Pan-seared, pan-roasted chicken
(air whooshes) with a bunch of ingredients
that are in the cupboard.
So to get going, your audience knows this.
What I did is I seared some chicken.
I just dredged it in some flour, some salt and pepper.
I seared off some of these chicken thighs.
Chicken thighs are one
of my go-to ingredients. My favorite.
Yeah! Yup.
I'm gonna pop back to the stove.
The chicken has been seared already
and in the same pan over here,
I have the makings of what's gonna be this one pot sauce.
So it's some pancetta and some onions,
and the pancetta and the onions are gonna cook,
and you can see that they're cooking in the drippings
from the roasted chicken. Yeah, that's my world, baby.
Yes!
Then I'm gonna add a bunch of things
that most people can just find in their fridge,
some cherry peppers,
some olives, Yes!
some raisins, and some garlic, right?
This agrodolce.
It's the cheesy polenta.
It's the crispy chicken thighs.
Are you kidding me with this? (laughs)
Listen, I think it took over my body.
I do think that. (Rachael laughs)
So we have all this cooking down.
Again, I love this sweet, salty.
If you got some capers, you can throw those in.
You got a little bit of acidity from peppers
and sweetness from the raisins,
and then I'm gonna add a little bit of Sherry wine.
You could add Marsala.
You could add white wine.
Rach, I would light this on fire,
but I set off the smoke detector
earlier in the morning here.
(Rachael laughs hysterically)
So I'm not gonna do that.
So you want the Sherry to cook down.
That's gonna just keep the depth and the flavor
of the wine and that's going to be our sauce right there.
That's gonna be the sauce
for our crispy chicken nugs. Gorgeous.
Then I'm gonna turn my attention
over here to the polenta.
I cook it in chicken stock.
You can cook it in water if you're doing it at home
and then real simple, I'm gonna finish it.
It's cooked with about one cup of polenta,
a couple of cups of chicken stock.
And then I'm gonna put a little bit of heavy cream in there
because that's gonna make it even more delicious
and really, really rich. (Rachel growls)
Yeah, just sorta work that in.
And then what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna take this over
to the cutting board over here,
and we'll just finish it.
We'll finish it in front of you here with all of the cheese,
all of the cheese to the game. Yes!
So we got some Parmesan.
I think you're a fan of Parmesan.
Yes, I am, I am.
Yes, there ya go. (Rachael laughs)
So we'll do a little bit of Parmesan.
That's gonna add that sorta nutty sweetness to it,
and then what I'd like to do to keep it even gooier
and gooier is I'm gonna add a little bit
of spreadable cheese,
like what'd you put on cheese and crackers,
something like that,
a little bit of this herb spreadable cheese.
Boursin, baby.
That's Boursin. There you go, okay. (laughs)
I was giving it the Greek name.
There you go, but that's what we're using around here.
(Rachael laughs)
A little garlic, a little garlic, a little bit of herbs,
and we're gonna work that in.
And again, the heat from the polenta
is going to sorta melt that cheese.
Yes!
I wish you were here to smell this.
I feel like you'd be proud of me right now, Rach.
I'm always proud of you.
I'm thrilled that I even know you.
Are you joking?
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. (Rachael laughs)
So on "Next Level Chef,"
this is how our chefs can take their dish
to the next level, right?
They have minimal amount of ingredients.
Maybe they're in that basement kitchen, like I said.
They grab a few things and they just cook with their heart
and you'd be surprised.
A lot of our chefs in the basement kitchen
are cooking some delicious dishes.
And I'm just gonna start plating this,
so you can see. I wouldn't be
surprised at all.
I've seen you at work so often,
and you take absolutely nothing
and turn it into something spectacular.
You've done it so many times for us over the years,
Chef Blais, of course.
I always call you Blazing Saddles, blazing new trails,
'cause you always make me crack up,
and you're always doing something creative and fun.
Now just gonna take all of that sauce,
the cherry peppers, Oh my God.
It is glorious. The Marsala,
the Sherry wine, Woo!
the pancetta, it's salty, it's sweet, it's savory.
It's amazing.
It's perfection.
I'm plating this family style.
And then I like to finish it with a little bit of herbs.
I'm just gonna just tear some basil here.
Give it a little bit of freshness.
So perfect!
(air whooshes) (wind chime music)