Dining In: Bon appétit – Preparing a French-style bistro dinner at home

Our mother has always said cooler weather makes her hungry and puts her in the mood to cook. We couldn’t agree more. Something about the hint of fall in the air inspires us to heat up the oven and invite people over to share a satisfying and hearty meal. For October, we designed a warm and comforting French-style bistro dinner. It may sound time-consuming, but the prep time from start to finish is just a little over an hour, making this a perfect meal for any occasion.

Chicken Fricassee is akin to a chicken stew. But where the stew takes hours to develop its rich flavors, this fricassee gets its intensity from wine, whole cloves of garlic and fresh thyme.

Around here, nothing goes better with stewed chicken than rice to soak up all the delicious gravy. Black rice or purple rice, as it is sometimes called, is becoming increasingly popular thanks to its nutty flavor, exotic dark color and health benefits. Much like brown rice, black rice has a wonderful flavor and is packed with more fiber and nutrients than white rice. It’s also a good source of protein, with roughly six grams per serving.

Though black rice may be a new food item for us in Louisiana, it has been around for a long time. The ancient Chinese referred to it as “forbidden rice”—only royalty were allowed to have it, and anyone caught stealing it could be put to death. No worries today, though. You can easily find black rice at places like Calvin’s Bocage Supermarket or Whole Foods. Read about a south Louisiana brand of purple rice.

To complement the main course, we suggest a classic French legume like Green Beans with Toasted Almonds. We suggest blanching the beans first, then topping them with almonds, which dress them up quite nicely.

To finish off this lovely French meal: an Apple Tatin. A tatin is like an upside down cake that works well with many types of fruit and is a nice way to round off this satisfying fall meal.

Recipes by Tracey Koch
• Chicken Fricassee with Garlic and Thyme
• Black Rice
• Green Beans with Toasted Almonds
• Apple Tatin