As per usual, I'm here today to bitch about the weather.
While I am somewhat excited by the concept of a white Christmas, it's still a touch too early into "winter" for this much snow to be dropping from the sky. This form of precipitation-- while lovely as it's happening-- requires shoveling, and fucks up my shoes and commute. After a few days, it's dirty and melted and my neighborhood looks bleak and sad.
I kind of hate snow.
But, at the same time, I must acknowledge there's something magical about snow illuminated by Christmas lights. And using a snowy evening as an excuse to eat a bowl of something hearty and hot is so enjoyable. This is what I'll be feasting on tonight-- apparently I had some brilliant foresight the other day that I wouldn't want to cook much this week. And that I'd be cold.
Which, right now-- I don't. And I am.
Way to go, me.
I wanted something to accompany these gluten-free biscuits I'd made for Matty over the weekend. They came out pretty good all on their own; but drenched in creamy chicken stew, they were perfection. A few nice, chewy bites to accompany hearty spoonfuls of veggies and chicken. It's a completely perfect meal to eat for dinner, and lunch, and dinner again. You can't stop going back.
I pretty much winged this, but paid careful attention to treat the chicken in the same manner as I did for buffalo chicken soup. The combo of light and dark meat is so nice for building flavor in soup, and I think the dredging-in-flour-and-browning-first process does a ton to keep it tender.
Creamy Chicken Stew
Serves 4
What it's Made of:
- ~1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1/2 cup or so flour (I use sweet white rice flour to keep things gluten-free for the dude. I've found this to be a great all-purpose flour and acts similar to the real thing in soups and gravies)
- 1 large white onion, diced
- 4-6 carrots, peeled and diced
- 4 stalks celery, diced
- Salt, pepper, ground sage, dried thyme, celery salt
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup fresh or 1 bag frozen peas
- 32 ounces chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Heat a large dutch oven over high heat. Add a glug or two of olive oil to coat the bottom
- Season the flour with salt and pepper
- Dredge chicken in flour, shake lightly to remove excess
- Working in batches, brown the chicken on all sides in the hot pan. Remove from heat and drain on a paper-towel lined plate.
- After the chicken is browned, crank the heat to medium. Add a bit more olive oil if need be
- Add the onion, celery and carrots to the pot and stir. Add the seasonings, a palmful or so salt, pepper, sage and thyme. Just a pinch of the celery salt.
- After about five minutes, when the onions are beginning to soften, deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping the bottom with your spoon
- Cook over medium for ten minutes or so, stirring occasionally
- Add the peas and chicken broth, then tuck the browned chicken back into the pot. If necessary, add additional broth to cover the chicken
- Cover and simmer for 35-45 minutes, until the chicken can be shredded apart. Roughly shred the chicken (you may want to take it out of the pot for this) with two forks, then stir to combine
- Add the cream, stir to combine, and simmer another five minutes
- Serve with crusty bread or biscuits! Don't leave the house for days. Etc.
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