Chicken and Mushrooms and Wine, oh my!!!

Since beginning this blog, I have taken the time to search and read other foodie websites.  I decided to try one of the many delicious recipes posted by food blogger Scott Duncan on his website  http://www.inexpensiveeating.blogspot.com/.   It wasn't the recipe that convinced me to try the chicken and mushrooms in red wine it was the photo of the end result....just looking at the photo made my mouth water...I knew I had to make this dish.  Let me start off by saying that I am no wine drinker.  In fact, there are few wines I can even pretend to like because just a sip will make me face grimace for the world to see.  Believe me, I tried many times to pretend to be a wine drinker but I just can't do it...a wine cooler maybe but that is as far as it goes.

So, I was a little nervous about this dish not being all I had hoped because it contains an ENTIRE bottle of red wine.  The recipe didn't say what kind of red wine but I have watched the Food Network enough to know that you are not supposed to cook with wine you wouldn't drink.  Since I didn't think a strawberry mango wine cooler would be appropriate, I decided to go with the wine that I see at many parties/cultural events - the Yellow Tail.  I went with the Shiraz Cabernet because I figured I would have better odds of it being good since it listed two kinds.  The recipe has many steps but none of them are hard.

The entire recipe can be found at Chicken and Mushrooms in Red Wine but let me describe what I did differently because I never can seem to follow any recipe......  I started of by sauteing mushrooms in olive oil.  The recipe calls for 1/2 pound but we are a family of mushroom lovers so I added a few extra.  I added some more olive oil and onion and cooked for about 10 minutes.  Next I added butter and bacon...and I just had to believe that this recipe would be delicious.  I mean, how can you go wrong with butter AND bacon?  I then browned the chicken in the bacon/butter grease and removed it from the pan.  Next I added flour to the grease and made a rue before adding the ENTIRE bottle of wine.  I added tomato paste and seasonings (minus the bay leaf because I didn't have any on hand).  Finally, I added the chicken along with some chicken stock (from a box) and cooked it for about an hour.  I then added the other ingredients (except for the fresh parsley that I forgot to buy) and served!  In all, it took about 2 hours to prepare but most of it was just allowing the chicken and sauce to do it's thing on the stove top.....

I invited my parents for dinner too so I could get their opinions about the recipe.  We all agreed that I would order pizza, my treat, if this recipe turned out inedible.  

I wasn't sure what to serve it with so I made rice and pasta.  I started with the rice and everyone else chose pasta.  We all took the first bite together and....silence....it  was absolutely delicious.  Like better than restaurant good.  Want to eat in silence and savor each bite could.  Would rather have more chicken then a chocolate dessert good.  Scott Duncan is not a blogger he is God good.  If I had to choose my last meal good. 

It didn't taste like drinking a bottle of wine...the lengthy cooking time made the flavor a rich, deep flavor that is hard to put into words....I actually thought something along the lines of, "cooking with red wine, where have you been all my life?"

When I make this again (like tomorrow maybe...) I will change the steps a bit.  I understand that Scott was trying to make this recipe easier by eliminating many of the pots/pans.  But here's the thing - my husband does the dishes so I figure why not speed the process up by having a few things sauteing at once since I don't have to worry about the cleanup?  :)

Really, this dish is one of those that makes me want to have a dinner party...I think I need to invite my totally fabulous neighbors over for some delicious food and board games (our favorites include Boggle and Apples to Apples).  Truly, that is what good food is all about - gathering those that we love to enjoy a good meal together.

Lunch at the Little Village Doesn't Disappoint

Perfection on a Plate

Jason Agrees!

Sensation Salad, a Southern Treat

Today Jason and I met for lunch, which doesn't happen often even though we work in buildings next to each other. Thanks to restaurant.com, we had a great coupon that cost us $2.00 (by using coupon code CLEARANCE). We got $25 off of a $35 purchase at the the Little Village. I have been there a few times but was still undecided on the food. We started off with 1/2 loaf of the Village Bread, which is their most popular/well known dish. Jason tried to convince me to get a full loaf saying we could bring some home to my mum but I knew that wouldn't happen. We would eat the entire loaf and then not want the rest of our meal. The bread is golden and perfect, covered with sesame seeds and parmesan cheese. It is sitting on a sea of really good quality olive oil and comes with an olive spread that is out of this world. I tried sooo hard to keep from tearing off a piece and devouring it before I took a photo but I couldn't resist....I couldn't even wait the 10 seconds it takes to photograph the dish. We finished our 1/2 loaf very quickly and Jason commented again that we should have gone for the whole loaf. We were both ready to move on to the next course......One thing I love about Little Village is that the entrees come with a salad. I think all meals, especially Italian cuisine, should come with a good salad.. At Little Village you have the choice of Italian, Caesar or Sensation Salad. For all of you not from South Louisiana, you probably have never heard of the Sensation Salad. I know that I had no idea what it was before I moved to Baton Rouge. This salad is very similar to Caesar, they basically look the same. The Sensation, however, has more of a citrus based dressing vs. anchovy based. Our local news station, WAFB has a pretty good recipe. I really like the Little Village's version of this salad. When you first put a bite into your mouth you can immediately recognize the fresh citrus taste. At the end of the bite, there is a kick of something just a little spicy that is then relieved by the citrus when you have some more. This Sensation Salad is the only one I have had that has that extra heat component. The only negative I could say about my salad was that it was a bit overdressed which can be easily remedied by ordering the dressing on the side. On to the main event. I HATE that I am sometimes a reorderer...I frown upon those that do it but I am a hypocrite when it comes to Italian food. I always seem to end up ordering the chicken parmesan. At Little Village, I love that the side of pasta does not feel like an afterthought. It is artfully laid onto the plate next to the chicken. The chicken itself was moist and flavorful - definitely not a pre-formed chicken patty that you sometimes get. The crust on the chicken was a bit of a disappointment. First of all there was way too much of it. Second, probably because of the thickness of the batter, it tasted like old oil. It was a shame because, like I said, the chicken itself was really good. Lucky for me, the batter easily fell off leaving the delicious chicken breast for me to enjoy. One cannot discuss an Italian restaurant without mentioning the tomato sauce or "red gravy" as they say in Louisiana. And at the Little Village, it is the real deal. There is no denying the freshness of the sauce - you just know that it is homemade with good ingredients. It has just enough sweetness along with the perfect amount of seasoning. I also need to mention that our waiter, Blake, did a fabulous job of catering to our needs even during the lunch hour rush. The Little Village is certainly a culinary experience in which I will take part in again!

Beautiful and Tasty Chicken Parmesan