Chicken Charlemagne

REGION: None that I know of, but there is butter so let's consider this French-inspired INGREDIENT I'VE NEVER USED BUT WILL GLADLY USE AGAIN: Parsnips! I will buy as many parsnips as I can find!

RECOMMENDED CHEF's JUICE: A neutral white wine

NUMBER OF GLASSES CONSUMED IN THE COOKING PROCESS: 3.5 - I am so afraid of chicken juice taint in my kitchen that wine is all I can do to keep from cloroxing the actual dinner

I like chicken. I like the taste, and sadly and embarrassingly, I gravitate more towards an overcooked chicken tender than I do a succulent thigh with skin and bone. So it was a stretch to cook with "Airline Chicken" (can anything sound more unappealing???) that was bone-in, skin-on, and ready for my freak out. On an earlier episode of Top Chef Tom Colihicco tore into a competitor (FULL ON ADMONISHMENT) for cooking a chicken breast. Even though it was perfectly prepared - no matter that it was painstakingly tasty - Tom said that no chef worth his salt (!!) would ever cook a chicken without the skin on! And a breast?! Posh! Sigh. Time to try other parts of the chicken. If you baby step as I do, airline chicken is a good gateway. It's still a breast but with the drummet still attached. Apparently this helps it pair better with sauces. So, make a sauce.

This attempt was at bit more ambitious than the recipe led on. You'll have to time manage multiple pots at once, but if you're hunkering for some winter food and you can approach a raw chicken with even-keeled coolness, you might just like what comes of this attempt. Let's start - begin first with your requisite chef's juice: get some white wine - just pour it to the top - there's a lot of work ahead.

Here's what you'll need (for 2 servings):

2 Airline* (inexplicable namesake to me!) Chicken Breasts - bone in

Brussel Sprouts

Carrots

Parsnips (these are SO FUN to cook with)

Purple top turnip (it's a good looking veg to keep on a countertop for awhile)

Potato - Russet

Sage - try to find very fragrant and silkly sage if at all possible

Chicken demi-glace - I did NOT make this myself - if you can find it at a grocer, do. If not, you'll need to prep this in advance-here's help.

Butter

Apple Cider Vingear

Ground mustard, black mustard seeds, ground bay leaf - mixed together to make charlemagne spice blend

Here's what you'll do:

Follow this recipe, with wine.

Do not worry about the potatoes coming out flavorless. It's concerning to see only boring bare parsnips and a dumpy looking russet being mixed together with little fanfare but I promise - PROMISE - they pair wonderfully well and your mashed potatoes will be some of your best yet!

TIP: You want to get a good crisp on the chicken skin, so make sure your pan is hot enough for a good crisp. Also, it wouldn't hurt to have a thermometer ready if you are as chicken adverse as I (you want the chicken to reach 165 degrees F - but be careful not to stick the thermometer against the bone, or in a shallow part of the meat. Also DO NOT forget to salt and pepper your fried sage leaves immediately after you remove them from oil. If you wait, you lose b/c the salt won't adhere. Don't miss out on this sage moment!

PITFALL: I overcooked the chicken on one side, and undercooked on another. I'd sooner die than serve you pink chicken (probably because you would die if you consumed pink chicken and that would make for a concerning dinner party) - so monitor your chicken and move it around the pan so as to have all parts afforded heat.

VERDICT:

Meh! Hiro offered up some sweet praise but it felt a bit forced. I think my concern for the chicken manifested itself in overcooked veggies, and uneven chicken. Don't let the chicken intimate you. You are better than that. Regardless, go treat yourself with another glass of chef's juice you remarkable chef you!

*AKA Frenched Breast; AKA Statler Chicken (source, Wikipedia)

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