It’s no secret that we’re a little France obsessed. We love the country, the food, the wine, the people….we just adore anything and everything French. So many of the meals that we make tend to be French, Andrew loves complicated, challenging recipes that destroy the kitchen and take all day. I’m more of a weeknight French recipe kind of gal, I still destroy the kitchen but my choices are less labored.

I found a great recipe for Mustard Chicken or Poulet a la Moutarde, the directions were simple and the ingredient list was not a mile long.  I tweaked it a little bit and it wasn’t the prettiest dish but it was so delicious that looks didn’t matter.

The whole kitchen smelled so good while making this, there’s just something about wine and shallots that can make your house feel cozy. I used a grainy Dijon whole mustard along with a creamy Dijon in this recipe. I LOVE mustard so we never have a shortage of varieties around our kitchen. Fun fact, mustard is one of the world’s most popular and oldest spices.  It was first used for medicinal purposes until some genius in the 9th century decided that the ground up seed mixed with a little bit of wine was delicious and should be consumed not just as medicine but in a culinary way. Dijon is on my long list of cities that I need to visit once it’s safe to again, I cannot wait to geek out with all of the mustard and history there.

Ingredients

• 1 bay leaf
• 2 grams fresh thyme (about 5 sprigs)
• 2-3 lbs chicken drumsticks, thighs, or quarters
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon cultured unsalted butter
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup dry white wine (such as a Chablis or Chardonnay)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/3 cup Crème fraîche

Directions

1. Tie the bay leaf and thyme together with kitchen string to make a bouquet garni. (If you don’t have kitchen string just add them to the pot, remember to take them out before serving, no one likes a bay leaf surprise)
2. Salt and pepper the chicken on all sides and then coat with the mustard. Pre-heat your oven to 350F.
3. Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat until hot. Add the butter, swirl to coat and then place the chicken skin-side down in the pot. Let the chicken brown on one side until the mustard is almost burnt, and then flip and brown the other side. (It’s okay if some of the browned mustard sticks to the pan and comes off the chicken as you’ll be able to scrape it up later after adding the liquids.) Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
4. Add the shallots and onions and sauté until tender and browned.
5. Add the white wine, chicken stock, and bouquet garni. Bring the mixture a boil over high heat. With a wooden spoon or a non-metal spatula scrape the mustard up off the bottom of the pot. Continue boiling until it no longer smells of alcohol.
6. Turn off the heat and then return the chicken to the pot along with any accumulated juices. Add the Crème fraîche and stir to combine.
7. Cover with a lid and braise in a 350F oven until the chicken easily falls off the bone when prodded with a fork (about 40-50 minutes).
8. Serve with crusty bread, egg noodles, potatoes or just a whole bunch of leafy veggies.

This dish provided us with leftovers, which is always a bonus. It reheated really well and we had it over mashed potatoes the second night because that mustard sauce was SO good.

Bon appetit!