breaktime

FYI, I'll be on an end-of-the-semester hiatus. Look for more posts starting in the middle of December.

Nutmeg Maple Cream Pie!

I decided to make this recipe for Bryan's birthday tomorrow. Kristina was planning to make her epic chocolate fudge cake, so I wanted to make something that was both non-chocolate, and non-cake. This seemed super seasonal and looked delicious, so I thought I'd give it a shot! (Original recipe from Smitten Kitchen)


Ingredients
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 1/4 cups heavy cream
4 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 9-inch pie crust


1. Par-bake pie crust: I used the same crust as I did in the Custard Pie last week.

Look! New pastry blender! It makes life SO much easier!

 

I tried rolling out the crust on parchment paper -

EXCELLENT idea. No flouring, no mess, easy transfer. 

Pie crust on the cookie sheet, and wrapped

in tinfoil before adding filling - MUCH better

method than last week's custard pie.

Only bake the crust for 5 to 10 minutes, until the edges just start to brown up. It will finish cooking as the filling cooks.

2. Prepare filling: In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, reduce maple syrup by a quarter, 5 to 7 minutes. 

 Stir in cream and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and egg. Whisking constantly, slowly add cream mixture to eggs. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a cup or bowl with pouring spout. Stir in salt, nutmeg, and vanilla.

4. Pour filling into crust and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. 

Bake until pie is firm to the touch, but jiggles slightly when moved, about 1 hour. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

After baking for an hour at 300 degrees this was 

nowhere near done. I had to bake it for an

additional 30 minutes at 360 degrees.

I was a bit worried when this came out of the oven... 

it looked like the top was on the verge of burning, but it 

seemed way too liquidy... but I took it out anyway,

and it looked much better after refrigerating overnight.

I sadly have to wait until tomorrow to taste, but from dipping my finger in the filling... it is going to be fabulous! I'll update on reactions tomorrow.

Update! I brought this into school for Bryan's birthday (early surprise!) but he was out sick. We ate it anyways, and the reviews were really good! I think it basically tastes like the fall holiday season - wonderful. Will definitely make again!

Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Let me preface this by saying that I am an eternal lover of all things salty and sweet. Once I stumbled upon this gem of a recipe, I just had to give it a shot. This is a Martha Stewart recipe that I found online at 52 Cupcakes.


Summary of the lessons learned after making this recipe multiple times - this recipe makes about 18 cupcakes, but you should still halve the batch for both the caramel and the frosting. also, heat the caramel to 375 for a firmer caramel filling.


The Cupcakes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar 
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 
3/4 teaspoon baking powder 
3/4 teaspoon salt 
2 large eggs 
3/4 cup buttermilk 
3 tablespoons vegetable oil 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
3/4 cup warm water 

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line mini muffin tin with paper liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add eggs, buttermilk, oil, extract, and the water; beat until smooth and combined.

Honestly, the first time I made this recipe, 

this batter looked super thin to me, so I added about

 1/2c flour. After that, it still  looked super thin. But... I decided 

to try a test batch, so  I baked a couple and they looked fine, so

this recipe may need a bit more flour, but it should still look

 thinner than the average cake batter when you put it in the oven.

The second time I made these cupcakes the batter looked fine...

i'm guessing i just screwed it up the first time. I would recommend

making the batter as-is.

Spoon the batter into liners about three-quarters full. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Cool completely.

Use a paring knife to cut a cone-shaped piece (about 1/2 inch deep) from the center of each cupcake and throw away the pieces. 

Throw away the pieces?!? What is Martha TALKING about!

Absurd.

Salted Caramel Filling
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups sugar 
2/3 cup water 
1 tablespoon light corn syrup 
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream 
2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, preferably fleur de sel 

Directions
Heat sugar with the water and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan over high, stirring occasionally, until syrup is clear; clip a candy thermometer to side of pan and stop stirring.

use a bigger pan than you think you'll need to...

later when you add the cream, it will expand, 

and you'll be grateful that you're not trying to

clean caramel off of your stovetop.

