Perfect for Warm Weather: Slow Cooker Coq au Vin

Stews and soups seem odd for spring and summer cooking. If I can throw everything into a slow cooker at the start of a beautiful day, head outside, enjoy the weather and get home and have a meal waiting for me, I say "Huzzah, bring on the slow cooker!"

These nice long days are getting me outdoors more, leaving me a little less time to cook. The slow cooker sitting in my pantry has been calling my name. It's the perfect solution for a beautiful day. Just a half hour of prep, including a little bit of browning, and I was out the door with a promise of a great tasting coq au vin waiting for me at the end of the day.

I'm still figuring out proportions on my slow cooker recipes. Coq au vin is one of my favorite stews, so I thought I'd give it a go in the slow cooker. If you want to add or subtract some of the tomatoes or red wine based on successful slow cooker recipes you've used before, feel free to do so. And, get in touch with any slow cooker tips, especially about adapting standard recipes to slow cooker style recipes.

I have a friend (who blogs at Weekends So Sweet) that does quite a bit more slow cooking than I do. She has experimented with not browning ingredients before slow cooking and has had good results. Just wanted to mention this because a lot of these recipes end up looking like they have a lot of steps, but they can be simplified. I look at slow cooking as a good place to experiment. I've only had one real disaster (involving several acorn squash that just looked and tasted horrible after 8 hours on low in the slow cooker). For once, my attitude of throw it in the pot and see what you get can work here as real advice.

So get outside, enjoy yourselves and come home to a warm nourishing meal!

Slow Cooker Coq au Vin

Ingredients

• 6 chicken thighs
• 1/2 pound cooked bacon, chopped into pieces (cooking method here)
• 2 cups red wine
• 1 onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 to 2 cans canned tomatoes
• 2 sprigs fresh oregano (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• salt and pepper to taste

 Method

1. Heat a large skillet over high heat, adding olive oil (or bacon grease if you have it) just before the pan is smoking hot.
2. Salt and pepper the chicken thighs and place them in the pan, skin side down and cook for 5 minutes on high.
3. Turn over the thighs and cook another 5 minutes.
4. Place the thighs in the slow cooker along with the cooked bacon.
5. Return the pan to high heat and sauté the garlic and onions until softening, and just turning brown.
6. Add the onions, garlic, wine, tomatoes and spices to the slow cooker.
7. Set the slow cooker on low for 8 to 9 hours.
8. Serve with boiled potatoes, salad or over egg noodles.

Chicken, honey? Sure, but it's Honey Chicken.

One night, a few months ago, just when I started shooting almost every meal I made for this here site, my friend came to dinner.

She is a lovely tiny woman. But she can eat. Which is just the kind of friends I love to have. When she arrived, I realized I hadn't come up with a main dish. There were some chicken thighs in the fridge, so I started there. As I thought about what else I had in the house, I came across some fresh oregano and sherry vinegar. The recipe began to form in my head, all I needed was some lemon and a bit of honey and we were off and cooking.

It's a simple affair, if a little messy. I started by heating a pan to super hot, added some oil and salt and put the chicken thighs in skin side down. The fat splatters, so be ready for a little bit of cleanup. The extra step of searing these on the stove top before baking them makes the skin come out super crisp and delicious.

The key to this dish is the combination of the honey, sherry vinegar and oregano. You add these just before the chicken goes into a hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes. And let me tell you, the chicken comes out moist, a little sweet, and very tender. I served it with some roasted brussels sprouts and a quinoa salad. Most delicious.

This past weekend, I found myself with some chicken thighs and recreated the dish for my daughter. She ate two pieces and asked that I save the others for her dinner the next night. A hit, if I do say so myself, and a dish that is so quick to make, I can do it on a weeknight while helping with homework.

So if you are asked "Chicken, honey?" I hope that you respond "Sure, but it's Honey Chicken."

