Roasted Chicken Cacciatore

I hate chicken cacciatore. It seems like something I should enjoy, since I'm a fan of its principal ingredients: chicken, peppers, and tomatoes. And I love long, slow cooked Sunday dinners.

But I hate it. Something about the braising chicken over the stove, the thick sauce, the muted way the peppers taste when smothered and simmered- it disgusts me.  I’ve tried lots of recipes- Mario, Marcella, my own made up concoctions- and nothing’s appealed to me.

Until now. Last month’s Food and Wine featured recipes from Giada’s new Vegas restaurant, including her roasted version of chicken cacciatore. The photo looked perfect- caramelized, un-saucey chicken, surrounded by bursting cherry tomatoes, softened peppers, and wonderfully browned fennel.  Certainly not traditional, but worth a try.

This was the version I’ve been looking for. The chicken is rubbed with a red wine, butter, and herb blend, and roasted on a bed of the traditional cacciatore vegetables, with just a bit of broth, which creates a light sauce. The chicken was flavorful and delicious, and the apartment smelled like an Italian feast day from the peppers and onions (not usually a bonus, but welcome on a Sunday!). It was even better the next day cold in sandwiches, topped with leftover peppers.

This is definitely a keeper.

Chicken Cacciatore with Red Wine Butter, adapted from Giada de Laurentiis
Note: Giada’s recipe calls for a whole chicken, I adapted the version below for a chicken cut into 8 pieces, since that’s what I had in my freezer. Click the link above for her original version.\\
Serves 4

1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 bell peppers, thickly sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 small bulb fennel, sliced through the core
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 large shallot, sliced
1 cup red wine
2 tbsp butter, softened
2 tbsp tomato paste
8 springs fresh thyme
1 tsp oregano
½ cup broth
½ cup Castelvetrano olives, pitted and chopped
Fresh basil and parsley, for garnish
Salt, pepper, olive oil

Up to one day in advance, arrange chicken pieces in a baking dish and sprinkle with a good amount of salt and pepper. Remove thyme leaves from branches and stuff under the skin. Cover, and refrigerate.

In a saucepan, boil 1 cup of red wine until reduced to two tablespoons. Combine with tomato paste and butter, and let cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 425.

While oven preheats, rub red wine/tomato/butter mixture on chicken and under skin. Let sit at room temp for a half hour.

Just before roasting, add peppers, fennel, garlic, shallot, oregano, and tomatoes to the pan. Pour in ½ cup broth and drizzle entire baking dish with some olive oil.

Roast for one hour, or until a meat thermometer inserted into thigh and thickest part of breast registers 165.

 Garnish with basil, parsley, and olives. Serve and enjoy!

Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus with Homemade Mayo

There are certain friends you can do anything with. That’s how it is with me and Jenn- she can always text me with some random suggestion and I’m always up for it, and vice versa. We’ve taken cake decorating classes together, done crafts, and both find it helpful to plot out stores to visit in malls before we actually go shopping. 

One afternoon where we were both off from work, she decided we needed to try making mayo from scratch. Not something I had ever considered before, and definitely not a phone call I’d get from everyone, but sure, why not? 

We used the food processor and after wasting 2 cups of oil, gave up. But Jenn got it right later on, and raved about how good it was. 

Months later, I decided to finally try it out on my own. It was so simple- 1 egg yolk, 1 cup of oil, salt, and a whisk-induced arm workout.  The mayo was delicious, with a lighter texture than the bottled stuff and a more delicate flavor from the olive oil.

I took the liberty of flavoring my mayo with lemon, parsley, and capers, and I used it as a topping for roasted potatoes and asparagus. It was sooo good. This is perfect dinner party fare, or would make a delicious side for a spring holiday meal. 

Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus with Homemade Caper Mayo

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

2 lbs fingerling potatoes (I used a mixed color variety bag)

1 bundle fresh asparagus

Olive oil

Flaky sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 and line an aluminum sheet pan with foil. 

Slice potatoes in half or in quarters if very large. Drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste.  Place on sheet pan and roast for 35 minutes.

While potatoes cook, prepare asparagus. Snap them at the ends to remove the woody part of the stems, and then cut the spears into 2 inch lengths.

At 35 minutes, add asparagus to pan with potatoes and roast another 10 minutes. 

Place on serving platter and dollop with mayo, recipe follows. 

For the mayo, basic recipe from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters:

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp water

1 cup mild olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice 
Pinch of salt

Caper Parsley Flavoring:
1 tbsp capers

¼ cup flat leaf parsley leaves

½ tsp grated garlic (you can use more, I just don’t love an intense garlic flavor)

Additional lemon juice to taste

Flaky sea salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together egg yolk and water in a small bowl. Add the oil in tiny drips, whisking constantly. You have to add it very, very slowly in order to create the emulsion. It is annoying, but go drop by drop at first.  After a minute or two, you will see everything start to thicken up and an emulsion form. Once that happens, you can add the oil a little faster, in a slow stream.  Keep whisking constantly; the process will take about 5 minutes. (Not actually that long, but it feels long!)

Once your mayo’s done, you can add the flavors. Chop together your parsley and capers. Add to mayo along with garlic. Taste, and add salt, pepper, and additional lemon juice as desired. Can be made ahead. Flavors will intensify as it sits; mayo will last about a week in fridge.

Experiment with this- try adding different herbs, spices, etc. You can create chipotle mayos, smoky mayos, arugula mayos- have fun!

Sunday Dinner

I love making elaborate Sunday dinners. Mr. B lounges on the couch and watches football, and I spend hours in the kitchen on something too involved for a workday. We eat dinner and spend the night on the couch together, catching up on our DVR shows or watching 60 Minutes. 

