Friday, November 5, 2010

A Fabulous French Feast for Friday


Love the alliteration in that title! Sometimes it takes so little to make me happy ... :)

And aside from amusing myself while titling this post, another thing that makes me happy -- as we all know! -- is cooking ... and especially cooking a new recipe with Tom and having it turn out amazingly. Having new ingredients to play with, too -- like the divine Savory Spice Shop's Tarragon Shallot Citrus Seasoning I won from my blogging friend Karen's recent giveaway on Eat Drink Wash Up -- only adds to the fun!

This luscious chicken dish, from Joan Nathan's Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France, is utterly seductive. From the moment the fragrant garlic and fennel start to cook in the pan, through the torturous time that the meal's aroma tantalizes you from the oven, this dinner will sing a Siren song until you can finally taste a tender portion of it and just go "Mmmmmmm ...."

We served it with roasted potatoes, which we cooked in a separate pan. But by all means, feel free to take Tom's suggestion to just throw the potatoes in with the fennel under the chicken, and give yourself one less dish to wash.


Friday Night Chicken Provençal with Fennel and Garlic

1/4 cup oil
2 fennel bulbs
1 large head garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon citrus seasoning blend
4 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 cups chicken stock (the original recipe calls for white wine)

Preheat the oven to 375 F.


Remove the stalks from the fennel, reserving and chopping a handful of the fronds. Cut the bulbs into quarters.


In a large skillet, heat the oil; saute the garlic for 1 minute over medium heat, then add the fennel. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and the citrus seasoning; cook, turning occasionally, for 30 minutes until the fennel is softened and caramelized.



Place the fennel and garlic into a greased 11" x 7" baking dish, and sprinkle with the reserved fronds.

Sprinkle the remaining salt and pepper onto the chicken. In the same skillet that you cooked the fennel in, brown the chicken for 5 minutes per side; place the chicken over the fennel.

Bring the butter and stock to a boil in the same skillet (why wash extra dishes???), and cook until reduced by half; pour over the chicken.



Cover the baking dish with foil and cook for 45 minutes until the chicken is tender.


Serves 4-6.








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17 comments:

Kelly said...

That sounds so amazingly delicious! I am going to have to try this!

Peggy said...

This dish sounds utterly amazing! I love all the flavors and I'm sure it was delicious!

Liz said...

Thanks for linking up to FMF and grabbing our button! I'm following you on GFC and subscribe to your email. Hope you'll link up again next week!

Unknown said...

Oh yum! That sounds fantastic...and simple! I love it already!

Amy said...

Thanks for joining Feed Me Friday! Thanks for grabbing the button and posting it! I hope you will come back next week. I am now following you and subscribing! www.ohsosavvymom.com

Pamela Scott said...

looks yummy..
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Miriam said...

Isn't French food fantastic?! I like to alliterate too, note the title of my blog :). Looks great, as always. I might try it with some fake chicken. Hope to see you around soon at Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters
P.S. How was the risotto? :)

Candace said...

This looks fabulous! My husband and I have discovered fennel this last year and we love it. Thanks for sharing another way to prepare it!

Have a great weekend,
Candace

Su-sieee! Mac said...

Your recipe sounds interesting and tasty. I have yet to really explore cooking with fennel, so this I must try. Thanks for the recipe.
Su-sieee! Mac
This and That. Here and There. Now, Sometimes Then.

Inspiring You To Save! said...

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Andrea @ Keepin it Thrifty said...

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keepinitthriftyandrea.blogspot.com

redethel said...

Love the pics, can't wait to explore your blog a bit more. I am your newest follower from Meet Me Monday.
Cent$ To Me

Donna @ The House on the Corner said...

New follower from the Monday hop!! Drop by to seem me when you have time!!

Karen said...

Hi- following you from Meet Me Monday blog hop! Enjoyed reading your blog. Very nice! Have a great Sunday. Stop by when you get the chance:
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Coleen
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