Boil, gently swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is caramelized and just reaches 360°F. 

the second time i made this, i accidentally

heated the caramel to 375 - excellent. the caramel

was a bit richer tasting, and had a firmer set in 

the cupcakes.

Remove from heat and slowly pour in cream; stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in sea salt.

Use immediately; if caramel begins to harden reheat gently until pourable.

Let me just say that my first batch of caramel did NOT 

come out nearly this well. This is what it looked like. 

... yea.  For some reason I turned down the heat after 

it started to boil, had it on a low boil for seriously an hour. 

then when I got frustrated that it wasn't caramelizing,  I

turned the heat up high, stirred furiously, and it just all crystallized. 
dumb idea. alton brown would be ashamed of me.

anyways, here's another shot of my pretty pretty caramel.

See, I did do it right! (eventually).


As written, this is really salty caramel (good, depending 
on your palette). The second time I made these I only 
added about 1 tsp sea salt, and they were great. 

Spoon 1 to 2 teaspoons warm Salted Caramel Filling into each hollowed-out cupcake. You will notice the caramel will sink into the cupcake a little, just fill it up a bit more.

Yea,  "1 to 2  teaspoons?"  I think I ended up with a little more

than a tablespoon  in each. As the caramel soaked into the

cupcake I just kept refilling them - I definitely had more than enough

caramel i'd halve the recipe next time.

Let the caramel cool completely.


Dark Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients:
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water
2 1/4 cups (4 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds best-quality semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Directions:
Combine cocoa and boiling water, stirring until cocoa has dissolved.

With electric mixer on medium-high, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add melted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the cocoa mixture. 

Yea... the first time i made this, it was
 way too thin. Way. I ended up more than 2 
more cups of powdered sugar until it was an 

appropriate consistency. 


the second time it was fine. 
just make sure not to melt the butter, just soften it.

Use a pastry bag with a medium open-star tip (I used Wilton #17) and pipe Dark Chocolate Frosting onto each cupcake.Garnish each cupcake with a swirl of caramel and a pinch of sea salt. Enjoy!

Here's the best series of pictures yet  :D

YUM!

Custard Pie

It's a bit surprising to me how seldom I have updated this blog recently, particularly considering how much I've been cooking. But I'm back! My new plan is one cooking/baking entry per week, and then the occasional political post.

On to the topic at hand... Custard Pie! This is the first pie I've ever made from scratch. Ever. I found the basic recipe in a cookbook of my roommates, "Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book" (updated for the 90s!), and edited it little by little from there.

First, the crust.

• 1 1/4 c flour
• 1/3 c shortening
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 c cold water

In a medium size mixing bowl, cut the shortening into the flour and salt. Then add the water 1 T at a time, mixing with a fork after each tablespoon added.

You're supposed to use a pastry blender to cut the 

shortening, but, alas, I don't own one.  Instead, 

I improvised. What did I use, you ask? Potato masher.

Form the dough into a ball, then flatten onto a lightly floured surface.

Roll out dough until it's about 12 inches in diameter. 

Here again was a need for me to improvise. I don't 

own a rolling pin.  And didn't know if my roommates 

had one. What did I use?

Ah yes, my trusty bottle of Jameson...

After the dough is rolled out, roll it onto the rolling pin (or Jameson), and transfer over to your pie dish.

Then you want to push the crust down so it lays flush against the pan. Then trim the outside edge so that it only overhangs about half an inch. Then you'll want to fold the excess under (to build up the crust). Also, generously prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork. Here you can decided to fork the edges or form the edge in some other way.

I decided on a nice fluted edge... simple to make, way 

cuter than just pressing a fork into the crust.

Bake at 450 degrees for 6 minutes, then take out of the oven.

Moving on to the filling!

• 4 eggs
• 2 1/2 c milk
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/2 t almond extract
• 1 pinch salt
• pinch of pumpkin pie spice

Whisk eggs until well mixed. Add sugar and vanilla, mix well. Slowly add milk. 

The recipe then suggests that you put the pie crust on the oven rack before you fill it, to help avoid spills. 

Unfortunately, my oven appears to be slightly off balance, 

especially when  one of the oven racks is pulled out. 

So...  spills.

