2For66

Cook Date: September 9, 2024

EDIT 9/19/24: Two changes:

• I replaced the type of glove I use with the mandoline. It is “cut-resistant” not “blade-proof”. I don’t want to overstate the efficacy of the glove.
• I corrected the spelling of the slicer. It is a mandoline, not a mandolin.

One morning earlier this month Carla and I were both reading the NY Times on our tablets and found two recipes we both liked and printed. I chuckled when I went to the printer and we had both printed copies. This recipe for sautéd chicken with onions and mushrooms would be perfect. I called dibs first so got to cook it. (I think the first few (10?) people will be able to access the recipe from the NY Times site for free.)

I knew Carla would like this because it has both sautéd onions and mushrooms. As you may know, I have an aversion to taking pictures of raw chicken unless there is a good reason. Here are the rest of the ingredients.

This recipe has two onions that need to be turned into thin onions rings; it was the perfect opportunity to pull out the mandoline, which I rarely use (because it is so scary).

To be honest, using the mandoline scares me just a little bit because it is so easy to slice yourself very badly very quickly. Discretion is the better part of valor, so I use a cut-resistant glove when I use it.

I’m so I glad I used the glove; twice I felt the glove brush up against the blade as I was pushing. At any rate, I got a series of even sliced onions; which meant they would cook evenly.

Next we turn them into rings. Globes ==> Planks ==> Rings

Next, I made the vinaigrette to marinate the chicken in olive oil, sherry vinegar, hone, Dijon mustard and salt. I used boneless/skinless chicken thighs cut into large pieces.

While the chicken was marinating I sliced the mushrooms – with a knife rather than the mandoline because they are small. At this point everything is ready to cook. In this picture we do have the raw chicken, but it’s kind of disguised in the marinade.

This recipe is all about the onions. It calls for cooking them without oil in a cast iron skillet but I wanted to use a stainless steel pan to ease the clean up. I sprayed just a touch of oil on the pan since stainless steel isn’t seasoned like cast iron. The onions go in when the skillet is very hot. Stir a bit every minute for eight minutes.

Add the mushrooms and stir together. The onions are really starting to lose their posture

Push the onions and mushrooms to the edges of the skillet and add the chicken in the center, scraping in the remaining marinade. Stir everything around until the chicken is cooked to temperature

Dinner is served. I forgot to get a nice ciabatta roll so I settled for a couple of pieces of toast. Oh, and I small simple salad. Sprinkle a bit of parmesan cheese on top.

This is a very nice dinner. Carla liked it a bit more than I did. I thought the brightness of the vinegar wasn’t balanced with any umami flavor on the bottom end. Maybe a dash of soy sauce would help that. What do I know, this has a rating of 5 stars on the NY Times with 10,749 reviews. Regardless it will be great for a Sunday family with the kids and grandkids. It very easy to make.

The recipe says it can be cooked in 30 minutes. Ain’t no way (but that’s the way most recipes seem to be.) Cooking takes about 30 minutes. Slicing the onions and mushrooms takes some time. The mandoline was a big help.

Rating: ★★★★ 4 Stars