Cider Chicken Fricassee with Crab Apples, Mashed Potatoes, and Mulled Wine
I am feeling very proud my dinner tonight.
The braised (?) chicken dish:
pack of chicken thighs (mine are sadly boneless)
as many crab apples as you can steal from a local park that shall remain unnamed
potato slices (retroactive remediation, once I realized it was a little salty)
spices: peppercorn, clove, cinnamon, and allspice
salt (I usually follow a 1/2 tsp per pound flesh proportion)
Brown chicken in pan on both sides in some melted butter. Add all ingredients on the list (if you, unlike me, do not have ADHD and manage to salt correctly, you will not need the potato). Simmer for one hour or until chicken thighs are fall-apart tender.
sliced potatoes, unpeeled
salt, bayleaf, garlic cloves
butter and pepper (for the mashing)
Boil potatoes and seasonings. Ready when they slide off a paring knife when stabbed (or you can stuff one in your mouth and hop around swearing until it's cool enough to taste, like me). Using a slotted ladle, transfer potatoes into a separate bowl (DO NOT DUMP OUT TATER WATER). Smash up with a masher. Throw in a handsome pat of butter. Use a measuring cup to ladle conserved tater water into the smashed taters, mix it up. Add as much tater water as necessary to get it to your preferred consistency.
Can use a splash of cream, but I did not because the tater was was very tasty on its own. And I say this as someone who firmly believed for the first 20 years of my life, that potatoes were made palatable only by generous doctoring with dairy, fat, and salt. I didn't even need to salt it more because the tater water was salty.
boxed cabernet sauvignon (it was barrel aged, but very cheap)
odd pear brandy solution, pre-sweetened and intended for pastries (manager foisted it on me since we were clearing out for fall stock; spike at your discretion)
spices: orange peel, anise star, cinnamon stick, cloves
handful of (real, fresh) black currants (I was worried it would be too boozy and I had no fruit juice in the house)
Dump in pot and heat on low until it tastes nice. Since most people's brandy is not presweetened, add honey to your taste if you like. Can dilute with orange juice or something similar.