Sensibly Gourmet: Meals

Monday, October 1, 2012

Dutch Oven Chicken and Rice

Served with a sunflower sprout and raspberry salad.

Happy October. The sun has been shining here this weekend, but the nights have been leaving frost on the windows. All of the ski movies were in town for a weekend event, and we have been dreaming of winter snow and comfort food. Chicken and rice is a classic that can be done so many ways. When I first started visualizing this recipe, I looked to google for inspiration. I found that to some, chicken and rice was made with cans of cream of mushroom soup. I knew it was going to take some creativity to come up with a recipe that was delicious and healthy. This recipe uses chicken thighs for full flavor, but there are no cans of soup around here. The dish is a little time consuming, but requires very little hands on time.

Dutch Oven Chicken and Rice

2 tablespoons olive oil
4-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, for a lower fat version use 3 breasts cut in half
1 onion, cut into half moons
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 cup brown basmati rice
3 cups chicken stock, homemade preferred
4 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, I used sage and parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat oil over medium-high heat in large dutch oven.
3. Sear chicken until browned, about 2 minutes per side.
4. Remove chicken from pan and set aside on a plate.
5. Reduce heat to medium and add onions and a pinch of salt.
6. Saute onions until translucent, then reduce to low and allow onions to caramelize. This should form a fond on the bottom of the pot, as seen in the photo, and the onions should lightly brown (15-20 minutes).

7. Add garlic and mushrooms and stir for 1-2 minutes until garlic is fragrant.

8. Add rice and stir for 1 minute longer until rice is becoming translucent.
9. Stir in 1/2 cup of the stock, scraping all the brown bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the rest of the stock and nestle the chicken into the vegetables. Sprinkle the herbs on top.

10. Transfer the pot to the oven, and cook 60 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to sit covered for another 30 minutes. Salt and Pepper to taste and serve warm.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

A Foodie Guide to Cape Town and the Winelands

We finished our trip with 6 days in the Cape Town area. We spent 2 nights in Franschhoek, and 4 nights in Camps Bay, a beachfront 10 minutes from downtown Cape Town. We explored the town, saw the Cape of Good Hope, went penguin-watching, hiked Table Mountain and Lion's Head, wandered Kirstenbosh Botanical Gardens, ate tasty food, drank lots of wine, and enjoyed sundowners on the beach.

The food in Cape Town and wine country was such a pleasant change. The winelands were originally colonized by the French, and the heritage shows in their food. Now the areas of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek are well known for their culinary inventiveness. The food was a mix of French classic technique paired with local ingredients and an African flair. Our best meal was at La Bon Vivant, a French bistro in Franschhoek. Following the guide are pictures of food, wine and adventures. For more detail and more pictures, check out Mackenzie's accounts here.

And here is the guide of where we ate and drank and overall impressions, comment with any questions:

Cape Town:

Meals
La Boheme (Sea Point): Spanish inspired cuisine. Excellent tapas. Great wine list. Atmosphere gets A++.
Bay Harbour Market (Hout Bay): An indoor market with live music, beer, wine, cider, and cheap eats.
Vovo Telo (V&A Waterfront, lunch): Rustic and tasty lunches, excellent coffee.
Anatoli (Da Waterkant): Turkish fare, including mezzes, mains, and desserts. Best meal in Cape Town.
Primi Piatti (Camp's Bay): Inexpensive, tasty pizzas and pastas.

Cocktails and Appetizers
The Bungalow, formerly La Med (Clifton): Very hip vibe, decent (overpriced) sushi, fantastic views, great place for a sundowner drink.
Cafe Carpice (Camp's Bay): We had drinks and calamari. Overall: don't bother. Weak drinks, nice view (but The Bungalow is better), decent calamari.

Stellenbosch:

Eats
Apprentice @ Institute of Culinary Arts (lunch): A variable menu with good options. Well executed but lacking creativity.

Wineries
Ken Forrester: Excellent value (11 wines on the full tasting menu for R50), best white wines.
Spier: Huge complex, commanding grounds, good wine but less value.
Jordan: Quieter setting, great views, good but not great wines.

Franschhoek:

Eats
The Common Room at Le Quartier Francais*: Small plates intended to be shared. Very inconsistent quality throughout the menu. Fun atmosphere.
Le Bon Vivant: Best meal of the trip. We had the restaurant to ourselves (thanks to it being winter). Excellent service and top quality food.
Pierneef at La Motte (lunch): Top quality food in a beautiful setting. Exquisite presentation and excellent execution. Close second to the meal at Le Bon Vivant.

Wineries
Stony Brook Vineyards: Intimate experience at a small winery. Family run. Best red wine.
GlenWood: Off the beaten path, gorgeous views, wines were unremarkable. Rumored to have excellent sushi.
La Motte: Excellent restaurant (see above), cozy tasting room, allowed to walk around the barrels, good wines.
L'ormains: Has a car museum also, beautiful setting on a horse farm, shuttle driver takes you to the tasting, unique grape varietals including an excellent Sangiovese.
La Provence: Modern tasting room, good selection of wines. Lack of variety on the tasting menu. No opportunity to taste any of the high-end wines.

*We intended to go to Ryan's Kitchen, but as we walked up at 7pm, they were closing due to lack of business.

Day 1: Cape Town, Cape Point & Cape of Good Hope