Since I needed to do some research work at both the Reagan and Nixon Presidential Libraries, I took a break from packing boxes to spend a week in sunny California. My first stop, Cambria. Seven years ago I came nose-to-proboscis with migrating elephant seals who spend the Winter on the Central Callie Coast and I haven’t missed a opportunity to visit them every year since.
This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice is Chicken Diable breasts but the organic chicken thighs in my freezer suggested I make a minor change to the recipe. Which, I did.
This classic dish, a perfect choice for Sunday night’s dinner while watching the Academy Awards, also yielded enough leftovers to keep my engine running during my drive to California last Monday. I needed to do research at both the Reagan and Nixon Presidential Libraries and could combine that work with a short stop in Cambria, visiting Colorado friends who had set up camp there for the Winter.
Before you comment that I seem to serve Trader Joe’s baked french fries with every meal, please understand that I’m trying to empty my freezer by mid-March. Admittedly, I stowed a few too many bags of french fries in my freezer. I showed no restraint regarding the delicious sauce. (The devil made me do it.) This was a perfect meal for Oscar night although I thought Naomi Watts deserved the Best Actress Award for “The Impossible” and I was pulling for “Lincoln” or “Life of Pi” for Best Picture.
“Diable is the French word for devil,” Dorie says, “and when you see it on the menu you can be pretty sure that the dish includes mustard, usually a strong Dijon mustard which is about as hot as condiments in the French kitchen get.”
I exchanged chicken breasts for thighs, pounding them lightly before sauteing them in a pan with olive oil and butter. If you prefer beef, try a filet mignon.
Like many of Dorie’s recipes, she’s taken a traditional French dish and turned it into simple without losing any of its taste. I pounded chicken cutlets lightly before slipping them into a large skillet, coated with butter and olive oil, to sauté. Then I transferred them to a 200 degree oven for warmth before making the sauce.
After lightly browning the chicken cutlets for about 4 minutes on each side, I transferred them to a pan, covered them with foil and slipped them into a 200 degree oven.
Using the same skillet I softened finely chopped shallots, garlic and seasonings before adding the dry white wine and heavy cream. After the sauce reached a boil, I added mustard and Worcestershire sauce and stirred to blend. Once the sauce was seasoned correctly, I removed the chicken from the oven, plated it and poured the mustard sauce over the top. It was delicious.
We took many hikes into the surrounding hills and along the Central coastline. Because of the wonderfully warm and sunny weather, the flowers are starting to burst into bloom. Hottentot Fig, more commonly known as Ice Plant, Carpobrotus edulis, Ice Plant family. Photo by Ruth Frey
For my trip west the next day, I cut the remaining Chicken Thighs Diable into long strips and packed them into Tupperware. Along with a few carrots and celery sticks, they provided a flavorful and protein-filled treat for the drive.
California Brown Pelican
If you’d like to try Dorie’s very tasty recipe, go here. To see what others thought about this week’s recipe, go to our French Fridays with Dorie link.
Mary – FFwD is a judgement free zone. If you want to eat french fries with every meal, we’ll help you find a variety of condiments to enjoy with them. Just sayin’
Enjoy your time on the coast & that was some good chicken, wasn’t it?
No one has ever given me permission to eat french fries with every meal. Loving you, Cher.
What a lovely post, Mary! I love your pelican photo.
I can’t wait to see you tomorrow! xoxo
Susan, I am more excited to see you and John than I am to see President Reagan’s Air Force One. What does that say about my priorities. I will meet your stepfather tomorrow also. A family affair, I guess.
Mighty good, this chicken! Enjoy your time away from the packing boxes!
You get to meet Susan???? Forget the food, I want to join you two!!! Color me green! But I’d be remiss if I didn’t comment on your delicious meal…french fries and all 🙂 Well done…and thanks for sharing part of your non-foodie life with us. You are multi-talented, my friend.
Friday Night, Napa Tavern, 6:30PM, Thousand Oaks. Join us, Liz.
Oh, Liz – I so wish you could have been there, too! Come to Seattle in Sept!
