A Spring Supper

Braised chicken, carrot cake, and wine!

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Now onto the recipes!

My latest carrot cake with toasted nuts and candied ginger

This is a celebratory weekend for many, and if you haven’t thought of something special to serve yet, I have just the menu, with three wines to add to the fun.

I LOVE chicken and I especially love it braised. Here in Quebec we have yet to see any local produce on the shelves so I make this dish with carrots, imported new potatoes and frozen peas. By late May, local asparagus and fiddleheads will be abundant and either would be delicious served alongside or even in this dish. The key to making this chicken SING is to add plenty of dill before serving. I prefer it added fresh and not cooked, to help keep its vibrancy. If you don’t like dill, substitute tarragon, but with tarragon I’d also add a sprig or two halfway through the braising time to flavour the sauce. And if you don’t like either, at least add some parsley or a scattering of chopped chives (from the garden if it’s up already), to add that spring-like taste of green to the mix.

I figured it wasn’t a spring dinner without a dessert so I’m posting a recipe for a new carrot cake I’ve been working on that makes this a meal for true carrot lovers. It’s dense and moist and not overly sweet. I’ve added some marzipan carrots to the top to make the cake more Instagrammable prettier, but it’s just as delicious without. It’s even good left naked.

This meal can be served for Easter, but seriously, I’d eat it any day.