Ingredients
1 whole chicken (3 lb)
1 lb fresh mushrooms
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tbsp cornstarch, blended with of the crea
1 tbsp minced shallots
1/3 cup port wine madeira may be substitute, d
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup cognac or a good brandy
Directions
PREHEAT OVEN TO 425F. Truss the chicken, then dry the outside
thoroughly and rub with 1 tablespoon butter all over the skin. TO
BROWN THE CHICKEN: Set the chicken on a rack, breast side up in the
roasting pan, place in the oven for 5 minutes. Turn on its left side
and baste quickly with butter, return to the oven for another 5
minutes. Turn on its right side for another 5 minutes, basting as
before. TO ROAST THE CHICKEN: Leave the chicken on its right side.
Reduce oven temperature to 350F. Leave it for a total of 15-20
minutes, basting it at least every 10 minutes. Salt the chicken, turn
it on its other side, and cook another 15-20 minutes, basting at
least every 20 minutes. Turn the chicken breast up and continue
basting every 10 minutes during the last few minutes it is roasting.
TO TELL IF THE CHICKEN IS DONE: Prick the thickest part of the
drumstick with a fork. If the juices come out clear yellow, it is
done. If not, roast another 5 minutes and test again. As a final
check, lift the chicken and drain the juices from its vent into the
pan; if the last few drops are clear yellow, it is definitely done.
Put the chicken on a warm platter, remove the trussing string, and
let it sit at least 5-10 minutes before carving so that the juices
will not retreat into the tissues. It can wait a good 30 minutes with
foil over it. As the chicken roasts, wipe the mushrooms clean with a
paper towel, cut off the ends and slice them; if small, leave whole.
Bring 1/4 cup water to a boil with 1/2 tablespoon butter, lemon juice
and salt. Add mushrooms, cover and cook for 8 minutes. Separate the
cooking liquid and save it. Pour the cream and cornstarch and cream
mixture into the mushrooms. Simmer for 2 minutes. Taste and correct
seasoning and hold. When the chicken is done, remove it to its
platter and remove all but 2 table- spoons of fat from the pan. Stir
in the shallots and saute for 1 minute. Add the port and mushroom
juices and reduce rapidly while deglazing the pan (scraping up the
coagulated juices) until the liquid has reduced to about 1/4 cup. Add
the mushrooms and cream. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, allowing the liquid
to thicken slightly. Taste and correct seasoning; add more lemon
juice to taste. Butter the inside of a casserole with butter; rapidly
carve the chicken into serving pieces and sprinkle lightly with salt.
Arrange it in the casserole for serving. Warm the cognac carefully,
do not let it catch on fire. Set the chicken over moderate heat until
you hear it begin to sizzle; pour the cognac over it and ignite it
carefully with a match. Shake the casserole slowly till the flames
have subsided. Pour the mushroom mixture over the casserole, basting
the chicken. Cover and let it steep for 5 minutes. Do not allow the
sauce to boil. Serve immediately.
Servings: 4 servings
Chicken With Port~ Cream & Mushrooms Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Chicken; Mushroom; Poultry; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
Written cooking instructions as an idea can be found way back into ancient history, certainly as far as the Egyptians, and possibly even further. However, mostly, these old records were just very basic hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for preparing food.
In an interesting twist, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to experts in ancient history are a few clay tablets in the Sumerian language describing the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who tried it feel wonderful and blissful. As we move into The time of the roman empire around 25BC a man called Apicius created a collection of scripts detailing recipes prepared by wealthy roman citizens. In his publication, Apicius describes how the roman meals were divided into hors d`oeuvre, entrees and desserts, something we still use today. Additionally, he describes how the ancient chefs made use of many spices and herbs, including many that are still in use today like basil, rue and dill. Moving our culinary historical trip onwards, we have a couple of cookery books from the 1300s : a book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary named `Curye on Inglish`. Surprisingly, these are nothing to do with the indian curry that is familiar to us all today, but instead accounts of the types of meals on the tables of the rich people of that time. In the 15th century, knights returning from the crusades brought us a variety of foods, spices and herbs from Arab cuisine, including spices such as coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary. These new herbs and spices prompted an outbreak in books on cookery, most of which are kept safe in private cookery archives. Over the next few hundred years, the rich families of Europe competed to lay on the best banquets, and because of this chefs and their collection of recipes could command a high salary. Nevertheless, it wasn`t until the 1800s that cookery and recipe books reached a high level of popularity. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, dedicated years of their lives to collecting, testing, and recording recipes to allow everyone to enjoy them. When we get to the 1900s, recipe books were highly popular due to higher levels of literacy, more spare time and a general increase in wealth. The arrival of TV brought us TV cooks and the spin-off recipe books. Which pretty much brings us up to date and the internet revolution, permitting us all to search through thousands of recipes like the ones you can find on this recipe site. |
We hope you enjoy this Chicken With Port~ Cream & Mushrooms recipe.
