Simple chicken casserole & Punch Punch UTE SEP 16 (FFC)

RDB · May 9, 2020

Food first, then smoke. I love cooking, and I make this every few weeks.

Heavy casserole pan. Render the fat off some jointed chicken legs, with some streaky bacon in there too. Remove the meat, and fry the vegetables in the fat. Onions, celery, carrots. Add whatever leftover bits are hanging around: a tomato, a lonely boiled potato. Then garlic for one minute, and deglaze with a glass of something like sherry, white wine or a light red. Then a little bit of chopped tomato, not too much. Chicken stock. Add some herbs. Then the meat goes back in for half an hour of gentle simmering. Done. The essential thing is not to overcook the meat. Then good home made stock is the charm. Served tonight with roasted asparagus and steamed buttered rice. And chicken livers pan fried with brandy: naughty but nice. Cote Rotie to drink.

After putting the kids to bed, it’s a Punch Punch with fennel tea and a bittermint. The cigars from this box are all quite orangey-pale and light in the hand. Perfect draw, not one touch up required. High-register sweetness: sort of perfumed candy sweetness like parma violets or rose cream. Sandalwood incense. Medium bodied or under. A light earth and spice creeps in towards the end. Very good: a solid 1 on the binary scale!