NEW ORLEANS —
Creamy Garlic Chicken
- Chicken
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 8 skinless , boneless chicken thighs
- Creole seasoning, to taste
- 2 cups portabello mushrooms, sliced
Cream Sauce
- 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
- 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp. garlic cloves, or to taste, minced
- 2 Tbsp. basil , or to taste
- salt and fresh ground pepper , to taste
- 1 lb. green beans, fresh
- Parsley and green onions for garnish
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet.
Season the chicken with the Creole seasoning.
Place the chicken thighs in the skillet and cook for about 7 to 8 minutes, or until browned.
Flip the chicken and cook for about 8 more minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove from pan and set aside. Add mushrooms to the pan and sauté for 2 minutes.
Combine evaporated milk, flour, garlic, dried basil, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl; whisk until well combined.
Add the prepared sauce to the hot skillet and bring to a boil. Place the chicken back in the pan, add green beans and lower heat to a simmer.
Cover and cook for 5 minutes, or until green beans are tender and chicken is heated through.
Remove from heat and garnish with parsley
Roasted Garlic Soup
- 26 garlic cloves, peeled and roasted
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 2 onions, sliced
- 2 tsp. fresh thyme
- 18 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 2 Tbsp. Creole seasoning
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 2 russet potato, not peeled, cut into large chunks
- 4 lemon wedges
Roasting garlic (this can be done a day ahead)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the bottom portion off where the garlic attaches to the base. To make peeling the garlic easy, you can smash them a bit then the peel will come right off. Place garlic in small glass baking dish. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and add a dash each of salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Cover baking dish tightly with a lid or foil and bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Transfer cloves to small bowl.
Melt butter in a heavy, large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add the onions and thyme and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the roasted garlic and the 18 raw garlic cloves and cook a couple of minutes to release some of the raw garlic oils.
Season with the Creole seasoning, and add the potato chunks. Add chicken stock, cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes.
Remove the potato chunks after the 20 minute simmer and place in a small bowl or on a plate while you puree the rest of the ingredients.
Working in batches, puree soup in a blender until smooth or puree with an immersion blender. Return potato chunks to the creamed soup.
Return soup to the saucepan, add cream, and bring to a very low simmer just to reheat. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Taste and add more to your liking.
Divide the grated 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese among 4 bowls and ladle soup over.
Squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and serve. Serve in individual bowls garnished with more grated Parmesan, Parmesan Crips or toasted croutons.
Parmesan Crisp
Heat your oven to 400 degrees, Pour a heaping tablespoon of grated Parmesan onto a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet and pat down just a bit. For color or extra flavor, you could sprinkle the cheese mound with herbs, black pepper or red pepper flakes. Repeat with as much Parmesan crisps as desired, spacing the spoonfuls about a 1/2 inch apart. Bake until golden and crisp. Since ovens vary, this time can be anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes. The cheese will bubble quite a bit, but just keep cooking until the crisps darken. Cool, then using a spatula, carefully scrape the crips off the baking sheet and serve with the soup.