Last weekend, I put together a simple, satisfying meal of roast chicken, potato fennel gratin, and roasted brussels sprouts. It was comforting and delicious, perfect for the 9 degree weather we've been having here.

The recipes were pretty straightforward. I make roast chicken the same way every time- seasoned heavily with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic salt, and fresh rosemary, stuffed with a lemon, and baked at 425 for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until it's 175 in the thigh. I baked mine in a dutch oven with a cup of water added to the bottom to keep it from sticking and keep the dark meat moist. Perfect every time. 

Brussels sprouts were simply tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and about 1/4 cup of cubed pancetta pieces. These also cook at 425, for about 20 minutes. 

Finally, I used Ina's Potato Fennel Gratin recipe, only I swapped the Gruyere for fontina. Mr. B found the gratin a bit rich, but I ate almost half of it alone. It was delicious. A note, if you make this meal, the gratin cooks at 350, so adjust your other items accordingly, unless you're lucky enough to have a double oven. 

Lasagna

Yesterday, I shared my classic Italian dinner party menu with you, and today I'll share the lasagna recipe.

My recipe comes inspired by my friend and old roommate Laura, who used to spend Sundays in college rolling out her own fresh pasta and making lasagna for us.  Laura’s parents were from Italy, and as per them, her lasagna contained no ricotta, just a combination of creamy bechamel sauce and rich, meaty Bolognese. It was completely spectacular.

I don't own a pasta machine, so I cheated a little bit, and bought fresh pasta at Eataly. It was only marginally better than the boxed stuff; not nearly the same as making it yourself.  So if you are ambitious like Laura, I’d highly recommend you get your pasta machine going, but rest assured that if you’re a little more like me, purchased pasta will still be delicious. 

Classic Italian Lasagna

1 recipe Bolognese sauce, see below

1 recipe Bechamel sauce, see below

1 lb fresh lasagna noodles

½ lb fresh mozzarella, sliced

½ cup good Parmesan cheese (I mean the stuff from Italy, not anything that comes in, God forbid, a green can)

Butter

Fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 400° and get a large pot of water boiling on the stove. Next to that, fill a bowl with cold water and ice, and lay out a few sheets of paper towels on your counter.

When the water boils, add a big dose of salt (a tablespoon or so), and drop in 3 or 4 of your lasagna sheets. Boil for a minute, and then immediately remove to the ice bath to stop the cooking. Pick up the strips and let excess water drain off, and then lay out flat to dry on paper towels. Repeat this process until all the lasagna noodles have been cooked.

Spread the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with lots of butter, and a tablespoon of the béchamel sauce.  Layer the bottom of the dish with a single layer of noodles, cutting them to fit as necessary.

Combine the meat sauce and béchamel sauce, and spread a layer on top of the noodles. Sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese.  Then add another layer of pasta, cutting it to fit again, and another layer of béchamel and Bolognese. Repeat process until all the noodles have been used. Cover the top layer of noodles with remaining sauce mixture, and then spread the sliced mozzarella all over. Top with any remaining Parmesan.  Dot with a little extra butter.

Make Ahead: At this point, you can tightly cover and refrigerate it for a day. When ready to bake, bring it to room temperature for an hour ahead of time.

To continue on, bake on the upper rack of the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove, let stand for 10 minutes, and serve, garnishing with fresh basil and passing extra Parmesan at the table. 

Leftovers will keep in the fridge for two days, or you can freeze them for 2 months. 

Bolognese Sauce

1 28oz can San Marzano tomatoes, crushed

2 6oz cans of tomato paste

1 lb ground beef (or 1 1b 3 Stooges* if you prefer)

1 large clove garlic, smashed

Large handful fresh basil

Pinch red pepper flakes

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Bolognese sauce is four simple steps:

1. Over medium heat, coat a large Dutch oven or other large pot with enough olive oil to just cover the bottom. Drop in your garlic clove and red pepper flakes. Let garlic sizzle for a few minutes, until just lightly golden.

2. Add in chopped meat, and sauté in garlic and oil until browned.

3. Add in two cans of tomato paste, and cook for one minute.

4.  Add 28 oz can of tomatoes and the basil and stir to combine.  Lower heat slightly to medium low, and leave pot lid ajar.  Let the sauce simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally.

Let this sauce cool on the stove for an hour and then refrigerate for 2 days, or freeze for a few months.

*That’s a mix of ground beef, pork, and veal, for all you non-Italians out there.

 

Bechamel Sauce (adapated from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking)

A béchamel sauce is a sauce made of flour, butter, and milk. It adds a deliciously creamy layer of flavor to the lasagna. 

2 cups milk

4 tbsp (half stick) of butter

3 tbsp flour

¼ tsp salt

Put milk in a saucepan and turn heat on to medium low. Heat just to the verge of boiling, where you see a ring of small bubbles.

While heating the milk, put the butter in a heavy, 4-6 cup saucepan, and turn heat on to low. When completely melted, add the flour and stir constantly with a wooden spoon for two minutes. Do not let the flour become colored. Remove from heat.

Add the hot milk to the flour mixture, no more than 2 tbsp at a time. As soon as that has become incorporated, add another 2 tbsp. Repeat until you have added ½ cup of milk, and then add the rest of the milk ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly.

Put the pot back over low heat, add salt, and cook, stirring nonstop, until the sauce is the consistency of thick cream.

Can be made ahead 1 day. Press a piece of plastic wrap to the surface of sauce and refrigerate until needed.