Sprinkle pumpkin pie spice over top, and put aluminum foil around the edges of the crust to prevent burning. 

I know, I know, it looks like a mess... you try putting 

foil around a pie pan in  a hot oven with  a liquid 

center without spilling all over the place! 

Bake for 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven, remove foil, then bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle of the pie comes out clean. Basically, if you jiggle the oven rack or the pie pan, and the middle still looks liquidy, it needs to stay in a little longer. Wait for it to cool, and enjoy!

Now, I had a few snafus in making this pie... because of all the spills, and the generally odd suggestion of pouring the filling and wrapping foil around the pan with the pie in the oven (and therefore the preheated oven stayed open), I'm pretty sure the oven was nowhere near 350 when I actually closed the door to bake. I removed the foil 20 minutes later, and half an hour after that, the custard was still loose. I returned to check every 10 minutes, and maybe a half an hr later, it finally seemed ready to come out. The knife came out clean, and it didn't look or feel too giggly.

Sadly, after letting the pie cool for about a half an hour... it tasted kinda like raw egg.  So... I tried to put the pie back in the oven. After an extra half hour in the oven, it still tasted way to eggy. I rate this recipe a fail. :(

Update! After last week's success with the Maple Nutmeg Cream Pie, I think I'd be open to trying this recipe again. I'd bake ow, then turn up the heat to finish. Also, maybe let cool completely in the fridge before sampling. Who knows? Maybe it'll work next time!

sigh

for a while, i've been thinking about picking up loom knitting, but i wasn't sure if it would really be that much better for me than normal knitting. today i walked into joann fabrics, meandered around, looked at yarns, and REALLY got the knitting bug. i grabbed looms, yarn, and walked around the store in a glow of knitting excitement. then... i got apprehensive. so i put it all back.

after a short trip into petsmart, i popped right back into joann's and picked up everything again and checked out. for those of you unfamiliar with the price of yarn (btw, i was thinking of making a small blanket or throw), cha and ching.

super excited about my new acquisitions, and went right away to trying to develop some new skills. the first downside, i won't be able to loom knit without looking at it - that was one of my favorite parts about knitting! i could knit and watch tv or read a book oh well. that's something i can deal with. so i keep knitting. and... after just a couple hours (which in my world of knitting is really not much), i'm realizing that this is not going to work. too much pain for too little gain.

needless to say, i'm frustrated. i really do enjoy knitting - i like crafting things (even if my skills don't live up to Marisa's skills), having a finished product, and the joys of seeing something to completion, which is not something i do all that often. and i just can't do it anymore.

knitting sadness

as some of you know, i've had a lot of problems with my thumb/hand/wrist lately. sadly, i really can't knit until this is completely resolved. if i aggravate things too much, then i might need surgery. so no.

i am waiting for my birthday to ask for some knitting looms (hint hint), but until further notice, i will not be knitting. i know you're devastated, i'm sad too.

in the meantime, i want to learn how to quilt.

"for neda"

neda was the young woman who was killed in the post election protests in iran just over a year ago. today i watched "for neda," a documentary about her life, political convictions, family, and death. i had a very strong emotional reaction to this film, a reaction that i do not recall having at the time, and it's jarred me quite a bit.

first, even just seeing the camera phone video of her death (or murder, call it what you will) evoked anger and tears. her death was brutal. unjust. heinous. unscrupulous. ruthless. it is just one example of the lengths that some are willing to take to maintain power (even after rigging an election)

when the footage was shown of the sheer number of soldiers on the street during (what began as) peaceful protests was appalling. i would have to resist the urge to soil myself and run away, and i would certainly not have the bravery to join the accelerating protests.

i don't know why this all affected me so profoundly. i have never been an intensely patriotic/go america/toby keith is awesome/U!S!A! U!S!A! type of individual, but seeing this just made me feel like i have been taking everything i have for granted. the simple fact that the president is not engaging in massive election fraud and using the military to effectively hold the nation hostage was something that i never seriously... related to. i've always been aware that it happens. but this film made me feel an acute sense of empathy for those who live and struggle under such regimes and a great swelling of pride and respect for those willing to risk their lives to attempt to steer the future of their states.

