More Food For Thoughts

Chicken, Mushrooms and asparagus in a beer and mustard sauce.

A recipe I've made yesterday for my friend Devi's belated B-Day celebration. I had this bottle of beer I bought at TJ's to make Welsh Rarebit, but unfortunately my oven/broiler stopped functioning, so I had to recycle the beer somehow. I've tried to morph the cheddar/beer/Worcester sauce combo into fondue. Don't try this at home, OK?.
So here's what I came up with.
I don't really know what the beer was (ale? stout?), hopefully you can guess from the picture (that Blogger.com insists to show sideways. Well, move your head) and go get it at TJs. It was right next to the Ace Pear Cider and had a beautiful label.


Ingredients:

. 2 chicken breasts, diced (I buy organic but whatever you do in your kitchen is none of my concern)
. a bit of flour
. 1 onion, sliced
. 1 pack mushroom (I used crimini)
. 1 bunch fresh green asparagus
. 2 cloves garlic, diced

. 1 bottle beer
. some Worcester sauce
. real Dijon mustard (the TJ's one is the closest to the one back home, though not as fiery)
. Creme Fraiche
. salt and paper, a sprig of thyme and a couple bay leaves.

I've made everything in my non-stick skillet because I do not own a Staub cocotte, so now you know what I want for Xmas (the 7 q oval one in yellow, failing this the round 8 q yellow). Pool your resources, devoted readership, and make this Frenchy happy!

Anyway:

Roll your chicken pieces in a bit of flour to coat evenly. Heat a bit of olive oil in your skillet/Staub cocotte, saute the chicken until it turns a lovely brownish color. Take the chicken out and transfer the onion in the skillet, turn down the heat a little bit. When your onion starts to look translucent, add the 'shrooms. Stir everything frequently. When the 'shrooms look cooked, add the asparagus and the garlic, stir for about a minute, then add the chicken, pour the beer slowly over everything, to cover. Add the thyme and bay leaves, about one (small) tablespoon Worcester sauce, 5 or 6 tablespoons mustard (don't freak out, cooked mustard tastes very mild, almost sweet), a bit of salt and pepper, stir and let simmer gently for 10/15 minutes.
When this is done, switch off the heat and add 1 or 2 very generous tablespoons of creme fraiche.
Stir until it is evenly mixed, and voilà! a very decent meal for 2 persons. Devi had second and I had the leftovers for lunch, so I guess if you cook a bit of rice or potatoes to go with it you have enough for 4 people.


Enjoy!