the constant hunger

Chicken Cacciatore

My freezer is full of chicken thighs and breasts so it's only natural that I share another chicken recipe with you today. Chicken cacciatore roughly translated is hunter-style chicken. I read somewhere that the original version of this dish is made with rabbit. I absolutely love eating rabbit, but because chicken is what was available in my freezer, it's what we used. Simmered in a tomato sauce and red wine, this is an easy dish to prepare and it's a one pot wonder.

Usually chicken cacciatore is served with polenta, but my husband is not a fan of ground cornmeal, so we served it with rapini, a.k.a. broccoli rabe. To make a tasty side dish of this delicious green you need to blanche it first. Simply boil salted water in a large pot and add the rinsed broccoli rabe. You can cut the stems off and add them in first for about one minute and then add the leaves since they take less time to cook. Boil for about 3 minutes. Drain and try to remove as much water as possible. In a large saute pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic thinly sliced and a couple of red chilis. Add broccoli rabe and saute until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

Chicken Cacciatore   

Ingredients:

10 small boneless chicken thighs 

1 onion chopped

2 carrots chopped 

3 celery stalks chopped

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 can whole plum tomatoes chopped (preferably San Marzano tomatoes) 

1 sprig rosemary

1/2 cup red wine

salt and pepper to taste

 

Method:

Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper. In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add chicken and brown on both sides.

Add onion, carrots, celery, and rosemary. Season with a little salt and pepper and mix ingredients together.

Reduce heat to medium. Add red wine and let reduce for about 6-7 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and mix well. Cover saute pan with a lid and let simmer until chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened nicely, about 30 minutes. 

Serve with a generous helping of rapini.

Happy cooking!

Pan Chicken Over Fresh Greens

All week my husband and I have been fighting a nasty cold. Cooking a lavish meal has not been a priority, but we gotta eat something. Wednesday morning before heading to work I was smart enough to remember to take out a couple of chicken breasts from the freezer to un-thaw. But seriously, is there anything more boring than chicken breasts? Sure, a very healthy option when you're trying to improve your eating habits, but nothing that excites your taste buds.

On and off during the day I kept thinking about what to do with the chicken. Make a stir-fry? Fajitas? Too much work when so much of your day is spent sneezing and coughing. I came home with no plan at all. I just kind of felt my way around the pantry and fridge. I knew I didn't want to grill them since my grill pan is way to big for two little breasts. Same thing for baking them in the oven. No need to turn it on for a little meal. So naturally I would have to fry them up. But that seemed so unhealthy.

I began by rinsing the chicken under cold water to wash away any surface bacteria and patted it dry. In a small bowl I mixed together one tablespoon Dijon mustard, one tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon dry oregano (I hate using dried herbs but didn't have a choice at this point) and the juice from half a lemon. I generously seasoned the breasts with salt and pepper and spooned over the marinade. I let the chicken marinate for about 30 minutes on the kitchen counter. 

Meanwhile, I made a very quick green salad with arugula a cucumbers with an olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing. 

I took out a non-stick fry pan. I only use it for grilled cheese and eggs, but I thought I wouldn't have to use too much oil to cook the chicken vs. if I was using a stainless steel pan. I started by heating the non-stick pan over high heat for a couple of minutes. I lowered the heat to medium and added about half a tablespoon of canola oil. In went the chicken breasts. I cooked them for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until they had a nice golden color. 

I lowered the heat to low and covered the pan with a lid. Now it was time to actually cook the chicken. I flipped the breasts over every 4 minutes or so and continued doing this for roughly 13-15 minutes. The chicken was turning a beautiful brown color and there was a nice sauce that had developed in the pan. I removed the breasts from the pan (after checking for doneness) and let them rest for 5 minutes on a plate.

I served the chicken over the green salad, drizzled some sauce over it and sprinkled some chopped flat-leaf parsley. I'm not sure if the chicken was really fresh or if covering the pan during cooking helped to preserve the juiciness but it was a mighty good chicken breast and I usually never say that. 

Happy cooking!

Chicken Stew with Cheddar Biscuits

Boy what a week it's been and there is no chance that it's going to let up. I've been busy covering Fashion Week for work. A few years ago, this would've been a dream come true, but these days, I'd rather go to the Food and Wine Classic (or back to the James Beard House). The clothes coming down the runway are beautiful pieces of art, really, and I've met some passionate style bloggers who are doing some pretty original things, but for the most part the fashion world is pretty...superficial. And hanging around waiting for the next show is BORING. In fact, I ditched my last show Saturday night to come home and watch TV with my husband. At least there is a wine booth with free wine (!!!) and I've scored some free makeup. 