if you'd like to watch "for neda" i believe it is on HBO on demand. i will most likely expand this post over the next day or two, but i really wanted to put this up while i felt this way.

obama's back

as you may or may not know, i'm interning for a gubernatorial campaign this summer (which i love), and the campaign was so wonderful as to acquire tickets for 5 of the interns to go down to racine for president obama's town hall meeting on the economy.

timeline:
8:00 am - leave fond du lac for milwaukee
9:30 am - leave milwaukee for racine
10:15 am - arrive in Racine, find the line to wait to get into the hall
11:00 am - doors schedule to open
11:30 am - line starts moving
12:15 pm - find seats in the center balcony

1:10 pm - national anthem and pledge of alegience
1:20 pm - president obama begins opening remarks

Needless to say, there was a lot of waiting and milling around. anyways... after seeing president obama speak, i have determined (and i know that the world hangs on my every word) that campaign barack is back. He still has the skip in his step, the measured, spontaneous, self depricating humor, and the beaming smile you can feel from 200 feet away.

it was inspiring. and moving. president obama will be here to stay. there will be challenges during the midterm elections for sure, but once the president gets back on the campaign trail in 2012, all will be well with the world. that time can't come soon enough for some of us.

peace, love, and president obama,

amanda

Outreach to Vice President Joe Biden and the American Media

Below is my way of expressing my frustration with both Vice President Biden and the media. For those of you who are unaware of the happenings, check out this youtube clip to see local news coverage of Custard Coup 2010. It has been blown way out of proportion, a conclusion I'm sure you could glean from the text below.

Mr. Vice President - 

Please let me begin by saying that I have nothing but the greatest respect for you, your staff, and your foreign policy experience. I am grateful for the gravitas that you provided for the Obama Campaign in 2008, and I am aware that you may be frustrated by the relative obscurity and, well, uselessness of the VP position. Constitutionally, you're not required to do anything unless President Obama were to die or resign. I can understand how feelings of frustration would be difficult to control for a man of your political stature. I hope that I have made my respect for you clear enough that it is acceptable for me to be more candid with you.

Mr. Vice President, you were in a frozen custard restaurant. Kopps. In Wisconsin. The purpose of this visit was for you to have your photo taken enjoying a midwestern favorite, and possibly to pave the way for President Obama's Wisconsin visit later this summer. This was no place to have a verbal spar with a Kopps Assistent Manager, even in jest. 

I know this is not your first transgression of this type. You are widely considered to be the most "gaff-prone" vice president in history (or at least in the short history of the modern media). I apologize to be quoting wikipedia (something for which I will have to repent later by reading the dictionary or practicing calculus problems, so offended is my academic side), but "according to political analyst Mark Halperin, he has shown 'a persistent tendency to say silly, offensive, and off-putting things;' The New York Times writes that Biden's 'weak filters make him capable of blurting out pretty much anything.'" Mr. Vice President, I beseech you. Please try to keep in mind where you are and with whom you are talking. This is all I ask.

I apologize Mr. Vice President, but now the kid gloves must come off. I have a hard time that this even occurred. It was CUSTARD. There's NO reason for you to turn that into a NATIONAL NEWS STORY. I return to wikipedia (my penance must now include reading a 600 page book in spanish). "Nor is Biden known for modesty; journalist James Traub has written that 'Biden’s vanity and his regard for his own gifts seem considerable even by the rarefied standards of the U.S. Senate.'" I don't think this is an ego problem for you. I just think that you lack the filters that we ALL need in life (and not just in public life) to avoid ruffling too many feathers.


Please, Mr. Vice President, remember that people hear (and listen to!) what you say.


Respectfully,

Amanda






Dear American Media - 


Get a f*cking life. Report REAL news. I'm over your obsession with non-news. That goes double for you, local news!


