Monday, November 21, 2011

A Reliable Recipe – I hope



My sister has been single for a couple of years now and a whole new world of dating has opened up for her (and me, vicariously). At different times she has met very different men, gone on a few dates, cooked a meal for them and – despite how different these men have been from each other – all dates have ended after this meal. The same meal she has cooked each time – once her signature dish, one could say – until she saw the pattern emerge.

‘I can never cook it again,’ she laughed, ‘unless I want to get rid of someone.’

What is it, you are probably wondering?

Duck risotto. A very rich, very tasty duck risotto that she has even cooked me. Restaurant quality I thought. It didn’t ruin our relationship (and hopefully this post won’t either).

She’s a great cook and it’s an impressive meal so we have decided it must just be a funny coincidence... but as superstitious as our family is I know she will never cook that duck risotto for a man again.

That has been fine the last few months, but not now. She has met someone; someone who (big sister thinks) sounds better than all the others put together.

There have been numerous dates and now we have reached the home-cooked meal one. I say ‘we’ because I have never really been in this position. When Stuart and I started ‘dating’ my mum cooked him dinner. That’s how young we were.

Late yesterday, I received a text from her asking for my chicken and sage casserole recipe. Perhaps you could call it my signature dish. I’ve cooked it so many times that Stuart is over it. That minor point aside, it’s a really easy, simple dish that does looks impressive.

I had given my sister the recipe a few years ago but she couldn’t find it anywhere.

‘Maybe it’s a sign you shouldn’t cook it for him?’ I text back.

‘Don’t say that?!?!?!’ came the swift reply.

Fair enough. I went to find it in my recipe scrapbook. I tore it out of Good Weekend magazine years ago when Matthew Evans had the ‘Weekend Fare’ column. I hadn’t looked at the recipe for a while either, given it’s one of only a handful I know by heart.

As I started typing the method out, I noticed the introductory paragraph he’s written above it.


“Love. As fragile as meringue. Women. As tender as slow-cooked chicken thigh. Feelings. As easily bruised as fresh herbs. Memories. Lightly salty, like tears. A good casserole. As reliable as an old friend and as warming as a hand on your shoulder.”

It has to be a sign...

This and the fact that on their first date he mentioned a strong dislike of risotto.

Only time will tell.

Chicken casserole with mushrooms and sage
(serves 3-4)
25g butter
8 chicken thighs
Flour for dusting
1 leek chopped
1 cup white wine
200g button mushrooms
15 or so big sage leaves
Salt and pepper

Method
Preheat oven to 150°C
Dust chicken with flour.
Melt butter and brown chicken in an oven proof dish.
Remove chicken and fry leek until it’s softened.
Return chicken, add wine to deglaze bottom of pan and simmer for a minute or two.
Toss in mushrooms and 10 sage leaves, salt and pepper.
Cover and put in oven for an hour or so.
Add remaining sage leaves and serve.

*Recipe by Matthew Evans, torn from Good Weekend circa 2004

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well after that you're just going to have to keep us posted on how the home cooked meal date went...and share the recipe too!! xLiz

Anonymous said...

Oops, you DID share the recipe. Doh. x

Claire said...

Stu may not appreciate this recipe, but it's loved in our house - and I've sent it overseas w family so I'll be grateful for you teaching it to me forever :-).

Paula said...

So funny! Made me think of a book/movie - Like Water For Chocolate - I think. All about the special powers a Mexican woman has through her cooking.

Anonymous said...

Loved reading this and wish your sister all the best - she's definitely a generous hostess so am sure success is just around the corner... Also love Matthew Evans and miss his little recipes and nuggets of wisdom so thanks for that. I offer this very easy, small-but-perfectly-formed meal for two by Nigella - crispy roast chook with petits pois a la francaise. http://www.2forcouples.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=854:nigella-lawson-schmalzy-chicken&catid=118:recipes&Itemid=258
Toodlepip, Jan

Germaine Leece said...

Ha! Thanks everyone for the comments. Hopefully she manages the Like Water for Chocolate effect tonight. If not, there is always Jan's recipe! gx

Fiona said...

love the tale behind this recipe. We have heaps of sage growing. am going to give it a go

how did the date meal go for your sister?

Jackie said...

A lovely blog, Germaine. Fingers crossed for your sister. I hope the recipe was a huge success. And yes, I am going to try it.

Germaine Leece said...

I hope those of you cooking it for the first time enjoy it! gx

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed this post, Germaine. Thanks also for the recipe. One I shall definitely try out once we are in our new house and I finally have access to an oven again - it's been over 3 months now! Hx

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