Monday, September 19, 2011

Chicken Two Ways (part two): One-Pot Wonders

Yup, I'm still playing in the blogger party for Emeril Lagasse's book, Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders. The last post I wrote was about the chicken cacciatore. I cut that recipe in half (and cut the chicken in half) so I could use half of the chicken for a recipe called Chicken Sauce Piquante.

The cacciatore was cooked in a dutch oven on the stove, but this second one was a crock pot recipe. And while the list of ingredients was somewhat similar - or at least it seemed to be, given the tomato base - the result was different.

And this recipe included Emeril's Essence, so I had a chance to "poof!" that onto the chicken. Yes, I know Emeril says "Bam!" but that sort of thing scares the dog. "Poof!" is a little gentler.

Besides a difference in the cooking vessel, the initial cooking was also different. While the other recipe browned the chicken with just salt and pepper on it, this one had the Essence sprinkled on first, then it was lightly coated with flour, and then it was browned. So the two versions ended up with different skin textures. Sneaky, hmmm?

When I read the recipe, I wondered why the Essence wasn't mixed with the flour, rather than putting it on separately. But it makes sense. The Essence all sticks to the chicken, but there's a bit of flour that goes unused. If you wanted the same level of spiciness, you'd need to add a lot more Essence to the flour.

Besides using Essence for seasoning, this also had cayenne and jalapeno, so it had a bit more kick than the cacciatore. Instead of all those mushrooms, this had green bell peppers and quite a bit more celery. And tomato paste. The sauce for this one was spicer and thicker than the cacciatore.

While the two dishes had some similarities - chicken in a tomato sauce - they really were very different dishes when they were done.

As much as I'd love to hand over the recipes for both dishes, we're only allowed to publish a limited number from the book. There will be a chance to win a book here soon, so check back for that. Or, if you're not feeling lucky, you can order one here.

For my part in this party, I've been given a copy of the cookbook, a jar of Emeril's Essence and some serving bowls made by Zak! I'll also have a book and serving bowls to give away (stay tuned for that). Bloggers who participate in this party and complete the 3-week assignment will receive some additional books by Emeril as well as a small cash reimbursement. One blogger will be chosen to receive a 6-quart Emeril-branded crockpot made by T-Fal.

For more information on Morrow's cooking blog, see The Secret Ingredient. Want to pre-order the book? Clicky-clicky right here.

Are you on Facebook? The Secret Ingredient and Emeril have pages there. Or if you prefer Twitter, you can find Morrow Books and Emeril there as well.
Yum

4 comments:

Lucas Kain said...

Oooooh wow. This looks tastier than most of the things I saw today! :) Many thanks, and good luck!

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diabeticFoodie said...

This one sounds like it's right up my alley flavor-wise. But I'm definitely more of a "Bam" girl than a "Poof" girl :)

30AEATS said...

The flavors were great and I really enjoyed this recipe as well! Yum to you!

Anonymous said...

This looks like a versatile dish--serve with rice or pull the chicken and fill tortillas with it. Yum!

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