dark beer braised chicken, asparagus and mushrooms

i have tons of asparagus and mushrooms due to a costco overload. plus i've been wanting to practice braising. i like braising because it's a one-pot-meal and keeps the meat nice and moist. this was roughly adapted from a cooking light cookbook i got for christmas. you could make it with any vegetables you have. just saute root vegetables a bit longer than you would something more tender like asparagus. i used a lemon pepper seasoning mix i have to season the chicken, but imagine fresh lemon zest would be even better. it had coarse pepper though so definitely use coarse or freshly ground pepper.


{chicken braised with dark beer}
adapted from cooking light: way to cook
3 T. flour
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 T lemon zest
4 boneless chicken thighs
2 T. butter
1 T. canola oil
1 to 2 c. cut asparagus
1 to 2 c. sliced mushrooms
1/2 c. chopped shallots (i just used a yellow onion b/c i had no shallots but they'd be much better)
2 T. dry parsley
1 bay leaf
8 - 10 oz. dark beer (I used Fireman's Four --which isn't really dark)
2 t. white wine vinegar
DIRECTIONS
Combine flour, salt, pepper and lemon zest. Coat chicken in flour mixture. Heat butter and oil in large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken to pan; saute 5 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan. Add shallots and a tablespoon or so of the beer, saute until opaque. Add asparagus, reduce heat to medium, saute until just tender. Add mushrooms, dried herbs and more salt, pepper and lemon zest if desired. Return chicken to pan, nestling into vegetables. Stir in beer until chicken is mostly but not all the way submerged. Bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat. Simmer 30 minutes or until chicken reaches 160 degrees.

Remove chicken and vegetables from pan. Add vinegar, 2 T. flour to liquids in the pan and increase to medium. Stir constantly while bubbling until reduced and slightly thickened. Pour over veggies and chicken. Add fresh chopped parsley if you have it.

This can be done with any cut of meat, bone-in pieces may take longer to cook.

{image via apartmenttherapy}