Le Poulet à l’Estragon - Roasted Tarragon Chicken

Le Poulet à l’Estragon - Roasted Tarragon Chicken is a classic French dish of chicken roasted with tarragon. It is simple but delicious - so much more than the sum of its few parts. It is traditionally served alongside potatoes or rice.

Home is where the heart is
We have lived it so many places that I have fallen at least a little bit in love with, if not head over heels. I am an unabashed Anglophile starting from my first few years of school on the British system from 1968-70 and a large piece of me will always love tropical Trinidad.

I can cook and samba with the best of Brazil and my deep relationship with Malaysia defies borders and description. Tanah Airku. My homeland. Although, of course, it’s really not.

I’ve been a devoted Francophile since the spring sun began warming our garden just south of Paris and our prolific cherry tree came into bloom in 1992. And I could go on.

But as a person who was raised to love food and adventures with ingredients and preparing deliciousness, let’s just talk some more about France. Never have I lived anywhere more obsessed with the sourcing and the cooking and eating of food. Unless you count my own grandmothers’ kitchens where we would talk about what to cook for the next meal even while eating the current meal.

I learned my way around buying the delicacies of France by asking questions and blundering through with my high school French. If only I had had this book!

A few weeks ago I received a very welcome email about a new book that was just being published called The Farm to Table French Phrasebook: Master the Culture, Language and Savoir Faire of French Cuisine.  It was written by a French woman named Victoria Mas and centered on FOOD: the etiquette of eating, great ingredients and their French translations, how to ask for what you want in France, how to buy it in markets and order it in restaurants or bakeries or butchers and, finally, with a few recipes at the end, how to cook some essential classic French dishes and desserts.

I could have saved myself a scolding from the market stallholders years ago with Victoria’s instructions not to touch the fruit but to allow the proprietor to choose the tomatoes or pears or lettuces for me, if only I had had this book. I could have avoided the distain of haughty French waiters by ordering in French from the get-go. Okay, that’s probably a pipe dream, but it would be worth a try, right?

Gift idea!
If you have aspirations as a Francophile, or know folks who already are, I highly recommend you get yourself or them a copy of this useful book. It’s hardback but a great little size for traveling, which you will want to do directly when it arrives; straight to France to try out all the vocabulary and hints and tips.

Thanks to the publisher, Ulysses Press, I have one copy to give away! Please scroll down to the bottom of this post to leave me a comment to enter. I’d love to hear about whether France is on your must-visit someday list or if some other food-centric country is at the top. It’s all about the food for me. :) If it’s some place else, maybe we can talk the publisher into making this a series with different native authors!

This is not a cookbook but, as I mentioned, it does have some recipes at the end so, even if your trip isn’t imminent, you can still enjoy French cuisine at home. I got permission to share the very simple but delicious recipe for chicken with tarragon with you. I was first introduced to the herb tarragon in France – Is it used anywhere as much as there? – and it is special. It elevates a simple chicken dish from ho-hum to remarkable. What follows is the original recipe as it is in the book with my adaptations in parentheses.

Le Poulet à l’Estragon - Roasted Tarragon Chicken

French tarragon, cultivated for its aromatic, somewhat anise-like flavor, with works beautifully with chicken or fish and is essential in a classic béarnaise sauce.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken, 1.5 kg/about 3 lbs, cut into 6 pieces (I used 1kg or 2.2 lbs chicken thighs.)
30ml or 2 tablespoons olive oil
4 sprigs fresh tarragon
 (I couldn’t find fresh so I used a couple of teaspoons of dried.)
Salt and pepper

Method
Preheat the oven to 190°C or 375°F.

(First I drizzled a little olive oil in my oven-proof dish.) Place the chicken pieces in an oven-safe dish. Drizzle with the olive oil, garnish with the tarragon, and season with salt and pepper.

Bake for about 40 minutes.

Turn the chicken pieces every 10 to 15 minutes so that all sides are evenly browned. (I set my timer for 15 minutes and sprinkled more salt, pepper and tarragon on the under side after the first turning.)

(I also browned it under the broiler or grill for about 10 minutes to crispy the skin at the end of the cooking time.)

Serve warm.

See those sticky bits? Those are THE BEST.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer:
This recipe is republished by permission from the publisher. I was sent a copy of The Farm to Table French Phrasebook: Master the Culture, Language and Savoir Faire of French Cuisine to review but no other compensation was offered or accepted. Links to the book are Amazon affiliate links.

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Roasted and Stuffed Eggplant #BloggerCLUE

Roasted eggplant filled with a deliciously flavorful stuffing of ground beef, brown rice, olives, artichoke hearts, sunflower seeds and salty Parmesan, is topped with more cheese then baked to golden perfection. This is a great main course that is as attractive as it is tasty.

