Issue 46: Dijon Chicken & Couscous
A delicious, one-pot French inspired dish sure to impress your dinner guests
This week we all gathered at the Torak’s for an absolutely lovely meal of succulent, savory chicken thighs over couscous cooked with sautéed shallots and herbs de Provence. Paired with a crisp salad and white wine along with a loaf of sourdough bread brought over by Haley this time, a gesture of gratitude towards Gilly and a hard-earned day off from baking for her. The meal was absolutely delicious and the company was pleasant, as usual.
As the holidays approach at full steam ahead with the new year trailing not too far behind, we’ve been reflecting on the year thus far and where we want to go from here. We started this little cooking club in January, gathering every week for dinner — give or take a few — but what is it all of it even for you may wonder.
We had been doing it for an entire year already, so why the desire to share the recipes we make and type up a newsletter each week to send out to family and strangers alike, why go through all the trouble when you could just keep getting together for dinner regardless?
We wanted to share not only the delicious food we were making and simultaneously broaden our dinner repertoires but most importantly we wanted to share our story. Share the way in which food can bring people together, nourish bodies and friendships, and challenge you to become a better cook and perhaps a better person altogether.
Over the course of the year, out of the pure desire for friendly competition, impressing our friends and challenging our own skills in the kitchen, we’ve all grown so much as cooks and strewn far from our comfort zones, though we’re always sure to return to the comforts of home. We’ve shared family recipes and bonded over stories and learning more about each other over a meal. We’ve shared recipes for nourishing, comforting, simplifying, and celebrating. From forgotten items on the grocery list to recipe reading mishaps, we’ve all overcome a lot to pull off a dinner party a week, but we always went home with full bellies and warm hearts.
The point of this newsletter is to encourage and inspire you to challenge yourself with the daunting task of cooking for yourself and your family or friends (or maybe just yourself) a homemade meal. Real food, made right at home, with your own two hands. To encourage you to branch out from your comfort zone and try new recipes, work with foods you’ve never cooked and embrace the inevitable try-and-fail moments because they’re just a part of life. There is so much more community and fellowship in a homemade meal prepared and shared with love than you could ever muster up at a happy hour. While there’s no shame in enjoying a nice cocktail, the more important thing is the kind of environment it fosters. Hosting someone over to your home for dinner has a rather humble and intimate quality about it, it’s a vulnerable place for a new friendship and I find it allows for more genuine connection.
Through this commitment we made to each other, to prioritize cooking meals at home and sharing them with friends, we’ve become so endeared to each other and the simple act of enjoying good food with good company. Life really is about the simple things. May we all embrace them more as we welcome this new year and all the meals and memories to come along with it.
We hope you enjoy this simple recipe.
Dijon Chicken & Couscous
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 1/2 tablespoons herbs de Provence
4-6 shallots, peeled and halved
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 cup couscous
2 cups chicken broth
Salt & pepper
Instructions
Coat chicken with 2 tablespoons olive oil, herbs de Provence, salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet. When the oil is ready, place the chicken, skin-side down, in the pan and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side.
Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Add in the shallots, cooking for about 10 minutes, until soft. Add in white wine and deglaze the pan. Stir in mustard, then add in the couscous and broth. Season with salt to taste. Add the chicken thighs back in and continue to cook until chicken is cooked through.