Sweet/Sour Chicken

I adapted this recipe from one I found in Food and Wine magazine - so its not ALL mine, but is still kick-ass yummy, and really quite simple with a sophisticated flavor.

Ingredients

One whole chicken cut into pieces

Salt/Pepper

1/4 C. olive oil

1 large onion, cut into chunks

2 carrots, cut into chunks

2 ribs of celery, cut into chunks

8 cloves of garlic, peeled

1/4 C. sugar

1 C. red wine

1/2 C. red-wine vinegar

1/2 C. fresh orange juice

1 c. fresh mushrooms, sliced

Directions

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large, deep skillet, heat 2 tbs, of the olive oil. Add the chicken, and cook over moderately high heat until browned. Transfer the chicken to a plate, and pour off oil.

2. Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet along with the onion, carrots, celery, garlic and mushrooms. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown. Add the sugar, wine, vinegar, and orange juice. Bring to a boil. Return chicken to the skillet, skin side up. Cover partially and simmer over low heat just until chicken is cooked through. (DO NOT OVERCOOK CHICKEN!)

3. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Return sauce to a boil over high heat until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Return chicken to the skillet until warmed through and well coated. Plate chicken, spooning sauce over top and serve.

Mushroom/Garlic Redwine sauce (served over steak is best!)

In an effort to use up that leftover bottle of wine (WHAT?! Why was there leftover wine?!) and to cook up some steak, I started throwing this together, and it turned out significantly yummier than I expected. Try it. You'll like it! (Even my somewhat picky 7 year old critiqued the sauce - saying it provided him a lovely taste in his mouth, then infused with the steak flavor!) Ha! I should probably have added the shallots I had in the fridge that I'd forgotten about... maybe next time.

Ingredients

Favorite cut of steak (I used ribeye)

1 1/2 C. Red Wine (I used a Pinot Noir)

2 Tbs. butter/margarine

1 small can of mushrooms (I'd prefer to use fresh, but isn't what I had on hand)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. beef bouillon

2 tsp. brown sugar

1/2 C. water

1 tsp. cornstarch

salt/pepper to taste

Directions:

In large skillet, brown steak on each side, cooking to near desired doneness. Remove, and keep warm. Do not drain skillet. Add butter, mushrooms, and garlic to skillet. Saute over medium high heat until mushrooms are tender. Add in the wine, bouillon, brown sugar, and salt and pepper. Continue cooking over high heat, bringing to a rolling boil. Allow to reduce by nearly half. Stir cornstarch into water until well mixed, and slowly add to sauce mixture. Stir constantly, until thickened (sauce will remain somewhat thin). Return meat to skillet, coating and continue cooking to desired doneness. Serve sauce over steak.