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!

Buffalo Wings

Kind of randomly, buffalo wings were one of the first recipes I ever learned to make.  When I was a teenager, my parents finished the basement and in late high school and college breaks, I used to love having people over. My group of friends is heavy on the men, so buffalo wings were a staple.

My mom taught me using the recipe she's used for years, the "original" one, supposedly, that she clipped from an issue of Good Housekeeping from before I was born.

This is one of those recipes that's best kept simple; doctoring it up with too much junk doesn't do you any favors. 

Classic Buffalo Wings
Serves 6 as an appetizer

3 lbs wings
2 tbsp oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic salt
Paprika
4 tbsp butter
1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot (must be Frank's)
1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
Celery sticks
Carrot sticks
Ranch or blue cheese dressing

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the wings into 3 pieces- the flat, the drumstick, and the wing tip. I find it's easiest to bend the joints in the wrong direction to loosen them, and then to just chop through with a scissor. Or, you can ask your butcher to handle this for you. Discard wing tips or reserve for stock.

Arrange wing pieces on a foil lined baking sheet. Coat with oil, then sprinkle over with the salt, pepper, garlic salt, and paprika. I don't measure this, I just eyeball it- it's not rocket science.

Bake for one hour, turning over halfway through.

Just before wings are done, combine butter, hot sauce, and white vinegar in a saucepan.  Heat through to melt butter. Stir to combine, then add wings and toss to coat.

Arrange wings on platter with dressing of choice and carrot and celery sticks.

These will be gone before you can blink.

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.