Chicken with Braised Carrots and Cauliflower Mash

*Post by Angela.

I haven't done a whole lot of cooking lately. Mark and I have been on a blistering schedule, having events/meet ups with friends planned almost every day of the week for quite some time. I needed a break from gallivanting around town, so instead of going out to dinner, we decided to stay in, blaze through Season 4 of the Wire, and cook. After a little bit of discussion and 5 minutes of Googling, we landed on a sweet and spicy recipe for braised carrots and a creamy cauliflower mash recipe. And because I didn't quite feel like waiting an hour and half to eat dinner, I adapted this recipe for Provençal chicken with honey and thyme. While this all sounds kind of complicated, all three recipes are as simple as can be, and completely tasty. 

List of ingredients for the carrots:

• 1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2"-2" sticks
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2" tbsp brown sugar

First, I heated the carrots, the chicken broth, and a tbsp of the butter in a pan to simmering, then I reduced the heat to low, covered and cooked for about 15 minutes, until the carrots were tender and the liquid had reduced.

To finish it off, I uncovered the pan, added the remaining 2 tbsp of butter, the ground ginger, and the brown sugar, stirred and let cook just a minute or two more before taking the pan off the heat. I covered the pan again to keep the carrots warm while I prepared the rest of the meal.

List of ingredients for the cauliflower mash:

• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 lb cauliflower florets
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Just as easy. First, I brought the chicken broth and cauliflower to a boil then covered and cooked until tender, about 7 minutes. I drained the cauliflower, added the rest of the ingredients, and blended until smooth.

List of ingredients for the chicken and sauce:

• About 2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken (I used a mix of breasts and thighs)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tbsp dried thyme
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp buttter
• 3 tbsp chicken broth
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp finely minced shallot

First, I rinsed the chicken, patted it dry, and seasoned it generously with salt, pepper and about 1 1/2 tbsp of the thyme.

I heated 1 tbsp of the olive oil and 1 tbsp of the butter over medium high heat, then cooked the chicken until golden brown and cooked through, about 8 minutes per side. I removed the chicken to a plate.

I deglazed the pan with the chicken broth, then whisked the lemon juice, honey, shallot, the remaining oil, and the remaining 1/2 tbsp thyme, and cooked about 2 minutes.

I served the chicken atop the cauliflower mash with the sauce drizzled over top, and plated up the carrots on the side. I think the carrots, sweet, buttery and very subtlely gingery, were the best element of dinner, but the cauliflower and chicken were nice complements. The meal turned out so well that I felt shame for not cooking more often - so if D.C. sees less of us out and about in the near future, blame it on my inability to process guilt properly...

Comments

[Nancy]

Making this for dinner tonight, Angela. Simple, fast and good. My kind of cooking.