Lidia Matticchio Bastianich's Chicken cacciatore recipe was a winner. Even Jim, who said he never had a chicken cacciatore he liked gave it a ten. Thank you Lidia! This was my first time cooking chicken cacciatore and it wasn't until it was almost finished cooking, that Jim made the "I don't like chicken cacciatore" proclamation. It's a good thing he didn't say anything earlier in the day or we would have missed a lovely recipe! I served it on a bed of spaghetti - so good! I can't wait to try more recipes from that book.
Yesterday I got all my new recipe cards sorted and most filed. I just need to get one more double recipe box just for my Indian and Italian recipes.
I ordered a Mantis tiller the other day, to help with my gardening. Hopefully, having the machine do a lot of the soil prep will keep my damaged neck and back from acting up. I got the model with the Honda motor (Ebay was the cheapest place I found). That model is a bit more powerful than their standard model; and the other benefit is that I won't have to mix the fuel. It's lightweight enough that I'll be able to lug it around the garden myself.
We're doing takeout from our local seafood restaurant for dinner tonight, so I'll be able to use my afternoon time going through more of my paper piles and continue searching ebay for a vintage, double recipe box. And maybe there will be time to tend my veggies seedlings a bit, which I think are getting ready for their first feeding. First I have to check if I have any fish fertilizer left over from last season.
can you give me that recipe that looks delish. i work with a girl with a last name of cacciatore (really)she's going to have a baby next month. She's a wonderful girl.
ReplyDeleteChicken Cacciatore: Serves 6
ReplyDelete2 broiler chickens about 2 1/2 lbs each,preferably free range (I used one 4 lb chicken).
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
all purpose flour
1/4 C vegetable oil, 1/4 C olive oil
1 small yellow onion, peel& cut into 1" cubes
1 28 oz can plum tomatoes with liquid(preferably San Marzano tomatoes)(crush the tomatoes before adding to the pot. I just squish them through my fingers).
1/2 C dry white wine (I used a chardonnay)a
1 tsp dried oregano, preferably Sicilian or Greek type, dried on the branch (I used regular dried).
2 C slice white or shitake mushrooms (I used white).
1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper (core,seed and cut into 1/2" strips) It will be about 2 C total. (I just used 2 green peppers which is what I had).
Cut the chicken in 12 pieces (4 pieces of breast, 2 legs,2 thighs, 4 of the meaty parts of the wings). Save the wing tips and back for stock, or can cut back in 2 pieces horizontally and add to the pot for flavor. (I saved it for stock.)
Wash and dry chicken pieces, sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and dregs in flour and shake off excess.
Add all the vegetable oil along with 2 T of the olive oil to a large (at least 12", 5 qt braising pan). Heat oil and brown the floured chicken pieces without touching. You'll probably have to do this in batches. When all pieces are browned, remove them from the pan and use the pan to the fat in the pan and cook stirring about 5 minutes. Then pour the wine in the pan, bring to a boil and cook until reduced by 1/2 (about 5 minutes). Then add the tomatoes, oregano and some salt and pper and bring to a boil. When it's boiling, add the chicken pieces, tucking them in among the tomato onion mixture, lower the heat to a gentle boil, cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring a few times.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 T olive oil on med-hi heat. Then add mushrooms and peppers and toss this peppers are wilted but still pretty crunchy (about 8 minutes). Season with salt. When the chicken has cooked for the 20 minutes, add the pepper & mushroom mix and cover and cook another 10-15 minutes till chicken and vegetables are tender (add a bit water as it cooks, if needed).