Question of the Day/Week: What recipe sounds absolutely horrid but when you tried it. . .

Chicken Marbella from the Silver Palate Cookbook.

I was totally against adding PRUNES to this dish, but it's just awesome. I have made it numerous times and it's one of our favorite dishes.

 
I tried this one and just didn't get it! I read so many good things about it...

We were totally underwhelmed with the dish. It smelled fab when it was marinating, but the cooked dish just didn't do it for us.

It was a long time ago, and I really want to try it again, since so many people just love this dish. Maybe I did something wrong the last time!

 
Chicken in Red Wine Vinegar posted by Charlie.... even picky DH loved it!

Chicken in Red Wine Vinegar

Recipe By :paula Wolfert (posted by Charlie)
Serving Size : 4

14 tablespoons red wine vinegar (use a good pinot noir vinegar)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon honey (I added 2)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 large chicken thighs -- trimmed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 garlic cloves -- thinly sliced
3 large shallots -- thinly sliced
3/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons crème fraîche *** (I added 3 Tbl. whipping cream)
3 tablespoons chopped tarragon

In a medium saucepan, bring the vinegar, broth, honey and tomato paste to a boil, stirring well. Simmer the vinegar sauce until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 8 minutes.
Heat the butter in a large, heavy skillet. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and add half of them to the skillet, skin side down. Cook over moderate heat, turning once, until browned. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining thighs.
Add the garlic and shallots to the skillet and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the wine; boil until reduced to 1/4 cup. Add the vinegar sauce and bring to a simmer.
Return the chicken to the skillet, skin side up. Cover and simmer over low heat until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to plates.
Add the crème fraîche to the skillet and boil for 3 minutes. Add the tarragon and season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

*** make your own creme fraiche by mixing equal parts cream and sour cream, or by stirring a little buttermilk into the whipping cream (6 parts cream to 1 part buttermilk)

http://eat.at/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=31207

 
I would not say horrid....

... but I thought it was very strange, and had no idea if we would like it

Of course, coming from Jacques Pepin, it's hard to imagine it would be anything but delicious!

smileys/smile.gif

it involved frying a boiled egg, and if you want to see recipe here is the link

http://bewitchingkitchen.com/2010/05/14/a-simple-salad-a-la-jacques-pepin/

This is an interesting topic, I'll have to think about it more, I'm sure there are other examples

http://bewitchingkitchen.com/2010/05/14/a-simple-salad-a-la-jacques-pepin/

 
You all are so brave. If it sounds horrid to me, I don't make it. I have so many that sound

delicious but admit I probably miss out on a lot by not being more adventurous.

 
I would never make it without some kind of endorsement...

... either from someone in a cooking forum that I know enough to realize our taste in food is similar, or from a chef (TV, cookbooks, net)

ALong those lines, there is a recipe in Michael Symon's Live to Cook, that he swears is delicious, but it sounds pretty nasty - IIRC is a dressing. I don't have the book right now with me to check it out, but I've been thinking of making it soon

 
This seems to be essentially a pineapple cheesecake that is served . . .

Warm, no? No eggs of course but all that dairy and the sweetness of the pineapple, well, if is looks like cheesecake and quacks like cheesecake, weelllll,! smileys/smile.gif

 
Same for me...when I walked into our neighbors home and that wonderful smell hit me in the face

it was glorious. When served, there was just something about all the cooked fruit that turned me off. It was just OK...and she is a fabulous cook. It tasted fine, so I think it was just my preferences.

 
The first time I made it, it was horrible! But since so many were oooh-ing and awww-ing over it,

I decided to give it another try.

I used the best green olives (some olives has a bitterness to them that I don't like). I used Demerrara sugar (it's not as sweet as refined sugar), I used the best red wine vinegar (to cut some of the acidity) and I added a little more herbs than the recipe said. I made sure to marinate it overnight and this time I got it right.

I think Chicken Marbella is a recipe that requires *the* very best ingrediants because once one of the flavour overpowers the others, the dish is doomed.

 
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