Grow a pair,
Amanda

mexican food

i enjoy mexican food. always. i LOVE real corn tortillas, soft, and hot off the tortilla press, topped with almost anything.

mexican food should NOT be confused with fake mexican. fake mexican, which takes the same 5 ingredients and combines them in nearly endless (and repetitive) permutations. hey look! it's a new menu item from taco bell! it has a tortilla! and spiced meat! lettuce! holy shit! and CHEESE!!! and MORE GOOEY FAKE CHEESE! jesucristo, what a unique creation!

real mexican food (from an authentic restaurant, or made at home), can have surprising depth of flavor, beyond just cumin. Almonds, unsweetened chocolate, and pumpkin are all among the unexpected flavors that you can find in authentic mexican. today i went to a local authentic (YES you CAN get authentic ethnic food in the midwest) mexicarn restaurant in milwaukee with a couple friends and had a delicious dish with mole almendrado... amazing. the dish was simple: grilled chicken covered in mole, with veggie rice and tortillas along with the usual lettuce, tomato, and sour cream on the side. there was also a delicious spicy tortilla soup with just a tad of queso chihuahua (NOT nacho cheese. or pepperjack. or whatever nasty americanized cheese most places slather on). after having this mole for the first time in a couple years, i decided that successfully making a real mole sauce would be my next cooking quest.

when i mentioned this ambition to my good friend marisa over at policy-and-purls.blogspot.com, she said "mole is one of those things you just can't make, I think. unless you are 80 years old... it's soooo complicated, and requires like a zillion ingredients... but that's why it's so damn good." with that challenging? disheartening? harsh? feedback in mind, my resolve to perfect a mole was steeled.

i plan to make my mole creations over the weekend, and until then, i'll be looking for some base recipes to add my own flavor too... i'll update then!

Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Buttercream Frosting

i was searching for a dessert that would challenge me, but for which i would also have the requisite tools. i kept running into elaborate tarts, or basic pies and cakes. then... voila. guiness cupcakes with irish buttercream frosting. the fact that there were two types of alcohol mentioned in just the name of the dessert had absolutely no impact on my decision to bake these. none... whatsoever... really. i swear ;) Here's the recipe (found at nibbledish.com).

ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• ½ cup Guinness
• 1 stick butter
• 3/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• ¾ tsp of baking soda
• 3/8 tsp of salt
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup sour cream

For filling:

• 4 oz bittersweet chocolate (small shavings)
• 1/3 c heavy whipping cream
• 1 tbs butter (room temperature)

For buttercream:

• 1½ cups powdered sugar
• ½ stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 3 tbs Baileys Irish Cream

Making the cupcakes:
Take unsalted butter and Guinness and let simmer in a small sauce pan.  When mixture is simmering, add cocoa powder and whisk thoroughly.  Turn off heat and allow mixture to cool.  

I made the very amateur (but very "me") mistake of  accidentally turning my stove all the way to low instead of off, and was afraid that i may have slightly burned the mixture, but it all turned out ok. 

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar.  Whisk.

In a large mixing bowl, combine egg and sour cream.  Whisk until the consistency begins to look like cream.

Take Guinness mixture from fridge and combine into egg/sour cream mix bowl.  Whisk. It will look really chocolately and creamy once it's all mixed. 

When I let the guinness/chocolate mixture cool, it separated quite a bit. and repeatedly. every time i checked this mixture, it separated. i was slightly worried that it hadn't emulsified, but figured that this wasn't the finished product, so I should just keep going. Once I mixed it into the sour cream/egg mixture, everything was just fine.

Add your flour mix, and continue to whisk thoroughly.

Using a large spoon, scoop mix into lined muffin pan.  Place in oven and allow to bake. Mine took approximately 28 minutes at 350 degrees.
 

Filling:
Bring heavy cream to a simmer in a small sauce pan.

Pour over bittersweet chocolate.  Allow to sit for one minute, then whisk. Add in butter and continue to whisk until consistency becomes creamy.

Pipe filling into center of each cupcake.

i piped the filling into the cupcakes when they were not quite cool... i wanted to make sure that the cupcakes had a bit of give when i added the filling. i had never filled cupcakes before, so there were a few where i think i piped in too much, but hey, can you really complain about TOO MUCH chocolatey filling?

Baileys Butter Cream Frosting
Beat the butter with an electric mixer - it MUST be at room temperature.  Add in a few tablespoons of powdered sugar at a time and continue to whisk.  

