BRAISED CHICKEN

½ cup all purpose flour plus additional for dredging

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 chicken thighs*

4 chicken drumsticks*

4 ounces fresh chanterelle mushrooms

2 medium carrots, peeled, thinly sliced

2 large shallots, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, divided

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth

1/4 cup crème fraîche

Melt butter with oil in heavy large deep skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Cook chicken until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate. Add mushrooms, carrots, and shallots to skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon thyme and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add wine; bring to boil. Add broth; bring to boil.

Return chicken to skillet, reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Turn chicken, cover, and simmer until cooked through, about 15 minutes longer. Transfer chicken and vegetables to platter. Whisk crème fraîche into sauce in skillet; bring to boil. Season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken, sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon thyme, and serve.

*Legs and thigs are better suited to this recipe than breasts which have can be a little dry.

CHICKEN CURRY

I love Indian food! This year, I have decided to learn more about and cook more Indian food at home. Chicken curry has become a weekly staple in our house over the last several months. On the one hand it's pretty light, and on the other it is warm and spicy-real comfort food. There are a bunch of Indian restaurants near us, mostly vegetarian and not particularly very good.

A couple of years ago, I was watching a British cooking show and most of the details have escaped me, but I think someone like Gordon Ramsay was teaching families how to make their cultures traditional dishes. I have been experimenting with Indian food for a while, but one thing I got from the show really improved my curry sauce. Curry sauce generally consists of onion, garlic, ginger, cilantro, tomato, chili and spices. Often you blend the onion garlic and ginger, then cook and add the remaining ingredients. This never worked for me, I could always taste raw, biting onion. So the show had the people sauté all of the veg in oil, I usually use coconut oil, until soft. Then add some water and puree. Cook the vegetables and then puree? I love it! This produces a much better flavor in my opinion.

A word on curry powder-you can buy it in any grocery store, but look for different varieties in specialty stores or gourmet markets. You can also combine turmeric, ginger, cumin, coriander and cayenne to make your own.

Anyway, here's my version of curry:
1 onion, coarsely chopped or sliced
1 couple of cloves of garlic, peeled
1 two-three inch piece of ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 tomatoes (canned are fine)
1/2 bunch cilantro
chile pepper to taste, chopped (I usually use 2-3 serranos)
2-4 tablespoons curry powder
1-2 cups water
1 cup coconut milk (not light) or full fat plain yogurt
2 chicken breasts (boneless & skinless), cut into 1-2 inch pieces
1/4 cup coconut oil

Place the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger and chile. Sauté the vegetables until soft, then add curry powder. Stir to coat everything, then add tomatoes, cilantro and water. Simmer for about 10 minutes then blend in a blender. Return sauce to the pan and add chicken and any vegetables. Reduce heat to low, add coconut milk, cover and cook until chicken is cooked through. Serve over rice.

CHIPOTLE CHICKEN TACOS

We had already planned on making tacos tonight. It would allow Andrew to show off his amazing tortilla making skills. So I was pretty excited when I got my new Bon Apetit yesterday and there was a recipe for chipotle chicken tacos right on the cover! There's always a jar of pureed chipotles in my fridge. The combination of spicy and smokey is my favorite.

I always have these great aspirations to cook a large portion of the recipes in my magazines each month, but I never do. So at least this recipe will be a step in the right direction.

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves plus 3 fresh cilantro sprigs
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves plus 3 fresh oregano sprigs
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves plus 3 fresh rosemary sprigs
• 4 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo*
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed in resealable plastic bag with mallet
• 1 5 1/2- to 6-pound roasting chicken, rinsed, patted dry; neck, heart, and gizzard reserved
• 2 large onions, each cut into 8 wedges through root end, leaving root ends intact
• 12 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 cup (or more) low-salt chicken broth
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 8 warm corn tortillas
• 1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, thinly sliced

Using fork, mix butter, all chopped herbs, chipotle chiles, and crushed coriander in small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Place chicken, breast side up, in large roasting pan; place reserved neck, heart, and gizzard alongside. Starting at neck end of chicken, slide fingers under skin to loosen, being careful to avoid tearing. Spread all but 1 tablespoon seasoned butter over breast meat and thigh meat under skin.Rub any butter remaining on fingers over outside of chicken. Sprinkle main cavity of chicken with salt and pepper; place all herb sprigs in cavity. Tie legs together loosely.

Place onion wedges in large bowl. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon seasoned butter in small saucepan over low heat; pour over onion wedges and toss to coat. Arrange onions around chicken. Sprinkle onions and chicken with salt and pepper.

Roast chicken and onions 30 minutes. Scatter garlic cloves around chicken; add 1/4 cup broth to roasting pan. Continue to roast chicken until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 170°F, basting occasionally with pan juices and adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls as needed to maintain juices in roasting pan, about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Remove roasting pan from oven. Tilt chicken, draining juices from cavity into pan. Transfer chicken, onions, and garlic to platter. Tent with foil to keep warm. Add 1/4 cup broth and wine to pan. Place over 2 burners and bring juices to boil, scraping up browned bits. Strain juices into bowl. Discard fat from top of juices.

Cut meat from chicken (reserve 1 1/3 cups for tostadas). Serve, making tacos with warm tortillas, chicken, onions, garlic, and avocado. Drizzle tacos with pan juices