Honey Chicken with Oregano and Sherry Vinegar

makes 4 portions

Ingredients

• 4 Chicken thighs, skin-on and with bones
• 4 Tbsps Olive Oil
• A pinch of Salt
• 3 sprigs fresh Oregano (or 1 tsp Dried Oregano)
• 3/4 cup Sherry Vinegar (Red Wine Vinegar works here, or just some leftover White Wine is good, too)
• 2 Tbsps Honey (I like the dark amber kind)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Heat up a large non-reactive skillet over high heat.
3. Put the olive oil and salt in the pan once it is super hot (technical term).
4. Place the chicken thighs in the pan, skin-side down.
5. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the skin starts to curl up on the edges.
6. Turn the thighs over. Cook for 1 minute more.
7. Turn off the heat. Add the sherry vinegar.
8. Turn the heat back on and cook for 2 minutes.
9. Add the honey, turn off the heat and put the pan in the preheated oven.
10. Bake on the top rack of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the chicken juice runs clear.
11. Remove from the oven, let rest for 5 minutes, and then dig in.

Salt and Pepper Chicken

Salt and pepper chicken. Yum.

I was watching the Cooking Channel and saw a piece on salt and pepper chicken. It never occurred to me that I could actually make anything salt and pepper related in my own kitchen. My sister always orders pork prepared this way from her local Chinese restaurant and I love it.

The idea of having a crispy skin covered in salt made me very happy to think about. So, I took notes on the recipe and gathered my ingredients. It looked pretty easy and fell well into my gluten-free and dairy-free preferences.

Up until this point, I had never deep fried anything. The fear of consuming all of the properly prepared donuts and other deep fried goodness I might be able to make gave me pause. It kept the vats of boiling oil at bay. Until now.

Most of the appeal was in the challenge to see if I could make chicken that tasted as good as some of the fantastic wings that are available in many of SF's excellent Chinese restaurants. I was also intrigued by the ingredients and the act of deep frying itself.

And so, on a Tuesday night, we got started. At first, I didn't believe it could be as simple as the following recipe (from Ching He-Huang of the Cooking Channel's Easy Chinese: San Francisco) suggested. Boy, was it ever. The hardest part was crushing up the peppercorns , which I was hoping would be bigger than your traditional grinder could supply.

The best part was the moment the coated chicken hit the hot oil. It was so cool to see how the skin immediately crunched up. I will say, though, I was raised by a woman (you know, Gran Fran) who lived in mortal fear of pans and ingredients catching on fire.

I recall at some point, I think it was Junior High, there was duck being roasted at our house. Gran Fran was convinced that a fire was going to break out, due to the high fat content of the duck skin, so the fire department was called. To be honest, not sure I saw any fire coming from the oven, but I remember the neighbors coming out to see what the heck was going on in the Claro household.

Needless to say, I am cautious with flames and deep frying. I had my phone at the ready, in case I inadvertently set the house on fire. Next time Gran Fran comes to town, I'll make her this fantastic recipe and maybe put her mind at ease that her youngest has the sense to proceed with care, while stepping out a bit.

Salt and Pepper Chicken

recipe and method reposted from: Easy Chinese: San Francisco, Ching He-Huang

Ingredients

• 6 chicken thighs, each piece chopped in half across the bone
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 heaping tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
• 2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more for seasoning
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

• 2 to 3 heaping tablespoons cornstarch, for dusting
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 heaping tablespoon ground black pepper
• 4 to 6 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped

Method:

• Place the chicken thighs in a large bowl. Cover the chicken with the light soy sauce, Chinese five-spice powder, salt and garlic, and stir to coat.
• Toss the chicken with the toasted sesame oil.
• Let marinate for as much time as you have; for best results, leave the chicken in the refrigerator overnight.
• When ready to fry, toss the chicken pieces in the cornstarch.
• Heat a large wok or pan over high heat and add the vegetable oil.
• Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, add the chicken and fry lightly until the thighs are golden brown on all sides and cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Drain the chicken on paper towels and season them with salt, pepper and cilantro as they come out of the oil.

Thanks, Ching He-Huang! This recipe will be in regular rotation at our house from here on out.