably will in the future.
• Don't want to use sparkles? Dry white wine. Something you're not afraid of having a glass of while cooking.
• This recipe did not turn out perfectly - my risotto wasn't quite as loose as I would have liked to feel like I did it right (if I'd been on Top Chef, Wolfgang Puck would have given me a tutorial) but that doesn't matter. It tasted delicious. Remember, if you're cooking for yourself or for your friends/family it doesn't matter if it's perfect. Taste good? Yes? Good enough! But - you'd better believe that I will try to perfect this.

round UP & plans

Yesterday was a very, very good day. In a nutshell it featured:

• An interview that went very well (and was in response to the first resume I sent out in the new job search) & that I have been asked to do some follow ups with
• Not getting gittery/nervous in said interview
• Getting to wear the new suit! Which made me super happy
• Home-made dip for dinner
• Puppycuddles on the couch at night
• Post-interview coffee with my momma (cause she was right around the corner and why not? I don't get to see her enough)
• My momma loving my suit - especially as I was worried she wouldn't like it, being that it is a little fashion forward
• Good karma acts, because sometimes you just have to put yourself in someone else's shoes
• Reading more of the Jane Austen biography

Things that I'm excited for that are coming up:

• Grocery shopping tonight!
• Recipes throughout the week, hopefully including:
• Risotto (mushroom)
• Butter! (which will then both be indulged in and baked with. Because you know, it's home made butter)
• Some sort of tart
• Torchwood: Miracle Day
• More puppycuddles
• Morning lattes
• Tidying up
• Cross stitch

moments: puppycuddles

I lingered in bed longer than intended today, by about an hour. There was a bit of a chill in the air and the covers were warm and invitings. I'd already scooched into the warm spot that Bunny vacated when leaving for school and snuggled into his scent. The dog was at the foot of my bed, and created more warmth. I started to feel nauseous, and stayed in bed until the feeling began to subside. (Sidenote: have we talked about this? I hate my stomach lately.)

I brought pillows down to the living room, picked up the laptop and set myself up on the couch. Apparently puppy decided that he wanted to set himself up with me, as he climbed up onto the couch, and snuggled up to my legs. After a minute he cuddled in closer, resting his head on my calf and essentially holding me captive to his cuteness. (My morning latte was certainly delayed, entirey worth it.)

Good way to start the day? Absolutely.

meringues

They will be the death of me. I am determined to get them right but just can't quite seem to get the inside to be that perfect marshmallow like fluff.

I think I'm going about them the wrong way at the moment. I've been using a cinnamon meringue recipe, which requires folding of cinnamon and cocoa into the egg whites once whipped. This is doubly troublesome as Bunny and I do not own a rubber spatula (how? why? it's ludicrous, but I'm loathe to spend money right now), and so I have been folding with a spoon. Perhaps I need to start with a more straightforward meringue than something which requires folding.

I also might be well advised to use a recipe from an author I trust than the random (and 3/4's terrible) 1001 Cookies book my aunt gave me the other year for Christmas. That will be the next try, I believe. Give me a few more weeks and Bunny is going to be sick to death of meringues.

On another note, this afternoon is going to be a little hectic: I have a meeting, and Bunny and I have to go grocery shopping. I also (rather stupidly) put off a phone call that I really should have made today, but now will have to do tomorrow. Oh well, not much to be done about that.

"new"

I had a lovely New Years. Very low key, fun, full of good friends.

Bunny and I actually had a quite busy day: my university roommate came into town with her fiance and parents. We trekked to the ROM (specifically to see the Mayan exhibit), went out for dinner. Then the roomie and her parents headed off to see American Idiot while myself and the menfolk came home. I napped, they played Halo.

After that, we met up with my friend, ditched the 'rents and went off with borrowed skates to do some ice skating. This part of the plan drove us nuts deciding on: initially we were going to go to Mississauga and skate there, but couldn't find a dog sitter. Then we were talking about Nathan Phillips Square ... but oi the crowds on New Years there. (I had a fit of claustrophobia there a few years back). Bunny saved the day, though, suggesting Lake Devo, which is this tiny ice rink on Ryerson's campus that was just barely populated, and perfect.

Now, I hadn't been on skates since I was maybe .... 12? Sounds right. I'd taken figure skating lessons as a child and dropped out because of poor balance and shitty ankles (thanks Mom :p). Haven't been on ice in years. So I borrowed some old skates from my roomie, Bunny borrowed her dad's old skates, and off we went. He was bloody brilliant, the rest of us tottered around with some level of trepidation and had a load of fun.

I almost fell, and then freaked out when Bunny tried to catch me. Overactive screamer, much? Surprisingly I stayed on my feet other than that. The whole time I felt a little extra wobbly on my right foot, like the blade was sneaking away from me. Taking the skate off, we realized why ... the boot and skate connection was pretty completely broken. So I stayed on my feet, even with broken skates!

After skating, we wandered around. Stopped in the Imperial Library for a couple drinks and to ring in the new year. Wandered up to a TD. Walked half an hour home, because it was as fast as waiting for a streetcar.

A lovely night, spent with lovely people, just chill, relaxed and having fun. What more can I ask for?