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Bourbon Mustard Chicken  

4 chicken breast halves, skinned and boned 1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed  1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Dijon mustard 1 Tbl. butter
1/4 cup Bourbon 1 Tbl. vegetable oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced  

Place chicken between sheets of waxed paper, and pound to 1/4” thickness. Place chicken in a shallow baking dish. Combine sugar, mustard, bourbon, green onions, salt, and Worcestershire sauce. Brush mixture evenly over both sides of chicken breast halves. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 1 hour. Remove chicken from marinade, reserving marinade. Heat butter and oil in large skillet. Over medium-high heat, sauté chicken 3 to 4 minutes. on each side or until done. Remove chicken to a serving platter, and keep warm. Drain and discard pan drippings. Bring marinade to a boil in the skillet, stirring constantly. Pour sauce over chicken. Serve with a fairly hearty red such as a Malbec.


Chicken in Sherry Sauce

2 lb. chicken pieces 6 oz. mushrooms
4 Tbl. olive oil  5 oz. dry or medium-dry Sherry
4 oz. ham 1 bay leaf
1 onion salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a strong casserole dish (the Spanish terra cotta ones are excellent). Add the chicken pieces. Cook and turn until they are browned. Meanwhile chop the onion and ham coarsely and slice the mushrooms. Add onion, ham, and mushrooms to the casserole and sauté for 5-10 min. Add the Sherry, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer until the chicken is tender (approximately 20 minutes). Serve with rice or baked potatoes and a mixed salad. Serves 4. Try it with a full-bodied white or a medium-flavored red such as a Rioja or Osborne's Malpica Cabernet.


Turkey with Creole Stuffing (Pavita Rellena a la Criolla)

8 slices firm white bread 2 hardboiled eggs, finely chopped
milk 3 Tbl. pitted green olives, chopped
2 Tbl. butter 2 C peaches, pitted, peeled, & chopped
salt, freshly ground pepper 1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 pounds sausage meat 3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 bay leaf, crumbled 10 - 12 lb. turkey, preferably a hen turkey
1 tsp. oregano olive oil
1 Tbl. parsley, finely chopped 1/2 C melted butter for basting

Soak the bread in milk, squeeze out, and fluff. In a saucepan heat the butter and sauté the onion until golden. Add the sausage meat and cook, mashing with a fork until it has lost all its color. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the bread, herbs, hardboiled eggs, olives, and peaches. Season to taste with salt and a generous amount of pepper. Stir in the lightly beaten eggs. Stuff the bird with the mixture and truss it. Rub the bird all over with olive oil and bake in a preheated moderate (325 F.) oven for 3 to 3-1/2 hours or until done. Baste every 30 minutes with butter and then the pan drippings. Use a little more butter if necessary. If any dressing is left over, bake it separately in a foil-covered container. A gravy can be made by simmering the giblets and neck in water to make 3 cups of stock. Stir 4 tablespoons flour into 4 tablespoons fat from the roasting pan, add the stock, and cook, stirring until the gravy is thickened. This flavorful dish calls for a gutsy Rhone red, a California Syrah, a better Valpolicella, or a relatively big Pinot Noir.


Grilled Cornish Game Hens

2 game hens, 1 to 1 1/4 lb. each 1 Tbl. crushed whole black peppercorns
3 Tbl. olive oil 1/2 tsp salt
1/3 C fresh lemon juice 4 sprigs fresh rosemary soaked in water 30 minutes

Split hens lengthwise. Rinse and pat dry with paper towel. Combine remaining ingredients except rosemary. Place hens in a large plastic bag. Set in a bowl. Pour marinade over hens. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight, turning hens occasionally. Remove hens from marinade and allow them to warm up a bit. Preheat grill. Add rosemary sprigs to the coals or place in a smoker box. Put hens on grill rack skin side up. Cover grill and cook for 45 minutes or until hens test done, basting with marinade occasionally


Capon Catanzaro Style

1 small capon, 5-6 lb. pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2/3 cup butter

Salt and freshly ground pepper

8 salted anchovy fillets, minced Marsala
juice of half a lemon  

Preheat oven to 425 F. Wash bird well inside and out, and pat it dry. Cream the butter, and work in the anchovy filets, lemon juice, and nutmeg. Fill the cavity with the mixture, sew the opening shut, and salt and pepper the bird. Roast it 65 to 75 minutes basting occasionally with Marsala and drippings until the juices run clear when you slip a skewer into the meaty area under the wing joint or between the leg and thigh. Cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest 20 minutes before carving. Make a gravy from the drippings. Serve it with a medium-flavored or slightly bigger red wine such as Bliss Schoolhouse Red.


Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

6 free-range chicken legs with skin salt and freshly ground pepper
4 large onions, thinly sliced

1 pinch thyme

40 garlic cloves, unpeeled 2 bay leaves
1/2 cup olive oil

3/4 cup black olives (preferably from Nyons)

[This is a variation on the James Beard classic.] Preheat oven to 430F. In a thick ovenproof frying pan or casserole, fry the chicken legs in a little oil on both sides until the skin is golden. Remove the chicken legs. Off the heat add the garlic cloves and cover with the onions. Add a pinch of salt, pepper, and thyme. Place the chicken legs on the bed of onions, skin facing up. Pour the remaining oil over the dish so that the garlic cloves are bathing in the olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the dish. The onions and the garlic should be caramelized. Using a sieve, drain the oil out of the onions and garlic, return them to the casserole, and fry on high heat for a couple of minutes. Add the olives and replace the chicken on top. Serve with a mashed potatoes using the drained oil. Serve this with a lighter style Côtes du Rhône or a crisp Sauvignon Blanc such as a Sancerre. Serves 4-6


Roasted Game Hens (Pollastrini arrosti)

1 thick slice pancetta or prosciutto 12 small Gaeta or Nicoise olives
6 Rock Cornish game hens, 3/4 lb. each, or 4 one-pounders

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 fresh sage leaves 2 Tbl. extra virgin olive oil
6 bay leaves, preferably fresh 4-6 thin slices pancetta or prosciutto

Bring birds to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the thick slice of pancetta or prosciutto in six equal portions. Tuck a piece of pancetta inside each bird, along with a sage leaf, a bay leaf, and two of the olives (three if using larger birds), pitted if you prefer. Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the outside of the birds and rub into the skin, rubbing with some of the olive oil at the same time. Wrap a thin slice of pancetta or prosciutto around each bird, stretching the meat to cover the bird well.

Set the birds in a baking dish in which they will all fit comfortably. Roast for 45 minutes, then turn down the oven to 325 degrees F. and continue roasting 30 minutes longer or until the birds are done and the juices run clear when the bird is pierced with a fork. Serve immediately with the pan juices as a sauce. Serve with a flavorful Italian red such as Cesari MOMA.

More Poultry Recipes


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