James Beard Essentials: Chicken Sauté with Tomatoes

=”http://www.spiceandtea.com/TheEssentialJamesBeardCookbookSweepstakes-ezp-54.html?chapter=2″ target=”_blank”>read full details here) we’ve selected two recipes from The Essential James Beard Cookbook: 450 Recipes That Shaped the Tradition of American Cooking, by James Beard; edited by Rick Rodgers with John Ferrone that are easy enough to make a part of your weekday meal planning.  But these recipes also show Beard at his best, as an instructor (read our full review here).  In our first recipe of the final two, Chicken Sauté with Tomatoes, Beard very simply talks you through pan-roasting.  The result is spectacularly flavored, perfectly cooked, stove-top chicken.  With permission from St. Martin’s Press and James Beard House, The Spice & Tea Exchange^® added its own contemporary flavor twist by suggesting our two herbal and tomato blends, Tuscany Blend and Tomato Tarragon Blend.

Pan-Roasting is an essential technique that every home cook should know.  It’s one of the fastest ways to get a meal onto a table without spending oodles of time waiting for an oven to preheat.  The biggest hurdle we all have to overcome to master pan-roasting is to simply manage the heat on your stovetop properly, even if it means occasionally removing your pan from the burner to maintain a lower cooking temperature on the pan’s surface.  This recipe also introduces the quick stove top method to quick caramelized onions.  And, yes! You can do this!

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The Essential James Beard Cookbook: 450 Recipes That Shaped the Tradition of American Cooking by commenting on any of The Essential James Beard Cookbook posts between now and December 1^st (full details here).  And don’t forget to check back tomorrow for our final installment of “James Beard Essentials” reviews and recipe updates – when we review and update the fun Old Fasioned Chicken Fricassee with Wagon Wheels, where Beard instructs on making a delicious pan sauce in a slow-cooked classic.

Chicken Sauté With Tomato
adapted with permission by The Spice & Tea Exchange®
Makes 4 servings 

Editor: Substitute fresh basil for the parsley, if you wish.
TSTE™:  Purchase pre-cut chicken parts for ease of preparation. 

One 31⁄2-pound chicken, quartered
6 tablespoons (3⁄4 stick) butter
Florida Sunshine Grinder Salt blend and Four Peppercorn Grinder blend
3 tablespoons finely chopped onion*
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped*
1⁄2 cup dry white wine
3 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped
1 teaspoon TSTE Tuscany Blend (or substitute Tomato Tarragon Blend for a more elegant flavor profile)

*Optional:  Omit the chopped onion and garlic and substitute 1 teaspoon (or more to taste) of TSTE Vik’s Garlic Fix.  Instructions provided in italic below)

Melt the butter in a very large heavy skillet (not uncoated cast-iron) over medium-high heat.  Working in batches, if necessary, add the chicken to the skillet, skin side down, and brown quickly, about 3 minutes.  Season with Florida Sunshine Grinder salt blend and Four Peppercorn Grinder blend.  Turn the chicken over and add the onion and garlic. Cover the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low.  Cook until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. (Optional: To use TSTE Vik’s Garlic Fix instead, omit adding the onions and garlic.)  Add the wine (Optional, add the TSTE Vik’s Garlic Fix), cover, and cook for 10 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and stir in TSTE Tuscany Blend or TSTE Tomato Tarragon Blend, cover, and cook, turning the chicken occasionally, until the chicken shows no sign of pink when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife at the thighbone, about 25 minutes more. Arrange on a hot platter. Add the parsley to the tomato mixture, increase the heat to high, and cook until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Pour over the chicken and serve hot.