Eat This While You Read That: Stryder Dancewolffe

Firstly, thank you to my readers for their patience, I’m afraid that my schedule is going to remain loose for a while as I’m focusing more on school than the blog. But I have to keep cooking, so cooking with a dual purpose is good!

Stryder Dancewolffe gave me a rough sketch of a recipe and I have done my best to color it in while keeping it close to her intent. It’s a fairly easy meal and I’ve chosen to keep it low-carb in her honor.

While you are prepping, be sure to pick up one (or more!) of Stryder’s books. She and I had a fun moment a few years ago where we both released stories titled Snow Angel with similar themes. For a longer, deliciously creepy tale, Build-A-Universe is her latest. If you enjoy psychologically astute stories with a deep human tenderness and understanding, you might like her work, but it’s not always straightforward and what it seems at first…

Unlike this recipe, which is unexceptionable.

Apple Chicken

Apple Chicken

Ingredients

• 3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thin
• 4 chicken breast filets (Ours were about half a breast)
• 1/4 c butter in sections
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 c heavy cream
• 1 c sherry or white wine
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 tsp dried thyme (a few sprigs if you have fresh)
• One whole cauliflower head
• 1/4 c butter
• 2-3 tbsp grated parmesan
• 1-2 tbsp cream
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• In 1-2 tbsp butter, fry the apples until soft. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Have a small baking dish (I used a 8×8 pan) ready. When the apples are softened, put them in the backing dish and put it in the oven.
• Heat another section of the butter in the pan, then brown the chicken on both sides, seasoning it with the salt, pepper, and thyme. It will not be cooked through, that’s ok, you will be putting it in the oven with the apples to finish cooking.
• With the final aliquot of butter, fry the onions until they are translucent, then put them on the chicken and back in the oven with that pan.
• In the skillet on top of the stove, deglaze the pan with the wine, when it starts to boil whisk in the cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep at a low boil, stirring occasionally, until this thickens.
• While the sauce is boiling down, put the cauliflower in a covered container with a bit of water in the bottom and microwave for 10-13 minutes on high, until it is fork-tender. Drain, cut out the central stalk, and mash. Add the butter, cream, cheese, and season to taste.
• When the sauce is thickened, remove the chicken and apples from the oven. Serve them on a bed of mashed cauliflower with sauce poured over the top. Sprinkle with finely chopped chives or wild onions for color and flavor.

https://www.cedarwrites.com/eat-this-while-you-read-that-stryder-dancewolffe/

Overall this is a rich, subtly-flavored meal. It was very filling, even without much in the way of carbs (I didn’t count. I know the apples contribute some). The apples remained slightly toothsome rather than going all mushy which is why Stryder recommends Granny Smith apples for this meal. The chicken was so juicy, breasts can cook up dry and this was swimming in sauce and butter and more butter… LOL

I was worried about the color, but the wild onions really helped with that. Fortunately, this is like so many other dishes, better tasting than looking. The apples and onions make me think this would pair equally well with pork. I’d add a hearty dollop of mustard (the grainy brown kind) and mustard seeds to the sauce. But then again, I tinker with most recipes! Hopefully this will inspire you to read a new book and try fruits with your meats.

The Index Page for ETWYRT is here, and the facebook group where we talk about recipes, books, and more is here.

Related posts:

Eat This While You Read That: Kris Keldaran ETWYRT: John Ringo Eat This While You Read That: Ryk Spoor Eat This While You Read That: Julie Frost