Quick Coq au Vin

This recipe calls for mushrooms. SIX CUPS of mushrooms. Which would be fine, except that I don't like mushrooms. It's a texture thing. When they are raw, they are spongy, and when they are cooked, they are slimy. The flavor of mushrooms is quite good, but the texture is not for me.

So when I make it, I make it with more carrots and throw in some pearl onions. I'll include the mushrooms in the recipe here for those of you who are less weird than me, but rest assured that you can make it without the fungi and it turns out just fine. I'm sure the flavor with the mushrooms is even better.

from Cooking Light

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
6 (4 oz) boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 cups quartered cremini mushrooms (optional if you are like me)
2 cups sliced carrots (or 3 if you leave out the mushrooms)
1 cup pearl onions (frozen is fine--this was not in the original recipe but I think they are good)
1/3 cup slices of Canadian Bacon, coarsely chopped
1 cup dry red wine (2 buck chuck works well)
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp tomato paste (I confess I sometimes use ketchup b/c I don't want to open a whole thing of tomato paste)

Combne flour, thyme, and salt in a ziplock bag. Add chicken. Seal and shake to coat (I shake, and Mom bakes--remember that commercial?). Remove chicken from bag, shaking off excess flour.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken. Cook 8 minutes or untill browned, turning frequently. Remove chicken from pan.

Add mushrooms (if you use them), carrots, onions, and bacon to pan. Saute 2 minutes.

Stir in wine, broth, and tomato paste (or ketchup). Cook 9 minutes.

Return chicken to pan. Cook 8 minutes or until chicken is done, turning at least once (so the wine gets on both sides).

When you are finished there won't be much (if any) sauce left, but the chicken will be tender and taste AWESOME.

I like to serve this with rice (you can add the rest of the chicken broth to the water you cook it in).

The Big Geek likes the chicken but isn't a fan of the carrots. Of course, he's not a fan of anything that resembles a vegetable, except green beans and corn. And since neither of those would go well in this recipe, he's out of luck. I just eat his carrots.

He also told me the pearl onions were "weird" and "like grapes." I think they are good, and since I'm cooking, he can just pick around them.

I have no picture of this because I was really hungry. I plated the food, then thought, "I should take a picture." Then I thought, "screw that, I'm hungry." So you'll have to make do without one this time. :)

Fast & Easy Weeknight Meals--Gorgonzola Topped Pork Tenderloin

from Cooking Light

At first, you may think this recipe isn't easy. Trust me--it is.

1 (1 lb) pork tenderloin, trimeed and cut crosswise into 4 pieces
1 tsp vegetable oil
Cooking spray
2 tsp bottled minced garlic (or fresh if you're all fancy and a show-off)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup beef broth (in a pinch, I've been known to just use some bouillon dissolved in water)
1/2 cup dry red wine (TIP: I buy 2 buck chuck from Trader Joe's to use when cooking. You can freeze leftovers and defrost for later use.)
2 Tbsp crumbled Gorgonzola or other blue cheese

Place the pork between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap. Pound the crap out of it until it's about 1 inch thick. The shape doesn't matter as much as the thickness. You want it to cook evenly, so it all needs to be the same thickness.

Heat oil in a large skillet (this one is also good in the cast iron skillet) coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.

Combine garlic, pepper, and salt. Rub all over pork. Add pork to pan and cook 5 minutes on each side or until done. Remove pork from pan and keep warm (put foil over it).

Add broth and wine to skillet, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Increase heat to hight and cook until reduced to about 1/2 cup (between 6-10 minutes). Spoon sauce over pork (and mashed potatoes, if you have them, or rice, or onto bread--the sauce is damned good). Sprinkle with cheese.

See, that wasn't so difficult. It just messes with your head because of the fancy sounding ingredients.