Since a flavorful stew with red meat requires at least 4 hours of supervision, a chicken stew is a great alternative requiring far less time.n add to your sauté. Place chicken into pan with olive oil and brown on medium heat for approximately 15 minutes turning at least once.
Start your stew by salting a quartered chicken and set aside. Heat a heavy stock pot or Dutch oven with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Chop onion, celery, carrots in to a mixture or “mirepoix”, the
Add mirepoix into the pan, sauté for 5-7 minutes or until lightly browned, add two cups of whole Cremini mushrooms and add one teaspoon of White Truffle oil, mix while coating mushrooms thoroughly with juices of chicken. Once your Creminis begin to brown slightly, deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup of white wine, raise the heat and cook another 5 minutes. Once the wine has cooked off, then add 1/2 cup of chicken or vegetable stock, simmering covered for 15 to 20 minutes with a Bay leaf and sprig of Thyme and/or clove of garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Total cooking time 45-50 minutes.
North Fork Fingerling Mashed Potatoes
The Potato harvest begins in mid September through October but fingerling potatoes remain freshly stocked through February. I like fingerling potatoes for their buttery consistency and earthy flavor and the skin is tender so you don’t need to peel them. Just boil ½ pound of fingerlings covered on a low flame in 1 1/2 cups of water with a dash of sea salt till fork tender. While still hot, drizzle with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and pat or two of butter, a few tablespoons of half and half and mash to a chunky consistency. Keep covered in a warm place until ready to serve. Total cooking time 30 Minutes.
Dinner Party Idea
If serving this for a dinner party, use large dramatic bowls and scoop some potato into the center just before your guests salad plates are cleared. You can then distribute or place the bowls with the potato already served. Serve the stew in a large soup terrine with your favorite ladle. That way the stew stays piping hot and guests can serve themselves at leisure.
Since this is quite a substantial meal, I would just serve a colorful salad of radishes and granny smith apples on a bed of watercress drizzled with a fruity vinaigrette as the first course.
For dessert, some Hazelnut gelato from D’Latte gelateria in Greenport along with some Aldo’s (of Greenport) hazelnut biscotti and self serve coffee service.