Once all the sugar has been used up, add in Baileys and keep whisking.  If the frosting becomes too thin, add in a few more tablespoons of powdered sugar. 

Pipe or spread butter cream over cupcakes and serve.

The finished product :)

recipe feedback: my mom seemed really enthusiastic about this cupcake... she thought it was "perfect... wouldn't change a thing." my dad also enjoyed it, though he has more of a sweet tooth (like me), and was not as keen on it. my response? i thought that the combination of not very sweet cake with unsweetened filling was... a bit underwhelming. don't get me wrong! the bailey's buttercream was plenty sweet. PLENTY. but it will be something I remember if i make this recipe again.

changes: with the above feedback in mind, i think i would just change the bittersweet chocolate in the filling to semi-sweet. Just that bit more sweetness would make all the difference. that was my only change :)

lessons learned: clean as you go. seriously. clean as you go. and this is only half the kitchen :)

Edit: I just made these cupcakes again, and either I went hog-wild the first time or forgot to mention it - the yield is only 1 dozen. you do NOT need all 4 oz of bittersweet chocolate. In the future I'd make about half as much filling. 

a father's day foray - brandied curry chicken.

this past weekend was, as you likely know, father's day weekend. my sister lives in california, and i was fortunate enough to be able to be in wisconsin with my dad for father's day. of course, i decided to make him dinner. i wished my sister could've been there, so i decided to use one of her favorite recipes (she is ALWAYS bragging about it) for the first time.

so that you have the proper visual, please keep in mind that i did almost zero prep for this, so while my dad was enjoying a beverage on the patio, i was in my mother's kitchen, running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to find both the necessary ingredients and the requisite culinary equipment.

please note that this recipe is an adaptation of a Sunny Anderson recipe. my version of the recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 large skinless chicken breasts, cut in large pieces (approx 2"x1")
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup half & half
• 2 1/2 cups seedless red grapes
• 8 ounces egg noodles
• 3 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and sear on both sides just until golden. Remove chicken and set aside. Turn heat down to medium-low. In the same pan, add the remaining oil, if needed, and saute onion, garlic and curry. Deglaze with brandy, scraping up brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add chicken back to pan and stir in heavy cream and half & half. Cover and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes. Add the grapes and noodles, return to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken juices run clear when poked with a fork and sauce is the desired thickness. Stir in mustard and dill. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper and serve immediately. 

tips and observations: after searing, the chicken will NOT be cooked all the way though, don't worry. i had never cooked chicken like this, part way, then returning it to the pan. i was anxious. DON'T worry. it'll be fine. After sauteing the onion & garlic, if the pan is too hot, the brandy will reduce too quickly. if this happens, just add a bit more brandy to fully deglaze. having a bit more brandy flavor is just fine, especially if it lets you get all the yummy bits off the bottom of the pan.

lesson learned: just do your prep work. i had wanted to spend as much time with my dad as possible, so i skipped out on a lot of the prep, but this just made me stressed and insane once the cooking actually started. especially on holidays, it's easy to put it off, but just DO IT. 5 minutes of planning is worth 20 minutes of freaking out and running around your kitchen looking for the garlic.

recipe feedback: everyone LOVED this recipe. it has a hint of sweetness, but the spice of the mustard, the depth of the curry, and the creaminess of the, well, cream, really make for a well balanced dish. the leftovers were good, the sauce was quite thickened (to be expected), but it was surprisingly good cold. reheated, the oil separated from the sauce, making it greasier than when it was fresh.


changes: my only negative - the dish is rather unappetizing to look at. really blah looking. if i were making it again, i would try adding some garnish - probably of fresh grapes and dill over the top, not just mixed in. also, this would make a really flavorful vegetarian side dish... just omit the chicken. the sauce would miss out on a bit of the flavor, but it's so rich anyways, you'll never know! i would NOT suggest trying to make this dish healthy. if the sheer volume of heavy whipping cream didn't set you off... well... then i have nothing more to say to you.


i can only take a little of the credit. my sister suggested the recipe, and many of the edits from the original recipe were from her suggestions. it's because of her that we had such a delicious father's day dinner. thanks jess :)