Edna Lewiss Oven Braised Southwest Chicken Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cut each chicken thigh into 5 or 6 pieces. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil and butter in a 6-quart, oven-safe Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned but not cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Remove chicken from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Add onions to the hot pot; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add carrots and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 more minute. Add mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Add green beans and garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper to taste.
• Pour wine into the pot and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add chicken and any accumulated juices back to the pot. Pour in just enough chicken broth to barely cover everything in the pot. Sample broth and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Add rosemary sprigs, pressing them below the surface of the liquid.
• Cover and place in the center of the preheated oven. Bake until vegetables are tender and chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove rosemary sprigs.
• Place cornstarch in a small bowl and add just enough water to create a thin paste. Stir until all lumps are dissolved and slowly add to the stew, stirring constantly.
• Place stew on the stove and heat over medium heat. Cook and stir until gravy has thickened and desired consistency has been achieved, about 5 minutes.

Steps:

• Cut the pancetta or prosciutto into chunks less than one-half inch thick. Place in a saucepan with the olive oil and fry over low heat for 15 minutes, until all the fat has been rendered out and the meat is very crisp. Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Add the onion to the pan and saute over medium heat for five minutes.
• Drain the tomatoes, finely chop them and add to the onion in the pan. Season with red-pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of cold water to a boil and add salt to taste. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 9 to 12 minutes, depending on the brand. Drain well.
• Transfer the cooked sauce to a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pasta and the reserved meat and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the cheese and mix very well. Transfer the pasta to a warm platter and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven.Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees.
• Bring a 2-qt. saucepan of water to a boil. Drop in the onions and blanch them for 1 minute.
• Drain in a colander, then shower with cold water to stop the cooking.
• Peel the onions, leaving enough fo the root end intact.
• Season the chicken pieces generously with salt and pepper.
• In a straight-sided 10 inch ovenproof saute pan with a lid, heat oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Arrange the chicken pieces skin side down in the pan (it will be crowed), cover with a splatter screen.
• Cook until deeply browned, about 5 minutes. Turn pieces over and cook until other sides are deeply browned, 3-5 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to plate and pour out fat.
• Set pan over medium heat. Add onions, mushrooms, bacon and carrot to the pand and cook until the bacon is crisp and the vegetables are browned, 8-10 minutes.
• Add the wine ant thyme sprigs and bring to a boil, scraping the browned bits from the bottom.
• Boil unitl the wine has ruecued to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes.
• Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
• Return the chicken pieces to the pan and cover.
• Transfer to the oven and braise until the chicken is fork-tender and the drumstick meat starts to come away from the bone, about 45 to 50 minutes.
• With a slotted spoon, transfer everything to a serving dish and keep warm by covering loosely with foil.
• Discard the thyme sprigs.
• Skim off as much fat as possible from the sauce.
• Bring the sauce to a boil over medium high heat, then simmer until slightly thicken, about 5 minutes.
• Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with thyme leaves and serve.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Cut the potatoes into slices about 1/8-inch thick. Cut the leeks in half lengthwise, then into very thin slices.
• Butter a shallow, round 10-inch baking dish. Arrange a layer of potato slices in the pan in overlapping circles. Brush with about one fourth of the melted butter. Top with about half of the leeks and half of the thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Repeat with another layer of potatoes and the remaining leeks and thyme. Top with a final layer of the best-looking potato slices. Brush the top layer with about one-fourth of the melted butter.
• Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Place a heavy skillet or baking dish on top to press the potatoes into a compact mass. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the skillet and foil and baste the top layer with the remaining butter. Continue baking for about 30 minutes, until the potatoes are very soft and the top and bottom layers have started to caramelize. (If the potatoes begin to char, cover the top with foil.) Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Roll the pieces of rabbit in the seasoned flour, and let them set for 20 minutes.
• Heat a large skillet, and cook the butter until it foams, then add the bacon pieces. When they become a bit browned, remove them with a slotted spoon, and put in the pieces of rabbit, except the four front quarter pieces (they can be used later in a soup or stew).
• Brown on both sides, and sprinkle over the browned pieces with defatted bacon, onion or shallot and 1/4 cup water. Cover, and set into oven at 300, or leave to cook on burner slowly for 45 minutes. Serve hot as you would serve fried chicken.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter a 2-quart souffle dish or shallow casserole.
• Combine the milk, butter, salt, chives and mustard in a heavy saucepan. Over a medium flame, heat to a simmer. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal, blending until smooth. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook for 1 minute while stirring. Remove from the heat, stir in the Parmesan and cool completely.
• In a bowl, beat the egg yolks until light. Stir into the cooled cornmeal mixture. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently but thoroughly fold the whites into the cornmeal mixture.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared dish. Bake for about 45 minutes, until just set. Serve hot, spooned directly from the dish onto the breakfast plate.

Steps:

• Take a large bowl, sift into it the measured flour, salt, soda and baking powder. Add the lard, and blend together with a pastry blender or your fingertips until the mixture has the texture of cornmeal.
• Add the milk all at once by scattering it over the dough. Stir vigorously with a stout wooden spoon. The dough will be very soft in the beginning but will stiffen in 2 or 3 minutes. Continue to stir a few minutes longer.
• After the dough has stiffened, scrape from sides of bowl into a ball, and spoon onto a lightly floured surface for rolling. Dust over lightly with about a tablespoon of flour as the dough will be a bit sticky. Flatten the dough out gently with your hands into a thick, round cake, and knead for a minute by folding the outer edge of the dough into the center of the circle, giving a light knead as you fold the sides in overlapping each other.
• Turn the folded side face down and dust lightly if needed, being careful not to use too much flour and cause the dough to become too stiff. Dust the rolling pin and the rolling surface well. Roll the dough out evenly to a 1/2-inch thickness or a bit less. Pierce the surface of the dough with a table fork. (It was said piercing the dough released the air while baking.)
• Dust the biscuit cutter in flour first; this will prevent the dough sticking to the cutter and ruining the shape of the biscuit. Dust the cutter as often as needed. An added feature to your light, tender biscuits will be their straight sides. This can be achieved by not wiggling the cutter. Press the cutter into the dough and lift up with a sharp quickness without a wiggle. Cut the biscuits very close together to avoid having big pieces of dough left in between each biscuit. Trying to piece together and rerolling leftover dough will change the texture of the biscuits.
• Place the biscuits 1/2 inch or more apart on a heavy cookie sheet or baking pan, preferably one with a bright surface. The biscuits brown more beautifully on a bright, shining pan than on a dull one, and a thick bottom helps to keep them from browning too much on the bottom. Set to bake in a preheated 450-degree oven for 13 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let them rest for 3 to 4 minutes. Serve hot.