Crusty Chicken Thighs with Mushroom Sauce

I came across a video of Jaques Pepin making soup from whatever he found in the refrigerator and he mentioned that he didn't throw away the chicken skins.  He crisped them up in the oven.  He didn't give any details on how he did it, he just had some that he broke up and added to the soup, like crackers.  I wanted to try that so I looked for his method of crisping up chicken skin and when I was looking, I found his recipe for crusty chicken thighs and decided I'd make that for dinner today.  I also came across a recipe for strawberry mousse.  I had not made that since before I met Charlie's mom so decided to make that too.  We had some kim che with it but it didn't make it into the picture.

Jacques Pepin’s Crusty Chicken Thighs with Mushroom Sauce

Yield: 4 servings

• 4 large chicken thighs, about 1 3/4 pounds total, skin on
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic
• 3 cups washed and diced white mushrooms or cremini mushrooms
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or green portion of green onion

Procedure:

1. Arrange chicken thighs skin side down on a cutting board. Using a sharp paring knife, trim off any excess skin at the edges and cut about 1/2-inch deep into the flesh on either side of the thigh bone. (This will help the meat cook more quickly.) Sprinkle the thighs with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and arrange them skin side down in one layer in a nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid.

2. Place skillet over high heat and when thighs start sizzling reduce heat to medium, cover tightly and cook for 16 to 18 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure the chicken is browning properly. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 150 degrees. If chicken seems to be cooking too fast after 10 minutes or so, reduce heat to low. The skin of the chicken should be very crisp and brown. Transfer the chicken, skin side up, to an ovenproof platter and place in oven.

3. Discard all but 2 tablespoons fat from the skillet in which you cooked the chicken. Add onion, garlic and mushrooms; sauté over high heat for about 3 minutes. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper on the mushrooms and then add the wine and any liquid that has accumulated around the thighs on the platter. Cook the sauce over high heat for about 1 minute to reduce liquid.

4. To serve, divide the sauce among 4 plates. Place thigh in the middle of mushroom sauce on each plate, spoon some sauce over and sprinkle on chives and serve.

Nutrition information (per serving): 330 calories (46 percent from fat), 17 g fat, 4.1 g saturated fat, 50 mg cholesterol, 31 g carbohydrates, 24 g protein, 470 mg sodium, 2 g fiber

Source: Jacques Pepin, “Jacques Pepin More Fast Food My Way” (Houghton Mifflin, $32) 

Easy Fresh Strawberry  Mousse

This Easy Fresh Strawberry Mousse is made with only 3 ingredients, no gelatin and no bake.  The perfect creamy fluffy Mousse dessert.  A delicious dessert to serve at any occasion.  

Prep Time  10 mins chilling time1 hr Total Time10 mins

Course: DessertCuisine: American Servings: 4 servings Calories: 330kcal Author: Rosemary Molloy

Ingredients

• 12 1/2 ounces strawberries (3/4 pound)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup whole or whipping cream (cold)
• extra strawberries for topping

Instructions

• Clean and slice the strawberries, In a blender or food processor add the sliced strawberries and the sugar and puree.  Remove 1/2 a cup of puree and set aside.
  
• In a cold bowl add the cream and beat until stiff peaks form.  Then fold in the remaining puree (not the 1/2 cup) gently.
  
• Divide the 1/2 cup of puree between the 4 small/medium** glasses and top with the strawberry mousse.  Refrigerate for approximately 1 hour or even over night if desired.  Top with fresh sliced strawberries and serve.  Enjoy.
  
• ** for size purposes, the glasses I used hold 1 cup of water.
  

Notes

For anyone wanting to use this as a filling (eg pie or cake), this might help, whip the cream until soft peaks form, then in a small pot add 1 tablespoon of water and sprinkle the teaspoon of gelatine on top, let stand one minute, then place the pot on low heat and heat just until the gelatine has dissolved whisk until smooth, do not boil, then immediately remove from heat. Pour the gelatine (slightly cooled but not thickened if it does thicken too much then warm it up again) into the cream and continue to whip until firm peaks form, then continue with the recipe.