What I really liked about making this is that it didn't require a lot of time chopping vegetables and there is just enough olive oil to make them glisten in the pot. A sprig of rosemary, thyme, and a bay leaf, along with some salt and white pepper is all the seasoning this dish requires. I had to cook mine in the oven an extra 20 minutes because my bird was 4 lbs. and when I checked at 60 minutes it wasn't as browned as I wanted, so I left it in for another 20 minutes.
When I took the pot out of the oven, the chicken was nicely browned and there was a good amount of sauce in the pot. I removed the chicken and added less than the 1 cup of water Dorie says to in the recipe and added a little more brandy. I cooked it until it thickened and the prunes had started to melt. It smelled so wonderful throughout the house that John came in to see what was for supper.
I don't know what we missed, not making this with Armagnac, but I can't imagine it tasting better. The chicken was cooked perfectly - moist and succulent and with the vegetables in the sauce it was one of the tastiest dishes that I have fixed so far from Around My French Table. The next time I make this, even though it has potatoes - I won't skip the potatoes because they are so flavorful with this sauce - I will make a pot of sticky white rice because it would taste incredible with this sauce.
It doesn't sound like you missed anything at all :-)
ReplyDeletePrunes are a highly underated cooking ingredient. I like to puree some in certain types of soups (mushroom, beef, onion, etc) and it's one of those ingredients that makes people say "that's good" but they cant figure out what it is... Sneaky, I know.
I was actually wondering if anyone made this with armagnac, so far sounds like most of us used either brandy or cognac. Mine was darn delicious with cognac, maybe next time I'll throw some prunes into the mix too.
ReplyDeleteElaine, I can't imagine you missing anything with your dish! It looks absolutely delicious I bought prunes and forgot to put them in the pot...so much for good intentions...it still was a wonderful dish with amazing flavor! Happy friday!
ReplyDeleteHow delicious do your veggies look! Almost better than the chicken, which itself looks divine! Great post.
ReplyDeleteI like the addition of prunes, will definitely try that next time. I agree with your husband the legs were the best part! The sauce was pretty good too.
ReplyDeleteI skipped this due to the cost of the Armagnac. I will have to try it with a less expensive brandy. I love the idea of the prunes, I think they would be so tasty! (Sadly I am sure that would be nixed by the DH who sees them as evil.)
ReplyDeleteThe color of your dish tells us that your your dish is tasty and delicious :) Flavorful I guess with the prunes. I added prunes to mine too and the sauce was amazingly delicious ! Well done !
ReplyDeleteGorgeous, Elaine! It looks like adding the prunes gave you the color so many of us missed. I'll be the extra layer of flavor was wonderful, too!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your weekend!
Next time I'll sneak very few prunes, just to see what happens. Like Ronda's, my DH is not a fan of dry fruit in recipes. In smaller amounts I'm sure it would give just enough sweetness (especially if they melt in the sauce).
ReplyDeleteWe saw the note about the prunes in the book. Glad to hear someone tried it and it came out great!
ReplyDeleteWow...looks perfect! Now I see that I need to make this again and with prunes. I had thought about using some...have them on hand...but was thinking about my grandkids who would come for dinner and I decided to be a little more simple...but I think they would have liked the addition. Also, the color is great.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely going to add the prunes next time. They make your meal look completely different from mine!
ReplyDeleteThe prunes really look delicious with this - I can imagine how great the sauce was with the prunes added.
ReplyDeletePoor prunes get such a bad rap, and they're sooo good. Especially cooked in stew-esque dishes. I've made this recipe with and without prunes, and now that I've made it with, I'll never skip them. They're lovely here. Glad you enjoyed it! Yours looks great!
ReplyDeleteLooks and sounds delicious. Brandy is probably a pretty close substitute for armagnac
ReplyDeleteI, too, like the idea of the prunes. Your plate looks
ReplyDeletewonderful and so delicious. Tricia and I had a split
decision on this one, but hubby and I enjoyed it very
much.
Hi Elaine! I added prunes too. I'm so glad I did. I loved the sweetness they added. Figs would have been nice too. This was a great recipe! I loved it too, even though my chicken didn't brown. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteI wish that I had remembered to add the prunes - meat and fruit dishes are one of my favourite things. Your chicken looks superb!
ReplyDeleteThe day after I made this, I found some prunes in my cupboard. They'd been there long enough that they would have been improved by an hour in the oven. Glad to know they added to the flavor--next time....
ReplyDeleteOh wow, I really like the darker sauce you got from adding prunes. And those fancy prunes!! Want want want!! Too bad I haven't seen them around my neck of the wood. I'm not even sure they are exported to Canada.
ReplyDeleteGreat looking dish and I think the browned vegetable is absolutely gorgeous.
Good thinking to add the prunes, Elaine. I didn't use Armagnac either and the prunes would have been nice with the brandy I used. Next time...
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you had the perfect result! Your dish looks terrific.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to use the prunes, but forgot to pick them up - they look delicious!
That is one pretty chicken. Love the idea of sticky rice too- we had so much "juice" (not quite gravy but very yummmy) that it would be perfect. And after finding the cost of real Armagnac -which I passed on - I am no longer complaining about the $13 organic 3.5 pound chicken :)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to try this with prunes...and your idea of rice to sop up the juice is genius! Glad you enjoyed, too! Happy Saturday, Elaine!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Elaine! Hey, there was a TWD recipe that called for Armagnac, but the liquor store said our region doesn't carry it - and suggested brandy or a good cognac! So I don't know what I would have missed anyway - I'm sure the house smelled superb - I love your prep photos!
ReplyDeleteThat looks wonderful with the prunes, and what a great idea to add a little more brandy at the end. I would have liked to taste the brandy a bit more. Too bad we can't all go in together to share a bottle of Armagnac - I would have liked to use it but couldn't justify the cost!
ReplyDeleteI loved the addition of prunes, too. I agree, this has probably been my favorite dish from AMFT so far. Yours came out beautifully!
ReplyDeleteOh, I can almost taste it! This looks so delicious...I have a couple of recipes that pair brandy with fruit and it's a magical combination.
ReplyDeleteI'm finally getting 'round to posting about this now. The prunes give your sauce such an amazing, rich colour! I'll have to try it with them some time. It's good to know that brandy works well with this dish, as does Cognac.
ReplyDelete