Cooking Lesson #1: Chicken Dinner Recipe

For my birthday I received 4 private cooking lessons in my home with a French trained chef. French cuisine is elegant and delicious with the rich sauces. I never knew that I could make it myself at home until now. Thought I'd share my cooking lesson adventure with you.  Are you ready for a Chicken Dinner recipe?

First step to making the chicken dinner was to debone a chicken.  Unfortunately I did not take photos of the steps as I was concentrating on the task itself, however, I have found a good step-by-step instructions for Cutting Up a Whole Chicken.  My variation was that I just deboned the chicken into two halves.

Why debone a chicken? 

1)  So you have the bones to make chicken stock

2) Takes less time to cook two chicken halves in the oven

Before I can even start thinking about the french cuisine inspired chicken dinner, I have to get the basics down first. The first reason to debone a chicken was to make a basic necessity: Homemade Chicken Stock.

1. Roast the bones in the oven at 350 degrees while you prepare the vegetables.

2. Cut onions, carrots, and celery in large pieces and put in a large stock pot. Those are the basic three. Feel free to liven it up with other veggies that you have in your fridge. I added mushroom stems.

3. Spice it up with a dried bay leaf, fresh rosemary and thyme. Add black peppercorns.

4. Bring chicken bones, vegetables, spices and water to a boil in the stock pot.

5. Simmer it on low for 3 hours.

1. Saute butter, onion and garlic in a pot. Add two cups of rice to pot and mix so the rice is heated. Rice will turn translucent.

2. Add four cups chicken stock or water to the pot one at a time. Fun cooking trick: I added one cup of cold water to the pot and the water boiled instantly from the heat of the rice.

3. Bring everything to a boil on the stove.

4. Put oven proof pot and rice mixture in oven at 250 degrees.

There is a lovely brown sauce that's put on top of the chicken dinner. Here are the steps to make it from scratch.

1. Make your Roux. Put oil and flour in a small saucepan and mix together til it thickens. This is the thickener for the sauce.

2. In another saucepan, saute sliced mushroom caps in butter til nicely brown. After the mushrooms are browned, add chopped onion and minced garlic.

3. Add roux and chicken stock to create a nice sauce. As it simmers on the stove, the sauce will thicken.

4. Chop one pear into the sauce. Add more chicken stock as the sauce thickens.

5. Continue to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Remember the chicken halves that you deboned earlier. I seared the chicken in a frying pan first before baking in a 350 degrees oven. Remember that your rice will be done by now so you can take it out of the oven before the chicken goes in.

1. Put a little oil in a large frying pan.

2. Put chicken half skin down first in frying pan. Season with pepper and salt.

3. Turn and slightly brown on both sides.

4. Repeat with other chicken half and put on baking sheet to be baked in the over for 20 - 30 minutes.

1. Chop half a cauliflower head, half a broccoli crown and four carrots. Carrots are to be cut into matchsticks. Slice one onion.

2. Stirfry veggies in a large pan. Cover the pan to heat quickly.

3. Vegetables will be done in 6-8 minutes.

On your plate, put the Rice Pilaf on one half of the plate. On top of the rice, put a Chicken half. Top that with the Mushroom and Pear Sauce. Sprinkle some parsley on top. On the other half of the plate, put the Cauliflower, Broccoli and Carrot Stirfry.

Voila your french cuisine inspired Chicken Dinner is complete!

My homework: Debone a Chicken again within a week before I forgot how to do it. I'm hoping this article will help me remember how to make the Chicken Dinner Recipe again.

Tired of Chicken?  Cook a Sunday Night Roast Beef Dinner.

You'll have a big pot of chicken stock leftovers to use in other recipes during the week.  Not sure what to do with it?  Check out the Chicken Stock Leftovers Recipe Ideas.