Great idea to use the chicken thighs! Lovely wildlife photos.
looking forward to next Friday with your Library POTUS research. Great pix and the chicken looks fabulous. Glad you are getting the freezer empty…no turning back.
be safe, Donna
Forget the chicken…although your meal does look great (we love this sauce)…I’m looking forward to pics of you and Susan together!!! We expect to see several. How Fun!!!
Hi Mary, I loved this one too. I’m glad to know this works well with chicken thighs, as that is my preferred chicken part. I haven’t eaten frozen French fries since I left my parents’ house, but with Cher’s blessing and your influence, I’m going to try them. I love eating them out with burgers.
Enjoy your California adventure. Say hi to Susan & family. Wish I were meeting them too! Is this the first face-to-face Dorista meeting reported? Be sure to take pictures! BTW, Howard and I have a favorite photo of us (way before we were married) taken in Cambria. It’s under the sign of an inn called The Burton House, which was also the name of the dorm we lived in. If I can figure out how to email you a copy of this non-digital photo, I’ll send it your way.
Beautiful dish! And beautiful photos too! I’m so pleased to hear that chicken thighs worked so well for this dish – I definitely intend to give that a try in the future. Have a good weekend, Mary!
Beautiful job. This was a favorite dish at my house. Love your pictures.
That’s so lovely that you’re getting together with Susan – IRL Dorista meetings!
I often use chicken thighs and breasts interchangeably, depending on what I have on hand. It looks like it worked beautifully for you this week.
Your trip sounds fantastic, on all counts. Good luck with your research.
I don’t think Nana and I can make it to that Napa tavern in time but I am so happy to see you are catching up with that lovely Susan. As the other Doristas are saying, we are now so familiar with one another that when I saw you were in CA I had actually wondered if Susan knew it…..before reading the bottom of your post 🙂 The post was a joy to read as usual- balancing the priorities and the joys of life as usual. Thanks for the inspiration. My lunch will now be the TJ’s sweet potato fries in my freezer with my leftover chicken (my sinuses could use it :). Enjoy your trip and say hi to Susan for us !!
I have made this countless times since getting the book and usually use the thighs as well. They hold up nicely to the sauce and seem more flavorful if you ask me. Now excuse me as I”m off to buy some Trader Joes french fries.
I think next time I will try this recipe using thighs! Love all your pictures!
Mary, so many wonderful things to talk about in your lovely post – how nice that you get to meet a fellow Dorista and get to spend time in California – away from those moving boxes – it all sounds so amazing and like a real wonderful adventure! Looking very much forward to reading about your Presidential Libraries Tour and thank you so much that you thought about the young ladies at our house. Your Chicken Thighs Diable looks quite delicious with that lovely creamy mustard sauce. The kids are now torn between the Norman chicken and this recipe and are already begging for me to prepare these two dishes again soon. And Oscar night – I managed to stay awake for the first few minutes but it was sooo very late here that I just could not keep my eyes open long enough.
Thanks again for the very lovely comment that you left on my blog – always such a pleasure – and many hugs and kisses from the girls! It was such a wonderful sunny day here today and we took them to “visit” the chickens and buy tons of fresh eggs at our favorite farm, they had a great afternoon!
Have a good weekend!
Mary I agree with Cher! This is a judgement free zone and all I think is I need to get some of those fries:) I love the photos…..flowers, birds, and seals? This post has it all! Enjoy your trip!
I used chicken thighs, too! Good for you for trying to empty the freezer by March. I don’t think I can get that job done by March, maybe by June? Hey, I bet the sauce would have been a great dipper for the fries!
This sounds so good Mary. Your chicken is so beautifully golden, love it!
I love the photo of the seals – adorable! This was a delicious dish, and I like the fact that you adapted it for travelling.
Ooooooh I like this – chicken thighs are so tasty and so much cheaper than chicken breasts! I’m going to make this dish sometime this week and I’m stealing your idea Mary!
I love french fries and would eat them everyday if I could! Your chicken looks so yummy and the sauce would make for great dipping with those fries!
I like the idea of the thighs. Lots more flavor. Loved the sauce. Your chicken looks perfect.