Shining Amelia.....the King of SLHC....and Homestyle Lentils!
Oh man. Amelia White just shone last night. An absolutely wonderful house concert. Amelia sounded incredible and the Sidecars, our beloved Sergio Webb, and Megan Jane----well.....just glorious. Amelia's new songs sounded better than ever. We were really impressed and so, SO happy. These evenings really feed us....there's no other way to put it. They just feed our soul. Thank you so much to Amelia, Sergio, Megan and all of you that came. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Speaking of food, I was pretty pleased with it....despite my lumpy mashed potatoes (and really....if it wasn't the fact that I was cooking for others, I would be the first to say I like lumps). I was pleased with the ratatouille....a slightly mellower version due to lots of onions, shallots, and garlic cooked long and slow in olive oil, a sauce of pureed red pepper and tomatoes and then the zucchini and eggplant. I used dried basil, fresh thyme from the garden, salt and pepper of course, and some chopped fresh basil at the last minute. On top of the mashed potatoes it was pretty damned nice.
The dish I was most pleased with though was the French lentils with sausage and chicken. A few people asked for the recipe and I will do my best to write it out...it's such a simple thing that I didn't really use a recipe. It's also one of those throw whatever you want in it kind of dishes.....the key, I think, is just make it ahead and give the flavors time to develop and marry. My kind of peasant cooking.....
Cynthia's French Lentils with Sausage and Chicken
2 lbs French de Puy lentils
1 large onion, chopped roughly
4-6 medium carrots, chopped roughly
4 stalks celery, chopped roughly
4-6 garlic cloves, diced
8-10 junier berries, chopped
3-4 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
6ish sweet Italian sausage (or other sausage)
Chicken stock 8 cups or so????
Olive oil
Salt, pepper and paprika
Fresh parsley
Saute the heck out of the onions, celery, juniper berries, garlic and carrots....nice and slow so they just kind of melt down and don't get too brown. Be patient.
Add the lentils and cover with chicken broth (or chicken broth and water) about an inch or so over. Simmer until mostly cooked. At this point I tucked it in the refrigerator and I do think that makes a difference. Make it AHEAD. I also recommend getting the French lentils rather than the brown. I like brown lentils but the French ones are smaller and don't tend to fall apart as much when cooked and there's just a slightly more delicate flavor. They also are stunningly beautiful before you cook them but I suppose that's a fleeting pleasure.
I did that on Wednesday night. On Thursday evening I pulled them out and added the sausages (whole...oh, and I used sweet Italian but you could certainly play around with that) and the chicken thighs. I seasoned the chicken with a bit of salt and pepper and some paprika. In fact, I seasoned all along, with the vegetables, then with the lentils, and then at this step. I put it all in my big old Dutch oven and put it in the oven at about 300-325 for an hour or two. When I started getting sleepy I pulled them out, let it cool a bit and put it in the refrigerator. Friday afternoon, I pulled them out, decided to warm it up and let it simmer a bit longer until the chicken started to fall apart. That was it. I could have done that on Thursday if I hadn't gotten tired. Then on Saturday I just cut the sausages into thirds or so, mixed it up, warmed it up in a low oven. There you go. I was going for fall comfort food and I think it fit the bill pretty well!
I REALLY wish I had recorded a couple of songs....damn it....this living in the moment thing has a price to pay! There are some great videos of Amelia on youtube but I don't think any of them capture the power.
Oh, and here is our beloved Sergio Webb....now the undisputed king of Sandwich Life House Concert appearances. Can Fats reclaim the title????