A Renaissance meal for my Renaissance Man

Today was Matt's birthday & for once, he didn't say "I'll just have a nice piece of beef for dinner".

Instead, he wanted this dish (from James Peterson's Sauces); chicken cooked 'gently' in butter, then removed while onions get a similar treatment.
Stock is added & the chicken returns for a bit of a simmer.

Later, the chicken (skin-on, bones intact) rests while the broth is strained. To that, ginger (I used jarred paste. I don't mind the occasional short-cut here & there.), then saffron that'd been soaking in a bit of water, & finally mint.



Next, stir in some almond butter you've already made (having in fact read the recipe beforehand so there are no 'oh, crap!' surprises). Reduce what is now a sauce by a considerable amount.

MEANWHILE (one of my least-favorite cooking terms), you de-seed a pomegranate, which...let's face it, aside from the mess is kind of fun...as well as work green food coloring into marzipan & shape pieces to look like almonds.

Plate the chicken, pour over the sauce...& here comes another fun one: gilding the lily.
Or in this case, the chicken.



The recipe calls for gold leaf. I use gold luster dust. Sprinkle some over the food & through a straw, blow gently. Viola! Shiny.