Not only is this recipe for Provencal Chicken with Vegetables easy enough for a weeknight meal, but it’s also delicious enough to serve to company. The flavorful chicken is rubbed with Dijon mustard and Herbes de Provence then roasted in the same pan as the vegetables. Serve with roasted potatoes or crusty bread.

P.S. As much as I love green olives, I didn’t have any on hand so they didn’t make it into the recipe. The meal was still a success! Enjoy!

Provencal Chicken with Vegetables
-recipe from Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine

Roasted chicken gets a stylish French makeover with herbs, carrots, and olives. Yield: Serves 4

1 pound carrots, peeled, halved crosswise then lengthwise (and quartered lengthwise if thick)
2 large onions, quartered, layers separated
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried Herbes de Provence or thyme
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 cup pitted green olives
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 475 degrees, with rack in top position. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss carrots and onions with oil. Push vegetables to sides of sheet, and place chicken in center. Using your fingers, carefully loosen skin. In a small bowl, combine Dijon and Herbes de Provence. Spread mixture under skin. Season chicken and vegetables with salt and pepper.

Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of chicken (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees, 30 to 35 minutes, tossing vegetables once. Transfer chicken to a serving platter, and loosely tent with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Add olives to sheet with vegetables, and gently toss. Return to oven; roast until vegetables begin to brown and liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Remove sheet from oven; add parsley and lemon juice, and toss. Serve chicken alongside vegetables.

Tags: carrots, Chicken, chicken breasts, French, Herbes de Provence, Martha Stewart Everyday Food, onions, Provencal, roasted chicken, vegetables

I just whipped up this super-easy Country French Omelet from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredientscookbook. Although the omelet is nothing fancy, it is really good. It makes a nice meal for breakfast or lunch.

I used 6 large eggs instead of 5 extra-large, red potatoes instead of yukon golds, and green onions instead of chives. For a nice lunch, serve with a salad. Enjoy!

Country French Omelet
-recipe from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients by Ina Garten

Jeffrey and I have a wonderful routine when we go to Paris. We arrive late morning, drop our bags, and rush to Café Varenne for lunch. They make this fabulous country omelet with bacon, potatoes, and chopped chives. It’s such a satisfying breakfast or lunch. If you want to serve four people, double the recipe and make it in two pans.

1 tablespoon good olive oil
3 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, 1-inch-diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 extra large eggs
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a 10-inch ovenproof omelet pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for 3 to 5 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is browned but not crisp. Take the bacon out of the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate.

Place the potatoes in the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue to cook over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until very tender and browned, tossing occasionally to brown evenly. Remove with a slotted spoon to the same plate with the bacon.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the eggs, milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together with a fork. After the potatoes are removed, pour the fat out of the pan and discard. Add the butter, lower the heat to low, and pour the eggs into the hot pan. Sprinkle the bacon, potatoes, and chives evenly over the top and place the pan in the oven for about 8 minutes, just until the eggs are set. Slide onto a plate, divide in half, and serve hot.

Tags: bacon, chives, Eggs, French, omelet, oven-safe non-stick pan, potatoes

Husband loves meat, especially meat mixed with wine. It must be some kind of man thing. Anyway, for Husband’s birthday recently I wanted to make him a hearty meal that I know he would love. I decided on Beef Bourguignon (pronounced boor-gee-nyawn). Basically, it’s just beef stew cooked with a boat load of red wine. Meaty, satisfying, and delicious! The only thing I did differently with the recipe was to add some quartered red potatoes while the stew cooked instead of making the grilled bread with garlic. I did serve the stew with bread…just not on top of it. It’s also great served over mashed potatoes. I don’t think igniting the Cognac is necessary; it’s not worth the risk of singeing your eyebrows. Just add the Cognac and let it be. The recipe was a little time consuming (searing, simmering, cooking in the oven, etc.) but it was well worth it because Husband loved his Birthday Beef Bourguignon. It’s also a great entertaining dish because it can all be done a day or two ahead of time then reheated. 

Beef Bourguignon
-recipe by Ina Garten at foodnetwork.com
Serves: 6 servings

1 tablespoon good olive oil
8 ounces dry cured center cut applewood smoked bacon, diced
2 1/2 pounds chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
1/2 cup Cognac
1 (750 ml.) bottle good dry red wine such as Cote du Rhone or Pinot Noir
1 can (2 cups) beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound frozen whole onions
1 pound fresh mushrooms stems discarded, caps thickly sliced

For serving:
Country bread or Sour Dough, toasted or grilled and rubbed with garlic clove
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, optional
 
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.

Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside.

Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. Put the meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add the bottle of wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork.

Combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew. Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.

To serve, toast the bread in the toaster or oven. Rub each slice on 1 side with a cut clove of garlic. For each serving, spoon the stew over a slice of bread and sprinkle with parsley.

Tags: Beef, French, stew, wine