OK. I'm calendar challenged and I admit it. That's the first step toward a cure. It's a somewhat overcast Saturday in St. Louis and the Cards lost again. Not much going on - so I decided to retreat to the kitchen this afternoon while simultaneously watching Michigan-Notre Dame - which was a good game.
I made two variations of the same recipe out of the Pink Adobe Cookbook by Rosalea Murphy, owner of the restaurant of the same name in Santa Fe. Today's dishes were Poulet Marengo and Cotelletes de Porc Napolean.
Roselea explains in her cook book that Poulet Marengo was a tribute to Napoleon's victory over the Austrians at Marengo in 1800 concocted by Napoleon's personal chef, Dunand, to celebrate the victory. As with all things Pink Adobe, this recipe has Rosalea's flair added with modern ingredients.
Don't worry. It's easy or I wouldn't be able to attempt it.
Poulet Marengo
- 1 cup flour plus another 2 tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 1/2-2 lbs boneless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup Madeira
- 1 clove garlic, chopped fine
- 4-5 large mushrooms, sliced
- 12 pitted black olives (or more)
- 1 small bag pearl onions (you figure it out)
- 1 16-oz can of tomatoes
- 1 4-oz can of tomato juice
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup chicken broth
Cotelletes de Porc Napolean
- 4-6 center cut loin pork chops, 1 inch thick
Preparation
OK. The meat portions that I listed above have all been cut in half because I wanted to make both chicken and pork from the same recipe. All other ingredients under Poulet are intact and I split them between the two meats in separate baking dishes. Capice.
Preheat oven to 325 F. Put 1 cup flour, plus salt and paprika into a coating bag. Add one or two pieces of meat at a time and shake until coated. In skillet, heat butter and olive oil. Brown chicken and pork, one or two pieces at a time. You do not have to cook through. Pork can be browned less than chicken. Add more oil as needed, but the meat should not be greasy.
Place browned chicken or pork fillets in baking dish. Cover with 1/2 portions of ingredients above. Add Madeira wine. Add garlic on each piece. Then add olives, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes. Last add the tomato juice and a bay leaf.
Cover baking dishes and bake for 2 hours. At end of cooking time, remove chicken and pork to serving platter and keep warm. Meat will be fork tender so treat it gently.
Sauce
With wire whisk, mix remaining 2 tablespoons of flour with the 1 cup of chicken broth. Combine the juice from baking dishes and bring to a boil. Beat in broth until it thickens. If it becomes too thick, then add some Madeira to thin.
Serve
Plate chicken or pork. Serve sauce separately. This meal goes well with green noodles or other colorful pasta. Serve with Chassagne Montrachet (or whatever wine you prefer). Bon Appetit!
Posted by Bruce Lehr September 12th 2010.
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