I am not doing a Best of April post as the very sad and sudden passing of our beloved boy Oscar at the end of the month has muted pretty much everything that was good.  We are still working through our grief which for me personally has meant a great lethargy.  I have barely been motivated to cook and not at all motivated to write until today.  Baby steps are enough at the moment.  But one of the things I made just before Oscar passed away was the recipe for Chicken Chanteclair from the Creole section of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery which was so tasty and comforting that I had to share it.

What on Earth is Chicken Chanteclair?

The name Chanteclair comes from the French words chanter meaning to sing and clair meaning clearly.  So, to my mind this is a dish that will inspire you to sing its praises loud and strong.

Chicken Chanteclair is a Coq Au Vin by another name.  I can’t see any particular Creole influences in this dish –  to me this is purely French.  Indeed one of my notes from when I made this was that it made the house “smell like France”.  And, just to be clear, I didn’t mean that in the way I mean it when I talk about our trip to Toulouse.  There, it smelt like every male in the town was using the streets as his own personal urinal.   Chicken Chanteclair made the house smell of herbs and wine and meat cooking low and slow.  It smelled like family and comfort.  One of my other notes on this recipe was “this is the kind of dish you cook for people you love”

Here’s The Recipe: Chicken Chanteclair

The actual recipe wasn’t much so here are my notes:

• 1 kilo of chicken thighs on the bone.
• I added 3 sprigs of thyme and 2 bay leaves to the marinade
• For the marinade I used 3/4 bottle of wine (Just enough left over for a glass with the meal)
• I threw in 12 fresh mushrooms as well as the dried mushrooms
• I wasn’t sure about the tarragon at the end but it really worked
• I served mine with mashed potatoes to soak up that luxurious sauce.  Crusty bread would also be a great option!

Apart from those changes, the rest was easy.  Marinade the ingredients overnight, pop them in the oven and voila – Chicken Chanteclair!

The leftovers were also delicious in some cheddar and jalapeno biscuits I made!

This is so easy to make but it feels like a much more complex dish.  It is delicious, reheats well and is comfort food at its best.  This will go on high rotation at my house!

I really hope you cook this for someone or someones you love very soon!

I am away a training course all of  next week so will not be posting anything.  The following week I will be back with a Dining with the Dame.  It is a Poirot and our very first Ariadne Oliver novel!

Have a wonderful week!