This chicken dinner includes preserved lemon (I substituted lemon rind), sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, rosemary and chicken of course.
So mistake number 1. I used my dutch oven to brown my vegetables and chicken, I thought I would save on dishes. Then it occurred to me that the dough to seal the pot would melt against the hot pot. Thanks to my husband’s quick thinking he cooled the pot in water before we put the dough on.
Mistake number 2. I added too much water to my flour and the dough was impossibly soft. I kept adding flour to try and thicken it up but I got too impatient. As you can see it was not a pretty sight when it came out of the oven. Next time I will try the pizza dough idea.
Mistake number 3. After I had jammed the lid on and put the pot in the oven I realized that I had forgot to put in the liquid. Rats! I took it out of the oven and added the liquid but any hopes of a pretty presentation in the pot were over. Luckily it was not for guests. I used chicken thighs because that is what I had in the freezer but it sounds like pieces are much easier to work with than a whole chicken. Since the pieces were successful for us we will repeat that next time. I smeared the garlic cloves on crusty bread that we served, I was the only one that liked it.
I have said it before and I will say it again, I wish I had found this group 3 years ago but I am so happy for the year that I have spent with you all. I look forward to finishing the book even if it is by myself.
CafeMomCooks 
So much fun following your posts over the past year! And sounds like a few of us \”mixed it up\” this week too!
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I'm so glad you joined us, too! I love the idea of smearing the garlic on bread—yum!!!
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Live and learn,… isn't that so much what this journey has been about. I wish I started from the beginning but I didn't really know what a blog was until about 2012. It has been fun.
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I am glad you were able to join in. It feels like we have been cooking together much longer than a year!I had some of your same struggles (I'm looking at you hot pot!)
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Diane – it has been fun following your blog during the last year. Sounds like you still enjoyed this wonderful recipe despite a few minor hiccups!Have a nice weekend,Andrea
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Diane, I don't know if you met your Post to be somewhat humorous or not but it made me laugh. The \”mistakes\”, as you call them, were quite normal and natural. Because I have actually met your husband, I can just see him coming to the rescue. As usual, since I am not very adventurous, I followed the recipe to the word and it worked. As you said, you will do it again. It's good. I will keep in touch with you and your Cafe Mom Cooks blog. I hope we get to see each other again next winter.
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I made mistake number 3 too! Luckily, I realized it about a minute after I put it in, so it didn't really mess up my presentation. It's been fun having you join us for the last year, and I will be sure to check in and see you finish the book. This recipe was a big hit for us too!
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It feels like you've been part of our group for much longer than a year. I've enjoyed cooking along with you as long as it's been. I'm going with all chicken thighs next time. I did cut my chicken up into parts, but as we ate the breasts for dinner tonight, we restated that at our house, dark meat is the preference. I'll keep checking on you to see how you finish up the book. Have fun. You have so many more delicious recipes to discover.
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Diane, I didn't realize it was just a year!!I did the same thing – in a hurry, and not wanting more dishes, I used the same pot for browning and roasting – your dough looks familiar! But it was a fun dish to try. And it was tasty. I am with you, would probably use thighs if I made it again, but who knows! Looking forward to the next few weeks!
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Yep, we've all had those kinds of days in the kitchen. Sorry it had to happen on the last recipe but such is life sometimes. I also tried to turn this into a one pot meal, only to discover late in the game why that might not have been a good idea. Luckily, my husband was in charge of the dough and had added so much flour that it didn't melt at all – I was actually a little concerned that it might not stick enough to really seal the lid.
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Diane, it sounds like it was one of those days. Though at the time they're really annoying, I usually end up laughing at how terribly everything went…I do want to say that I've enjoyed reading your posts these last months and I really enjoyed meeting you a few months ago!!
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OMG, I did the same thing with the liquid. I thought for sure I would never get the lid off, but fortunately, it wasn't too bad. I have enjoyed this adventure cooking along with you and reading your posts, it has been fun and I also know the Dorista's will stay connected. Have a great weekend.
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The dough was very soft – I had a hard time with it too! Your chicken turned out just wonderful, nonetheless.
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Love that you shared your REAL adventures with this recipe. Some weeks they end up picture perfect but those are actually the weeks that are much less useful to our little community. It is the troubleshooting that provides us all the most value, esp since we are typically trying to do the same – LOL. Fun that your hubby was there helping with the pan cooling – this has definitely turned into a family and friends adventure ! It has been wonderful getting to \”know\” you as you joined onto the group. I have more than a few make ups myself and will see how many I get done during our celebration weeks. This has been quite a ride and it was fun to see your meet up with the West Coast Doristas- that was just fabulous. All the best ~
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Diane, I like the way your French Friday adventure ended:) Your chicken looks great, though, and I've had many, many similar experiences. I hope to see you in whatever the future holds for Doristas. Take care!
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Diane, It has been fun getting to know you! It does seem longer than a year! Your chicken looks great…even with a few mistakes! We've all had our share! See you Friday!
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It does feel like you've been with us all along! And I can so relate to your experience – so often when I'm cooking a new recipe, I feel like I'm fumbling along and backtracking, until I've got it all together.
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