We had some friends over for dinner on Tuesday night. They were coming at 7 pm. I got home at 6:15. I thought that getting home so late might happen so I had set the table the night before and had planned an easy dinner of grilled Cauliflower Steaks with an herb salsa verde as a first course (divine), followed by roasted sumac chicken stuffed with fennel stalks and Parmesan cheese rinds, roasted baby Yukon Gold potatoes and roasted tomatoes with olive oil and Greek oregano. Simple, yet if done right, perfectly delicious and comforting after a full days work on an early fall evening. Paired with a Petit Syrah and we were set!
Now you all have seen my kitchen in our videos. It is a galley that is completely open to the living room. With a small gathering, our guests sit right across the counter from me while I’m cooking, and literally see everything. So all is going well until I start to open the organic chicken package only to discover that it’s not a whole chicken! It is chicken parts, and badly cut at that, yet they had put it together in the package to appear as a whole bird!! Well I was surprised, flustered, and of course, a little ticked off at my husband, as he picked out the meat that shopping trip. (I had to blame it on someone!) So now, in my head, I was scrambling, what was I to do? I was searching for something with great flavor to work with, quick, at that late hour. What did I have? No pancetta, which is a great way to add some big flavor in no time. There was no time to make a tomato sauce, no nice savory jams in the fridge. No mushrooms on hand and no time to caramelize onions. Really, my mind was racing while making small talk to my guests sitting right in front of me!
So I thought to start with a little butter and olive oil, instead of just the oil. Salt and pepper on the skin side, added a sprinkling of cumin on the other side. White wine is always good and then I smeared some Dijon mustard on top. Then I saw this box of dried fruit on the counter to the left of my stove. I had just bought it last week to serve with some lovely cheeses, but that never happened. So I thought, what the heck, let’s try this. I topped each chicken piece with slices of fruit – apricots, apples, peaches, pears and prunes, and then threw the whole thing in the oven for about 17 minutes and voila, it was divine! And the oven was hot – 450 degrees for that roast chicken that wasn’t to be – so the fruit got golden and beautiful and dinner was saved. This new recipe is good enough to share, good enough to repeat, and different too! The only thing was that the roasted tomatoes with oregano sort of no longer went with the other food – but they tasted good with the potatoes!
Has this sort of thing ever happened to you? Please share.
CUMIN AND MUSTARD ROASTED CHICKEN WITH FRUIT – serves 4
One whole organic chicken, backbone removed, cut into 8 pieces, extra skin and fat trimmed
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
Salt
Pepper, fresh ground
11/2 tsp. ground cumin
½ cup dry white wine
4 tsp. Dijon mustard
16 – 18 slices of mixed dried fruit – apricots, peaches, pears, apples and prunes
1 – 2 Tbs. Chopped Italian parsley for garnish
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Wash and dry the chicken pieces, all fat and extra skin trimmed off. Salt and pepper skin side.
Warm olive oil and butter on medium high heat. Swirl to combine and when butter stops sizzling, place the chicken in the skillet, seasoned side down to brown and crisp skin for 3 – 4 minutes. While that side is browning, season the top side with salt, pepper and cumin. After the first side is nicely browned, turn chicken pieces over and brown the other side for two minutes, then add the white wine and spread the mustard on top of each piece. Then place 2 pieces of dried fruit on top of each lightly mustard coated piece. Put 2 – 3 pieces of fruit on each of the breasts, depending on the size of the fruit. You want to essentially cover the top of the chicken.
Place the skillet in the oven and roast for 15 – 18 minutes. Check doneness with a thermometer – should be 160 – 165 degrees. Remove chicken pieces to a platter, keeping the fruit on top. Pour any juices left in the skillet on top of the chicken. Let rest for 10 minutes and sprinkle chopped parsley on top and serve with LOVE.
The Healthy Epicurean says
Wow that’s pretty impressive in view of the small amount of time you had to prepare…
The Healthy Epicurean recently posted…Homemade harissa and picnic mortification
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
I’ve never had this happen but I did drop the whole chicken on the floor after it was roasted. We were all headed to the dining room and I swear that chicken jumped off the plate. There can be no other explanation.
I am in the camp that loves fruit with meat and this emergency dish is just outstanding.
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef recently posted…Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
cheri says
Hi Mary, no I have not had that happen, but sounds like you sure were quick on your feet, with so little time to spare. The chicken looks wonderful as well as your cauliflower steak. Great job!!!
cheri recently posted…Pumpkin Roulade with Ginger Buttercream
Suzanne says
Now that was a great save, so creative and it turned out so wonderfully. It reminds me of some Middle Eastern dishes done in a tagine. Love that cauliflower steak.
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
Both cauliflower steak and roasted chicken are mouthwatering!
Angie@Angie’s Recipes recently posted…Teriyaki Tofu Steaks
Evelyne@cheapethniceatz says
You work well under pressure 🙂 It does all look great!
Evelyne@cheapethniceatz recently posted…Reshteh Polow: Persian Rice with Noodles
ChgoJohn says
Looks to me like you rose to the occasion, Mary, and served one heckuva meal. I bet your guests loved it! Way to go!
ChgoJohn recently posted…Crostata
Amy (Savory Moments) says
This sounds like a lovely meal. I’ve not tried cauliflower steaks yet, but I think I need to.
Amy (Savory Moments) recently posted…Pepperoni pizza-stuffed spaghetti squash
John@Kitchen Riffs says
What a bummer with the chicken! I’ve had that happen to me, too, and can blame only myself. Because I’m the one that bought it! Great save, though. Our kitchen isn’t open to anything, and I wish it was — although probably not at a time like that!
John@Kitchen Riffs recently posted…Green Tomato Jam