First Church Cooks

At First Church Cooks, each month's recipe is demonstrated step-by-step in real time, as you either cook along in your own kitchen, or just enjoy the demonstration and fellowship of First Church friends. All are welcome.

This month, Lauren Crocker will be demonstrating her "Shallot Shebang" recipe. 

Below are Lauren's instructions.

For our February First Church Cooks, I thought we would feature a recipe from an up-and-coming young chef named Will Coleman. I’ve made Will’s 10-Shallot Braised Chicken several times with great success. We will cook Will’s recipe as well as a vegan version where we will braise an assortment of veggies with our shallots. This recipe always takes me longer than I think it will, so I recommend the “Do Ahead” steps below.

Will serves his chicken over mashed potatoes. I usually pair it with rice and a big green salad.

Ingredient List:

10-Shallot Braised Chicken Thighs

12 ounces shallots (6 to 10)

4 cloves garlic

2 large sprigs fresh rosemary leaves

2 large sprigs fresh thyme leaves

3 to 4 large sprigs fresh parsley

1 large lemon

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (2 to 2 1/2 pounds total)

2 teaspons kosher salt, divided

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil, or any oil with a high smoke point

6 slices bacon (about 6 ounces)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter (or olive oil) 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup dry white wine

Do Ahead

10-Shallot Braised Vegetables

12 ounces shallots (6 to 10)

4 cloves garlic

2 large sprigs fresh rosemary leaves

2 large sprigs fresh thyme leaves

3 to 4 large sprigs fresh parsley

1 large lemon

Assortment of green cabbage, potatoes and carrots (and whatever else sounds good)

2 teaspons kosher salt, divided

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil, or any oil with a high smoke point

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup vegetable stock

1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 cup dry white wine

You can add all of the below to a bowl as you complete each step (it will smell great!):

• Peel and thinly slice 12 ounces shallots (about 3 cups)
• Mince 4 garlic cloves (about 2 tablespoons)
• Pick the leaves from 2 large fresh rosemary sprigs, 2 large fresh thyme sprigs, and 3 to 4 large sprigs fresh
• parsley and finely chop (2 teaspoons of each)
• Finely grate the zest of 1 large lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
• If you are making the chicken/bacon version, cut 6 slices of bacon crosswise into 1-inch pieces.
• 1 Will was introduced to us by our older son Ben. Ben and Will met in a summer high school program at Northwestern. I follow Will on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/chefwillcoleman/) and have made a number of his recipes.