Le Poulet Marengo and Rice with Garlic and Pine Nuts, Part 2

Ingredients:

1 chicken cut into pieces for frying



4 tablespoons olive oil



2 medium onions, sliced



1/2 cup chicken broth



1/4 cup of dry white wine



1 tablespoon of Napoleon's cognac (or Brandy)



3 tablespoons tomato paste

(alternatively 1 can 2lbs of peeled tomatoes)



2 cloves of garlic, crushed



1 teaspoon chopped, fresh parsley



1 teaspoon chopped, fresh basil



1 pinch + of cayenne power



1 pound white mushrooms



4 rounds of French bread



4 large shrimp in the shell



4 eggs



salt and freshly ground black pepper



Optional garnishes:



black olives



fresh parsley



iron stomach





Process:

Rinse and pat dry the chicken with paper towels.



Sprinkle with salt and pepper and dredge with flour



Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot.



Add chicken and quickly brown on all sides.



Remove chicken to a plate and reserve.



Add onions cook until slightly browned.



Add the garlic, cognac, white wine, chicken broth, can of peeled tomatoes, herbs, cayenne, salt and pepper and bring to a high simmer.



Reduce heat, cover and simmer gently for 15 - 20 minutes.



Return the chicken pieces to the saucepan, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.



If you find your Marengo mixture needs some thickening then in a cup mix a spoonful of flour with white wine making sure your work out all the lumps and then blend in to the sauce.



Now it's multi-tasking time:



While the chicken is cooking, heat another small frying pan with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil until hot, but not smoking. Lightly fry the rounds of bread until slightly browned. Set them aside on paper towels.



Heat another pan over high heat with butter and olive oil. As soon as you see that the butter foam has started to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add the mushrooms. Toss and shake the pan for 4 to 5 minutes. During their saute, in 2 to 3 minutes the fat will reappear on the surface and the mushrooms will begin to brown. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove them from the pan and add to your dish.



If you are going to add an egg, the one at a time fry the eggs in the hot oil and set them on or next to the bread croutons.



Add the shrimp to the hot oil and fry until they just curl up, about 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.



Putting it all together



Using a slotted spoon place chicken on serving platter.



Place the four croutons with eggs around the chicken and intersperse the shrimp between the eggs.



Spoon any sauce over chicken. Garnish with olives and parsley.



This can be kept warm, lightly covered with aluminum foil in a 250 F degree oven.





Rice with Garlic and Pine Nuts



4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 1 tablespoon olive oil



1 garlic head (this quantity serves a dual purpose by also providing wonderful protection from vampires)



5 cups cooked rice



3/4 cup pine nuts



salt and pepper

 

Remove all the cloves of garlic from the head.



Take a smallish saucepan and heat to boiling about a cup of water; add the cloves of garlic and simmer for about 1 minute- drain, peel the garlic (which should be softish and should peel easily) and set aside.



In a small saucepan, melt the butter together with the olive oil over medium heat. Reduce the temperature low, then add the peeled garlic cloves to the butter mixture; stir well.



Saute slowly on lowest heat until tender and golden, at least 20 minutes (but it can take as long as 30 if you are opening up several bottles of wine), stirring and checking occasionally to make sure they do not burn.



Remove cloves from pan - pour any remaining butter into a wide skillet; thoroughly mash the garlic with a fork.



Heat the "garlic drippings" in the wide skillet. Swirl in the mashed garlic. Add the cooked rice and pine nuts. (If the mixture seems a little dry, you may add more butter to taste, if you like.)



Saute, stirring and tossing, until the rice is heated through and has absorbed the butter.



Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.



Serve hot.



Napoleon (mille feuille)



Just eat it.