2 X Chopped Champion Chef Briscione's Makers Mark Braised Chicken

Fusing his love of bourbon and cooking, Chef Briscione shares his Maker’s Mark braised chicken with apples and creamy herbed polenta dish. Cooking with bourbon is popular all year long and this recipe is a great opportunity for your readers to try their hand at a celebrity chef’s favorite technique. This simple yet appetizing entrée brings in bold flavors to wrap up the very last of the winter season.

Maker’s Mark Braised Chicken with Apples and Herbed Polenta

Ingredients:

1 TBS vegetable oil

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 cup onions, chopped

1 golden delicious apple, chopped

½ cup celery, chopped

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup bourbon

3 cups chicken stock

1 TBS butter

2 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges.

Directions:

Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pot. Season the chicken thighs well with salt and pepper and sear to golden brown on both sides.

Remove the chicken from the pan and add the onions, apple, celery and garlic. Cook over a medium flame until the onions are tender and lightly browned.

Turn the heat off the pan and add the bourbon. Carefully flame the bourbon and boil until reduced by half. Return the chicken to the pan, and add the chicken stock.

Bring the stock to a simmer, cover the pan and place in a 350˚ oven for 45 minutes.

While the chicken is in the oven, sauté the apples in butter until tender and lightly browned.

After 45 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven. Strain the liquid and discard the vegetables. Put the liquid back on the stove and reduce by half. Just before serving, return the chicken to the reduced sauce. Garnish with sautéed apples. Serves 4.

Herbed Polenta

Ingredients: 

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups milk

1 bouquet garni (parsley stems, fresh thyme and bay leaf tied in a bundle)

1 head garlic cut in half

¾ cup yellow polenta or grits

2 TBS butter

¼ parmesan cheese

2 TBS minced parsley

Directions:

Combine the milk and stock in a medium saucepot. Add the bouquet and garlic, bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and turn off the flame. Set aside for 30 minutes to infuse the herbs into the liquid.

Remove the herbs and garlic, return the mixture to a boil. Whisk in the polenta.

Simmer, stirring often until tender and thickened. Finish by seasoning with the butter and parmesan. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley.

A bit of background on Chef Briscione:

Chef Briscione has worked at New York City’s famed Restaurant Daniel and has won Food Network’s Chopped and Chopped Champions Tournament, becoming the show’s first 2 –time champion. He co-authored “Just Married and Cooking,” a cooking and lifestyle entertaining guide with his wife, Brooke Parkhurst, which developed into a website offering recipes, tips and cooking classes. He currently teaches at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City.

The Whiskey Sour (National Whiskey Sour Day Recipe)

It’s a Saturday near the end of August and the weatherman said it wasn’t supposed to be blazing hot for the next 24 hours. Mix those two facts together with a great day entitled “National Whiskey Sour Day” and you have the makings for a perfect poolside rest & relaxation session that should ease whatever troubles you, right out of your mind.

The Whiskey Sour, a cool almost punch-like drink is one of those old classics you just can’t live your life without trying at least once.

Quite simple to make and extremely delicious this is a drink you need to have in your arsenal for moments such as these.

Enjoy Responsibly.

The Whiskey Sour –

Ingredients:

1 part Gentleman Jack

3 parts Sweet & Sour Mix

1 Orange (washed and cut into slices)

Cherries (as a garnish)

Directions:

Pour Gentleman Jack & Sweet and Sour mix into a chilled rocks glass over ice.

Stir together and garnish with and Orange slice and one Cherry.

Libations: The Peach & Mango Cobbler

We figured since we are about to embark on a little bit of a journey why not start the day off right with a nice Libation we call “The Peach & Mango Cobler on Ice.” This drink right here packs a serious punch and goes great after dinner on a hot evening.

Ingredients

Crushed ice

2 ½ oz rye whiskey

2 ½ oz peach nectar

Dash bitters

4- 5 wedges frozen peaches cut into a medium sized dice

¼ of a ripe Mango quartered or cut into wedges

3 to 4 fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

1 lemon wedge

Directions:

Fill a large wine goblet with crushed ice.

Gently muddle the rye, peach nectar, dash of bitters, peaches, mango, mint, and a squeeze of lemon juice in a cocktail shaker.

Pour over ice and serve cold.

Editors Note: At first, the whiskey will pack a mean punch but as the ice melts and mixes with the fruit melt, it will mellow into a wonderful summer drink.

Recipe Of The Day: Hot Toddy

Just in time before the cold season leaves us comes this incredibly easy to make Hot Toddy Recipe which is great for those days where you think your starting to catch a cold or already may have a cold (or just want to get warm and saucy at the same time.) 
This recipe calls for a few shots of Whisky and a diced up Habanero Pepper to add some real heat at the end.
Many of you may not actually know what  Hot Toddy is, no its not something that Jay Z and Usher made up for that lame dance song they had in 2010. It is a drink that was enjoyed usually by elders who felt the need to warm up right before going out into the cold wet conditions they lived in or before going to bed.

Enjoy.

National Whiskey Sour Day

A fine Whiskey is a desirable thing to have in your arsenal of liquors and libations. Traditional drinks that call for Whiskey can easily be ruined if the mixologist of the moment throws in some cheap money saving liquor instead of reaching for the Top Shelf stuff.
Now by Top Shelf, we are talking about brands such as Bushmills 1608, Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve, or for those that money is no option, the Macallan Fine Reserve from 1926 is the ultimate purchase you could make.
The Whiskey Sour is a great drink for those who love Whiskey but do not wish to drink it straight up for the moment. We aren't going to get into the great Whiskey / Whisky debate other than to note that Whiskey with an E is Irish and without is typically Scottish.
Enjoy this drink today and often, especially with a great steak or some seafood as it compliments both very nicely.
Cheers, L'Chaim, Salute (and if you really wish to impress someone, heres how to to say Cheers in almost every Nations dialect.)