Mark Bittman | thebrookcook

I have made this simple and full-flavored dish a couple of times recently. It’s a crowd pleaser in my house.

This recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by Mark Bittman. According to the article, Jean-Georges Vongerichten learned how to make this recipe from the chef Paul Bocuse, who popularized it at La Mère Brazier in Lyon, France.

I decreased the oven temperature, used shallots in the sauce and scallions as a garnish. I kept all of the drippings to make the sauce and omitted the water and butter in the finished sauce. The extra sauce was wonderful drizzled over roasted potatoes and sautéed greens.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 3-pound chicken, cut up for sautéing
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup minced shallots (about 2 large)
1 cup good red-wine vinegar (preferably with 5% acidity)
1 tablespoon butter, optional
fresh parsley, thyme, or tarragon for garnish
sliced scallions, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, preferably on convection roast.
Set a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; when it is hot, place chicken in the skillet, skin side down. Cook undisturbed for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is nicely browned. Turn and cook 3 minutes on the other side. Season with salt and pepper.
Place skillet in the oven. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, or until almost done, about 165 degrees (juices will run clear, and there will be just a trace of pink near the bone). Remove chicken to an ovenproof platter. Place it in the oven and turn off the heat, and leave the door slightly ajar; alternatively place in a warming drawer tented with foil.
Place skillet over medium-high heat, and add shallots; sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until tender, about 2 minutes.
Add vinegar, and raise the heat to high. Cook a minute or two, or until the powerful acid smell has subsided somewhat. Add 1/2 cup water if using vinegar with >5% acidity (I omitted the water), and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring, until the mixture is slightly reduced and somewhat thickened.
Stir in butter, if desired.
Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet, and turn the chicken in the sauce. Garnish with herbs and scallions, as desired. Serve immediately.

Note: Most wine vinegar sold in the United States has an acidity level of 7%; many French vinegars are just 5% acidity. So it’s best to cut strong vinegar with some water.

Mark Bittman’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

I feel somewhat compelled to try different chocolate chip cookie recipes- especially when they claim to be “The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER”…. (and I don’t think I’m alone!)

A couple of weekends ago, I had to make a dessert for my kids and their friends, so naturally I thought of chocolate chip cookies. I had seen this recipe adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything on Sarah n Spice.com. She said that they were “The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER”- even beating out a recipe from Alton Brown. (WHAT!?!?) I had to try this one.

I liked that the recipe incorporated both mini and standard semisweet chocolate chips. I adapted the recipe only to chill the dough prior to baking. We ate them as is as well as in chipwich form with French vanilla ice cream. SO good!! I have come to the conclusion that I just appreciate a really good chocolate chip cookie. It’s too hard to judge “The Best!”

½ pound unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
¼ cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 on convection.
Start off by creaming together sugar and butter in a stand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add in eggs one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated.
Add the vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the dry to the wet ingredients and mix until the cookie dough comes together.
With a spoon, stir in the chocolate chips.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour or up to overnight. (Alternatively, the dough can also be scooped into tablespoon-size mounds prior to refrigerating.)
Scoop tablespoon-size mounds on a baking sheet. (I used an ice cream scoop.)
Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Enjoy!