It’s Blogger C.L.U.E. Society time again and my secretly assigned blog is annaDishes! Anna lives in Florida so her blog is full of lovely fresh recipes with locally grown produce. Our challenge this month was to hunt for and make a recipe that our own grandmothers might have made. While my grandmothers never stuffed eggplant that I am aware off, they certainly did stuff and roast bell peppers – my mom still does so with regularity – and spicy eggplant casserole was a favorite dish whenever we were visiting. I am pretty sure both of my grandmothers would have loved this dish. Aside from the addition of some red pepper and an unavoidable cheese substitution, I’ve made it pretty much exactly as Anna wrote it in her original post, which you can see here. I’ve noted any changes in parentheses and added the metric measures for my readers who use them.

Ingredients
1 cup (dry) or 215g brown rice
2 cups or 480ml chicken broth
1 large eggplant (I used two – weighing 1 1/2 lbs or 665g together)
1 package baby bella mushrooms (One large portabella – weighing 3 1/5 oz or 100g)
1 small onion, chopped (Mine weighed 3 1/2 oz or 100g.)
1/4 cup or 60g kalamata olives, chopped (Mine had pits. Weight before pitting: 3 oz or 85g)
3/4 lb or 340g ground beef
3/4 cup or 110g sunflower seeds
1/2 cup or 100g artichoke hearts, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
3/4 cup, grated, or 70g Parmesan cheese (I grated from a fresh wedge of Parmesan so the weight measure is probably more accurate than the cup.)
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used 3 1/2 oz or 100g Colby Jack.)
Shredded Gouda cheese
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
(I also added 2 teaspoons crushed red chilies and a few fresh thyme leaves for color when serving.)

Method
First start the rice: Bring the rice and chicken stock to a boil with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. (I stir in the rice in the olive oil first to coat, then add in the stock.)

Reduce to low and cover. Cook rice over low heat for 55 minutes or until tender. (Mine took about 40 minutes, at which point I turned the fire off but left the cover on so the rice could steam gently until I was ready to use it. Then I fluffed it with a fork.)

Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Hollow out the eggplant making sure to leave 1/4 inch or a little more than 1/2cm on all sides. If the walls are too thin they won’t hold up with the stuffing.

Drizzle the baking dish with olive oil and place eggplant halves in center. Drizzle olive oil on eggplant.

 Roast in your preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, until cooked but not too soft.

Here they are roasted.

While the eggplant shells are cooking, chop 1/2 of the meat from the eggplant. (I used all of it.)

Eggplant, olives, artichoke hearts, onion, garlic and mushroom.

Combine the eggplant with onion, mushroom, olives, artichokes and sauté in pan until browned. (I also added a drizzle of olive oil to the pan.)

This is the "after" shot. The pan was almost full when I started but the vegetables cook down considerably. 

Remove from heat and set aside. In another pan, brown the ground beef until cooked through. (Once again, with a drizzle of olive oil for the pan.)

Combine all ingredients in one bowl. Add rice, sunflower seeds and Parmesan cheese.

(Taste your stuffing and add salt and pepper to taste. This is also where I added the crushed red chilies – since we like things spicy. Stir well!)

Transfer a large portion of the stuffing to each 1/2 of the eggplant. (I had stuffing leftover but that is a good thing. It’s delicious just on its own too.)

Cover with cheese and place in oven for 15 minutes.

Turn on broiler to brown the top.

Enjoy! I served each person a whole stuffed eggplant, sprinkled with a little fresh thyme, along with a green salad.

If you’d like to see more of annaDishes, you can follow her on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest or like her blog page on Facebook.

Many thanks to Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake, Kate from Kate's Kitchen and Christiane from Taking on Magazines for creating this fun challenge.

Here's a link list to all of the intrepid blog detectives in our group! Follow the links to see which blogs they were assigned and the recipes that their grandmothers might have made.

• Lemon Mascarpone Layer Cake from Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Beef Barley Soup from Kate at Kate's Kitchen 
• Scrambled Egg Sandwich from Christiane at Taking on Magazines
• Mexican Hot Chocolate Mix from Debra at Eliot's Eats
• Ginger Snap Cookies from Lisa at Authentic Suburban Gourmet
• Scalloped Potato Cottage Pie from Ramona at Curry and Comfort
• Lemon Chicken Thighs from Janet at From Cupcakes to Caviar
• Cranberry Cream Cheese Dream Bars from Christy at Culinary Diva
• Persimmon Syrup and Persimmon Smash Cocktail from Alice at A Mama, Baby & Shar-pei in the Kitchen
• Smoky Potato Corn and Poblano Chowder from Azmina at Lawyer Loves Lunch
• Apple Butter and Body Lotion from Kelli at Kelli's Kitchen
• Roasted Honey Rosemary Pecans from Kim at Liv Life
• Hershey's Candy Cane Cookies from Susan at Create Amazing Meals
• Best Ever Ginger Snaps from Aly at Cooking in Stilettos
• Brats and Kraut from Lea Ann at Cooking on the Ranch
• Chocolate Pecan Fudge from Kathy at Bakeaway with Me
• Pumpkin Scones from Anna at Anna Dishes
• Roasted and Stuffed Eggplant from Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Swedish Dark Rye Bread from Wendy at A Day in the Life On a Farm
• Spelt Dinner Rolls from Jean at Lemons and Anchovies
• Rum Spiked Chocolate Chip Cookies from Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Mocha Porter Quinoa Loaf #BreadBakers

A slightly sweet loaf made from ground quinoa, mocha porter beer and brown sugar, with semi-sweet chocolate chips rolled up inside, this bread would be perfect for breakfast or an after school snack. 

