Before I really read the recipe, I expected the chicken to be battered by the cookies, but that's not the case. You cook chicken strips, and when they're just about done, add a mixture of creme fraiche, two crumbled cookies, salt and pepper. Let it boil for a minute. That's it.
Dorie says that store-bought speculoos are preferable for this recipe, and I suspect that relates to the "crunch" element. After a few days in a tin, my homemade cookies had softened up and lost their crunch. I re-baked them for a few minutes before I started cooking to try to crisp them up, but it didn't really work. I burned the first set I tried this on, so I'm sure I took them out too soon the second time. There was nothing crunchy about my chicken. No big deal, though.
Matt said, "It tastes Asian-ish, but the cream makes it French-ish." Vague as that statement is, it seemed pretty accurate to me.
Conclusion: Liked it. We both thought this chicken was really weird, but really good. I wouldn't go out of my way to bake speculoos just for this recipe, but if I happened to have some in the house, I'd definitely make this chicken again.
Per Dorie's suggestion, I paired the chicken Lemon-Steamed Spinach (pg 331). Mix oil, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and a bit of nutmeg with the raw spinach, then steam it. This was fine, but nothing special. I'll stick with my norm of sauteeing spinach with oil and garlic.
Conclusion: Just okay.
Wow, I'm happy to hear that the chicken was good. I have to admit it sounded a bit questionable to me and I wasn't sure about making it. But after reading your review I'm looking forward to it a bit more.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I also wanted to say that I was not joking when I said that you had inspired me to take a closer look at some of my unappreciated cookbooks which have been relegated to the back corners of the bookshelf. So far I have already decided that one has to go, and another one is currently being tested, but so far has much better chances of making the cut. Thanks!
Soooo glad to know that I wasn't the only one who didn't experience that elusive crunch and defied Dorie's suggestion to use store-bought speculoos (assuming they're even sold over here). I used about 5 cookies for the batter because I remembered the ones sold in Germany were HUGE while mine were only mooncake-sized. Aaargh, the curse of being Asian sometimes! LOL. Btw, your comment was the first one into the lucky draw box, so good luck :-).
ReplyDeleteCool! I'm glad you're giving your books a second look. After they sit on the shelf long enough, they start to blend into the wall, don't they? Let me know if you fall in love with any of them!
ReplyDeleteFoodiva, I'm thinking I definitely didn't use enough cookie, then, if store-bought ones are huge. Dorie could have been clearer on how much cookie to use. Saying "two cookies" leaves too much room for variation. Oh well! It was good anyway.
ReplyDeleteVery glad I am not the only one who ended up with cinnamon/ ginger flavored creme :-) I used WAY more than two cookies...
ReplyDeleteI like how you described this as the lazy man's chicken b'stilla. Great looking dish!
ReplyDeleteI like Matt's description. I couldn't find the cookies nor the creme fraiche so I just baked a batch of speculoos for happy munching. They are yummy :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone is experiencing the crunch, but the chicken was good and quick...I sometimes really like quick.
ReplyDeleteIt's so interesting to see how you and some of the others have plenty of sauce and others, like me, had little or none left after boiling. I also was surprised at how good this tasted, but was really glad after it took so long for me to find the cookies. I also made the spinach and we thought it was good and what was nice is that it was just as quick and easy to fix as the chicken.
ReplyDeleteMine wasn't crunchy either, but I dont think I want it to be. Mine was pretty sour - probably the brand of creme fraiche, but I think I would rather have just smashed all the cookies into a powder for the sauce instead of having bits all over that went soggy.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the chicken is weird and good, and I loved the extra sauce (and I feel sorry for the folks who didn;t have any sauce left over - that's my favorite part!). I really wasn't expecting this to be as good as it was.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting comparison - we loved the Chicken B'stilla. I didn't get to try this recipe, but will have to some time. Your chicken looks delicious.
ReplyDelete