Hello everyone, or as Makayla would say, “Hey y’all”. I would like to formally introduce myself since all you really know about me is my name, Alex. Makayla and I are so excited to introduce this food series to the blog! As most of you have seen one of my passions is cooking and I recently started studying and learning more about different styles and flavors to make different dishes. Before we get into our first meal, I would like to talk about myself briefly.
I am usually the man behind the camera for most of the Instagram posts you see. I usually am camera shy myself which is why you don’t see much of me but Makayla is very persistent in broadening my horizons. I love music, particularly blues and rock, but I listen to anything and everything. I would say it matches my passion for food. Currently I am a finance manager at Honda and work very long hours so any day I am off, Makayla has a million places to try and take pictures of. I obviously have a love for dogs, hence Tucker. He definitely favors his dad despite what Makayla says (sorry babe) and we are looking to get him a brother soon.
But the real reason I am here is my love for cooking. I always loved cooking and had fun being in the kitchen. Recently though I really got serious about it and started studying different books and watching endless videos that every time Makayla heard Gordon Ramsy’s voice, she would roll her eyes. I recorded a ton of shows that our DVR was getting too full. I looked into culinary school but as of now, I would have to move to a different state. I am all about trial and error and learning from your mistakes and Makayla is happy to be my taste tester despite my one rule of no one in the kitchen while I cook. So we are very happy to show you all recipies and step by step instructions to make what I have been obsessing over and always eating!
Week One: Chicken Suprême with Root Vegetables
(This is one of my favorite recipes from Gordon Ramsy)
Vegetable Ingredients:
– Carrots
– Radishes
– Yukon Potatoes
– Thyme
– Rosemary
– Parsley
* You can use whatever vegetables you want. (i.e Beets, Turnips & Parsnips. I just used these for this recipe.)
Step 1: Preheat oven to 425F. Get a baking pan and put a layer of Dill, Thyme, Rosemary and Parsley down and scatter your vegetables over the pan.
You can cut most of the roots off the vegetables to make it fit and then add salt and pepper
Step 2: Wrap tin foil tightly around the pan making sure no moisture will leave. Put on your stove top burner on medium heat until you hear crackling (About 1-2 minutes). This allows the herbs to give off the aroma earlier so it doesn’t take longer to “catch up” in the oven.
Step 3: Once you hear the crackling, put in the oven and set for 30-35 minutes. If you have bigger vegetables or you have a lot in the pan, cook for 40-45.
Chicken Ingredients:
– 2 boneless chicken breast
– 6 tablespoons of butter
– 3 cloves of garlic
– Sprig of Thyme
– Shallots
– Veal demi glace (or Reduced Chicken/Beef stock)
– 1/4 Cup of Brandy (substitute with Apple Juice)
– 1 tablespoon grape seed oil
– Salt & Pepper to season chicken
Step 1: Allow chicken to sit at room temperature for at least ten minutes before cooking. If you cook cold or wet chicken, it will go dry and cook uneven. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. I love using Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
Step 2: Get a sauté pan and put the grape seed oil in on high heat just enough to coat bottom of pan. Grape seed oil is preferred because it has a higher smoke point than typical Olive or Vegetable oil meaning you won’t burn it as quick.
Step 3: Put chicken breasts in skin side down and sear the breast. If you don’t hear it sizzle when you dip it, let the pan get hotter. Also, I always use skinless breasts in many recipes but in this particular case, it is better if you use a skin-on breasts to get a nice crust on the outside. I asked the butcher to take the bone out of these.
Step 4: Once you get a nice sear on the skin side, flip over the chicken breast (if it sticks to pan, it isn’t ready to be flipped yet). Add in garlic, thyme and 3-4 tablespoons of butter to the pan. I just leave whole cloves of garlic since it’s easy to maneuver, just crush it down to release flavor before putting it in.
Step 5: While the chicken is cooking, lift the pan up a little so all the butter flows down and use a spoon to baste the chicken. This prevents it from going dry and also gives it a depth of flavor. Do this a few times until you’re ready to put it in the oven. Once the bottom is cooked, flip the chicken on it’s sides for a minute, allowing the sides to keep the moisture in. After doing that, put the pan in the oven and let it cook for 8-10 minutes.
Step 6: After the chicken is cooked, put it on a plate to rest for 3-5 minutes. Never cut meat right after taking it out of the pan; that doesn’t allow the juices to set and will make it go dry quick. Pour the excess fat/sauce into a bowl, do not discard it because you’ll need it.
Step 7: You will have brown crust on the bottom of your pan, which is the best part. That is where all the flavor will come from for your pan sauce. DON’T WASH IT. Put your pan back on the stove and bring back up to temperature on medium-high heat.
Step 8: Add chopped shallots and the garlic with thyme used for your chicken along with 2 tablespoons of butter. This will help deglaze the pan allowing the flavors to come out. Once the shallots are caramelized for 4 minutes, lower the heat and slowly pour the brandy in. Now be very careful because this could cause a big flame called “flambé”. If you want to prevent this, take pan off and pour in away from the gas flame. After this, scrape the bottom of your pan to get any excess crust off. Add in demi-glace or stock.
Step 9: After the sauce has reduced (5 minutes), get the bowl you used earlier with a strainer on top. Pour the sauce through the strainer into the bowl. Use this sauce to coat the chicken when ready.
Tips for plating:
1: I cut my vegetables in the middle and slanted to show the sheen of the cooked veggies and design the plate as you’d like, it’s a blank canvas.
2: Also cut the chicken slanted after rested. I think it looks better when it “falls” on it’s self rather than vertically.
3: With a spoon, drizzle the pan sauce over the chicken.
This is amazing you guys! I'm so excited to try this (and all the other recipes)!! Thanks for sharing!
Talk about a great presentation! This dish looks amazing!
xx, Danielle | Pineapple & Prosecco
Your photography is beautiful! The food looks so delicious and you are inspiring me to get out of my comfort zone and try this!
this food looks healthy and beautiful!
Love your presentation! I don't eat chicken but I know my hubby would like this.
xo, Laura
http://www.have-need-want.com/blog
This recipe looks so delicious! Yum!
This looks so good!
this sounds SOOOOO good and amazingly simple, too!!
This looks so good! Definitely going to be making this soon.
XO,Tay
http://www.taylermalott.com
This looks amazing! Photos are gorgeous as well! Looking forward to more in this new food series you guys are doing!
This looks delicious and the photography is beautiful!
This looks delicious! I definitely need to give this a whirl!