It has been my privilege for the last week to be the stay-at-home mom for a dear, darling friend whose wonderfully wisecracking husband underwent surgery to remove a cancerous lung. My presence allowed her to be where she needed to be without worrying unduly about her children. I can’t express the delight it gave me to bake chocolate chip cookies for after school snacks again! As involved as I was in volunteer opportunities and gratifying community service way back when, my favorite time of the day was always when my daughters arrived home from school and told me about their days while munching on a couple of warm cookies, fresh out of the oven. I miss those days.

I am pleased to say that our patient is out of ICU and on the mend and I am back home again but I left behind this high protein loaf, made with quinoa and tasty mocha porter beer, and slightly sweetened with brown sugar. The semi-sweet chocolate chips are optional, but I highly recommend their addition.

Many thanks to Jenni from Pastry Chef Online for her oatmeal porter bread recipe which I adapted to create this loaf and to Mireille from Chef Mireille's East West Realm for hosting this month’s edition of Bread Bakers. And an extra thank you to my Bread Bakers co-creator, Renee from Magnolia Days for creating the initial link list. We have a great bunch of quinoa breads for you today so make sure to scroll to the bottom of my recipe to see the links.

A note about quinoa: From what I have researched, quinoa is very high in protein but for our bodies to access the protein, it has to be either cooked or ground to open the seeds. If the seeds are used whole, they will pass through us just as they went in and we miss out on the benefits of the protein contained therein. The more you know!

Ingredients
For the dough:
1/4 cup or 60ml whole milk, plus 1-2 tablespoons more for brushing on the loaf before baking
3 1/2 cups or 440g flour plus a little extra for rolling the dough out
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup, packed, or 50g light brown sugar
1 cup or 200g quinoa (I used black quinoa but any sort will do nicely.)
1 cup or 240ml mocha porter (Mine had a strong coffee flavor with a background of slightly sweet stout. Imagine a coffee Guinness.)
1/4 cup or 60ml canola oil plus a little extra for greasing the bowl and bread pan
1/2 teaspoon salt
7/8 cup or 145g (or more - you could put a whole cup but that's all I had) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method
Warm your milk in a microwave or on the stovetop until it is quite warm to the touch but you can still hold your finger in it for several seconds comfortably. For those who like to use a thermometer, you are looking for between 125-130°F or 51-55°C.

Put one cup or a little less than a third of the flour into the bowl of your stand mixer, along with the sugar, and spoon the yeast into the middle.

Pour in the warm milk, right on the yeast. Give the bowl a little swish to mix in some of the flour and sugar. Allow to rest for about five minutes. The milk should activate the yeast and become frothy. If it doesn’t, start over with fresh yeast.

Starting to bubble up. It's a good thing.

While the yeast is proving, grind your quinoa using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder, if you have one.

Add the rest of the flour to the yeast bowl, along with the ground quinoa, salt and oil then pour in the porter. The extra four ounces are for the baker.

Mix well with your bread hook and keep mixing until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Scrape the dough off of the bottom of the bowl and flip it over. Continue mixing with the bread hook for another 3-5 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally and flipping the dough over.

Scrape the dough into a ball in the bottom of your bowl and drizzle in a little oil around the ball. Turn the ball in the oil to coat lightly.  Cover with a towel and put in a warm place for the first rise of about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, grease your standard loaf pan with some oil.

Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Use your hands to pat it into a small rectangle. Sprinkle on the chocolate chips.

Roll the dough up lengthwise and put it seam-side down into the prepared loaf pan.

Cover very loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for about half an hour. When the half hour is almost up, preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

When you are ready to bake, remove the plastic and brush the loaf lightly with the milk.

Put the loaf in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 350°F or 180°C.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cover with foil if it is browning too quickly but isn’t cooked inside. Once again, if you are a thermometer using type, and I highly recommend you become one, you are looking for an internal temperature between 195-200°F or 90-93°C for doneness.

Allow the loaf to cool for a few minutes in the pan and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Have you ever baked with quinoa? If not, we hope you will give it a try!

• Eggnog Cranberry and White Chocolate Quick Bread by Laura at Baking in Pyjamas
• Garlic Multigrain Bread by Kelly at Passion Kneaded
• Maple Walnut Quinoa Quick Bread by Renee at Magnolia Days
• Mocha Porter Quinoa Loaf by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• No Knead Quinoa Bread by Karen at Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Pan de Quinoa y Miel by Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Quinoa and Millet Bread by Anshie at Spiceroots
• Quinoa Poolish Baguettes by Adam at Bakers and Best
• Quinoa Oatmeal Bread by Cindy at Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Quinoa Pumpkin Muffins by Kathya at Basic N Delicious
• Red Quinoa Sourdough Bread by Sophie at Sweet Cinnamon & Honey

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.