Vinegar Hill House Chicken

Vinegar Hill House is an amazing restaurant in Vinegar Hill, just North of DUMBO. They have this incredible roast chicken. Usually I won't get chicken at a restaurant and go for something more exotic, but I'd heard good things, and I love anything with vinegar as an ingredient. It's rich and tangy and just perfectly chickeny. The chicken jus, vinegar, butter, and shallots makes an intoxicating sauce. 

My wonderful friend Kara who knows me so well bought me this cookbook which has the recipe inside. Thanks, Kara! If you make extra jus, freeze it and then it makes the whole process a little quicker. (It is a bit of a process - only do it if you have a free afternoon.) My pictures don't do  it justice.

Serves 4

Ingredient:

10 shallots, peeled, 2 sliced and 8 whole

1 large yellow onion, sliced

two 2-3 pound organic or Amish chickens (back bone removed, cut in half, leaving wing bones and leg in tact but removing and reserving all other bones)

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 cups dry white wine

1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) chicken stock, preferably homemade

1 bay leaf

8 sprigs fresh thyme, divided

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

10 tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter

4 tsp vegetable oil, divided

1/2 cup sherry vinegar

Papardelle with Veal and Sausage Ragu

If you need to impress friends for dinner, this is a great way to do it. We had our friends Funk and Bettina over last weekend and I wanted to make fresh pasta. I was perusing epicurious for a recipe, and came across this ragu recipe that had veal, sausage, and porcini mushrooms. It was relatively easy to make, and as long as you make it the night before, all you have to do is warm it up when guests come over. The sausage adds a great, intricate flavor, the veal stew meat is tender, and the porcini mushrooms add a nice earthiness (I only used 1/2 oz because I bought one bag and that's all that was in it). I added 1/4 cup of balsamic to the recipe just because I find it adds a great tang and a little sweetness to ragus (learned it from this recipe). Make this for your next dinner and you won't regret it - especially if it's cold outside. Just toss the ragu with fresh papardelle (make it or buy it) and serve with a little grated pecorino on top.

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 small carrot, peeled, finely chopped

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

8 ounces sweet Italian sausages, casings removed (2 links)

8 ounces veal stew meat, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 14-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes in juice

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

1 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed

1 pound fresh pappardelle (homemade or store bought)

Freshly grated Pecorino cheese