Fig Balsamic


Today's taping of Home At Last! showcased one of Ron's favorite chicken dishes. Mediterranean Chicken with Grapes, or Chicken Veronique as it is sometimes called. Preferring red grapes to green, and globe reds to seedless red-I have really made it my own with the addition of fig balsamic.

I shared my easy homemade Fig Balsamic recipe, 3 cups of 15-year old Balsamic vinegar and 1 cup canned figs. I cooked figs over the summer, added a scant 1/4 cup of sugar, before processing the jars in boiling water for about 1o minutes. They were so perfect for the recipe and made an excellent fig balsamic. The mixture reduced on a low heat for about thirty minutes, creating a rich, almost-syrup like balsamic.

Making chicken stock from leftover trimmings of skinless chicken is another easy way to recycle in the kitchen. I made a bouquet garni bag of herbs. . .bay leaf, sage, and celery leaf. Into a large pot of water, I added chunks of chicken breast, carrot and celery chunks, fresh garlic and shallot. A week's worth of stock ready in under a half hour and for pennies.

After the show, I cut up another thick chicken breast and cooked it in the strained figs cooked in the balsamic, the carrots, shallot, celery and garlic cooked in the chicken stock. I added a 1/2 cup of the stock,, 2 tbsp of applewood-smoked bacon, cured locally and finally a tablespoon of butter. The chicken to cook until tender and the sauce reduced for a new favorite that absolutely recycled every bit of food used to make the show.


The only thing that went back into the refrigerator was about a quart of strained chicken stock. Not bad!
Chicken With Canned FigsPosted by Picasa

Comments

Teresa's New Life said…
Oh, my goodness that sounds so delicious! The balsamic vinegar with figs is making my mouth water and I too prefer the red globe grapes over all the others even if I do have to spit out the seeds!Ha!
January 12, 2010 at 3:04 PM
Yo soy SOI said…
Patty - this looks incredible - as all of your recipes always do and ARE! I think I sent you my email that my blog is finally up and running. Love to have you follow me too. Let's get together sometime!
January 22, 2010 at 11:08 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jacque Pepin's Chicken Liver Pate

Image
Every silky-smooth bite of this pleasing chicken liver pate was worth the extra calories!  Created by my daughter-in-law's mother, Jill, the recipe captured everything I love about pate! A perfectly smooth pate enhanced by the addition of cognac. The rich chicken livers pared deliciously with a dark berry compote made of strawberries, blackberries and fresh blueberries! Recipe: Jacque Pepin's Chicken Liver Pâté FAST MAKE-AHEAD 1/2 pound chicken livers, well-trimmed 1/2 small onion, thinly sliced 1 small garlic clove, smashed and peeled 1 bay leaf 1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves Kosher salt 1/2 cup water 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature 2 teaspoons Cognac or Scotch whisky Freshly ground pepper Toasted baguette slices, for serving In a medium saucepan, combine the chicken livers, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add the water and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to l...
Read more

California Sourdough Bread

Image
I found this recipe in one of my favorite chef cookbooks. The recipe is made over a couple of days and calls for starter made from potato water. I had just made up a batch of potato starter-but with potatoes and the potato water, so, that was the first substitution I made. I also switched one cup of the required bread flour for a cup of Italian flour. The results were wonderful. As you can see there is a golden crust around the entire bread but instead of a typical chewy sourdough crust this was a little more crispy. . .like German brotchen. The recipe called for spritzing the dough with water before putting into the oven-which I did-but I also placed a small glass bowl with water in the oven-occasionally pouring water on the floor of the oven to create steam. My husband told me he loved me as he ate his hot-from-the-oven bread! I wanted to share a photo of the inspiration behind all the sudden interest in bread baking.  My friend, Char Fontane gave this to me for Ch...
Read more

Parrot Fish

Image
Asian-style Parrot Fish Dark soy, sesame oil mixed with a little olive oil, freshly-grated ginger and garlic! Yum. A little chopped green onion and blood orange. Yes! One of my last blood oranges was squeezed for a citrus marinade that made for a nicely-flavored and springlike taste! I might be rushing the seasons a little but this easy recipe would certainly be good anytime of the year! The Parrot Fish has a nice firm texture with lots of flavor. The bones were easily removed from the meat and so the yield is very good. I grilled the fish on the infrared for about eight minutes and finished it off in a very hot oven! Definitely worth a try!
Read more