Chicken in Riesling with Sauce Supreme

This week’s theme was mother sauces, which I really only make when I’m cooking mac & cheese. My strategy was basically to cook something I wanted to anyway, and add a sauce on top. It sort of ended up being unnecessary when all was said and done; the chicken dish is really good without any additional bells and whistles. The chicken recipe is modified from: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chicken-in-Riesling-241725. They call for a dry Alsatian Riesling. I ended up using an off-dry, sweet Riesling with some honey notes to it. I was afraid this might throw off the dish, but it ended up working really well. Next time though, I'd nix the potatoes and serve the whole thing over risce. 

The sauce supreme recipe is modified from:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-live/sauce-supreme-recipe/index.html

Chicken in Riesling

1 chicken cut into 8 pieces (2 thighs, 2 legs, both breasts cut in half across their width)

2 tablespoons butter

2 large leeks

1 shallot, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

5 carrots, chopped into pieces

8 oz. Mushrooms, cut into chunks

8 leaves of cabbage, chopped into pieces

4 large red potatoes, chopped into quarters

1 cup Riesling (I used Dunham Cellars Riesling)

1 Cup Chicken stock

Salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 35o°F. Heat a dutch oven over medium heat. Melt a pat of butter in the dutch oven. Pat the chicken pieces dry and season with salt and pepper. Brown over medium heat in two batches, about or 7 minutes total. Set aside on a plate. Add the carrots to the pot, and give them about 2 minutes before adding the mushrooms, leeks and shallots. Cook until everything is softened, about 7 minutes, lightly seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Place the cabbage on top of the veggies in the pot, and nestle the chicken pieces over top. Pour the wine and chicken stock over everything, put a lid on the pot, and place in the oven to cook for 25 minutes, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.

While that’s going on, quarter and peel some red potatoes. Place in a cold pot of well-salted water, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until just tender, 15 to 20 minutes depending on how big your chunks are. Drain in a colander and serve with the braised chicken.

Sauce Supreme

5 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1.5 cups chicken stock

½ cup Riesling

1 /2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, until your roux is blonde, whisking constantly. Meanwhile, add the stock and wine to a microwave safe dish and heat until very warm/hot. Add the liquid ½ cup at a time, whisking until smooth. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and let it cook down for 15 minutes. Whisk in the cream, and cook for 2 additional minutes. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Remove from heat, whisk in remaining butter and lemon juice.