ISO: ISO Curious and kpinky, I made the Joy of Cooking Chicken Morengo (post 506)

[joe]

last night, after Curious was kind enough to scan it for me (post 506) and kpinky added that it was a favorite of her mother's.

The flavor was even better than I remember (20 years ago I probably used a can of supermarket olives and didn't know to peel the pearl onions.) but here are some cautionary notes:

Chickens have changed since this recipe was written--they're so much bigger now. Trader Joe's had small organic kosher chickens, about 3 lbs., that would have been perfect, for about $12.00 each. Right next to them there were free-range chickens, about 5 lbs., for about $8.00 each. Of course I went with the huge Chernobyl chickens--I couldn't pass up "more for less."

I used more wine and tomatoes and about a quart chicken stock to cover the chicken for braising, then reduced the liquid for much longer than the 5 minutes called for.

I assembled it in my big cassoulet dish and it really looked gorgeous, but then my oven wouldn't light (it's been acting up lately.) I have a smaller oven/broiler that wouldn't fit the dish, so I undid my beautiful presentation and transferred half the recipe to pyrex. Next I discovered I was out of rice and had to boil pasta instead--not as good.

The sauce was a little soupy and the big chicken pieces were barely done but we licked our plates anyway. Tonight I'll reduce the sauce more and let the chicken cook in it a while, I'll buy some rice, and next time I'll spring for the smaller chickens.

Thanks again. Here's the recipe again, I really do reccommend it!

CHICKEN MARENGO

8 Servings

This was the dish served to Napoleon after he had fasted through his victory at Marengo. Composed of findings from the nearby countryside, the dish was such a success that from there on in, Napoleon's chef had to prepare it after every battle. It is a good buffet casserole which profits by a day's aging, refrigerated.

Cut into quarters:

2 frying chickens

Sauté until delicately colored:

1 thinly sliced onion

in:

1/2 cup olive oil

then remove. Add the chicken pieces and brown on all sides. Add:

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 crushed garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 bay leaf

Sprigs of parsley

1 cup Chicken Stock

2 cups Italian-style tomatoes

Cover the pot and simmer about 1 hour, until tender. When meat is done, remove it to a platter. Strain the sauce and reduce it about 5 minutes and:

Season to taste

Sauté:

16 to 20 small white onions

1 lb. sliced mushrooms

in:

1/4 cup butter

Juice of 1 lemon

Arrange chicken quarters, mushrooms, onions and:

1 cup pitted black olives

in a deep earthenware casserole. Sprinkle over all:

1 jigger brandy

Add the sauce and reheat in a 350° oven.

Garnish with:

Chopped parsley

Serve with:

Boiled Rice or Wild Rice

 

[curious1]

Glad it lived up to it's memory, I thought it looked good and will try it sometime. Thanks for the

cautionary notes. I know what you mean about the size of chickens. I find the same thing with older recipes for chicken breasts. They are huge now, and it tends to skew the recipe especially cooking times. Hope you get your oven fixed soon (or a new one, perhaps...lol?)

 

[kpinky]

Thanks for the update and sorry you had some trouble!

As I recall, the sauce is supposed to be runny. But it's so full of goodies that it's nice and chunky. Mom used all chicken breasts, I believe, as it ensures that everyone at the party has sort of the same thing. She always liked nice presentation...and white meat. I'm gonna have to make it this weekend.

 

[joe]

Trouble with the oven, not the recipe. White meat would be good for company>>>

but I'm a big fan of dark meat for braises like this. Either way, the recipe is a winner. Notice that Joanie put together a one-pot Caribbean version of it below.

I can't recall a recipe that combines the classic French mushroom/onion garnish AND olives. YUM!

I re-read your post and I realize you lost your mom quite recently. My condolences, please. It's been 7 years for me and cooking her favorites has been a great healer.