For a little reality check, a home-cooked meal is always the trick. Food grounds you and brings you together with those you love most. For today's recipe, I am keeping it basic and comforting, chicken stew and cheddar biscuits. Now, for anyone who's been reading the constant hunger knows I am not a baker, but I thought I should make the biscuits for this recipe from scratch. They were tasty, but there is definite room for improvement in my technique.

This is one of those dishes that's perfect for a lazy day where you're in no rush to eat since the more the stew simmers away, the better it tastes. In fact, if you can be patient, it'll taste even better the next day. I've adapted the recipe for the stew from Tasting Table and the recipe for the biscuits is from Williams-Sonoma. 

 

Chicken Stew with Cheddar Biscuits

Stew Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

6 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed (you can use boneless if you're in a rush)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon cumin

¼ cup flour

4 cups chicken stock 

¼ cup half-and-half

 

Method:

In a large pot, heat the vegetable oil. Add the chicken pieces and cook over medium-high heat, without turning, until brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Turn the chicken over and brown the other side, about 3 minutes.

Add the onion to the pot and cook until it has begun to soften, about 8 minutes. Add the cumin and flour and stir to coat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the flour smells slightly nutty, about 2 minutes.

Whisk in the chicken broth and half-and-half and bring to a boil. Return the reserved chicken to the pot, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. 

When the chicken has finished cooking, transfer it to a large cutting board, remove and discard the bones and tear the meat into large pieces (if you've used bone-in chicken). Add the chicken to the broth mixture, cover and keep warm over low heat. 

 

Ingredients for the biscuits:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

8 tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup buttermilk

2 tbs. melted unsalted butter 

 

Method: 

Preheat an oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Add the cold butter and, using your fingertips, mix the flour and butter together until small, coarse crumbs form. Stir in the cheese. Add the buttermilk and, using a rubber spatula, stir to form large, moist clumps. 

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times, until the dough holds together. Using floured hands, press the dough together to form a large ball. Roll out the dough to 1/2-inch thickness, dusting with more flour as needed.

Using a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out the dough and transfer the rounds to the prepared baking sheet (I just used my hands to form rounds). Gather up the scraps, reroll and cut out more rounds. Brush the tops of the biscuits with the melted butter.

Bake, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through baking, until the biscuits are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. 

Serve a bowl of piping hot stew with a couple of biscuits.

Happy cooking!

 

Pollo con Patate or Chicken with Potatoes

Picture this. New York City, 2011. I come home from work around 7:00 and who do I see cooking in the kitchen? My husband, that's who. What's so strange about that, you may be wondering. Well, for one thing, he's never home before me and he rarely cooks for us during the week. I was in shock. (He also doesn't like to cook with Frank Sinatra. He prefers the company of the Dr. Dre, Snoop, etc.)

Not only was he cooking a very simple and economical recipe, but he was using a recipe from the best culinary discovery ever (of his and now mine). He was using a recipe from an Italian cooking website Giallo Zafferano, or Yellow Saffron. Everything looks spectacular on the site. Keep in mind that everything is in Italian, but google can give you a very rudimentary translation.   

So with nothing to do, cooking-wise, I set out to make some drinks. My husband had bought my favorite pre-dinner drink, Campari. I can't say enough about it. I LOVE CAMPARI. For the uninitiated, it tastes slightly bitter at first, but because it's so versatile, you can mix it with any fruit juice, soda or even gin. I like Campari with white wine and a splash of soda. I made two. Here is a cheesy Campari commerical.

 

Now on to the recipe. I must say, this was a very easy recipe and the result was delicious. Very little ingredients are used and I think that makes this dish a winner. Now since the website is in Italian I needed to convert all the quantities from metric to imperial. 

 

Chicken with Potatoes

Ingredients:

6-7 pieces of chicken, about 2 lbs. (bone-in thighs and drumsticks work best)

2 pounds of new potatoes (yellow or red skinned), peeled and cut into chunks

1 medium onion cut into chunks

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

1 sprig rosemary

4-5 sage leaves

1 cube chicken bullion 

2 cups white wine

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

 

Method: 

Rinse chicken under cold water and pat dry. Season generously with salt and pepper.

In a large frying pan heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium. Add the chicken, onion, garlic, rosemary and sage. Flip the chicken over to brown the other side. Let cook for about 15 minutes.

Please note that my husband wears his three wolf moon shirt while rocking out in the kitchen.

In the meantime, cook the potatoes in boiling water for about 5 minutes, then drain. 

Add white wine and bullion cube to chicken and let wine completely reduce. There should be almost no liquid left. 

Add the pototes to the chicken and continue cooking, covered, for about 10 minutes. Remove cover and continue to cook for another 15 minutes. Stir the ingredients while you're cooking. 

Serve the chicken with some potatoes. 

Happy cooking!

P.S. To read my interview with Chicago chef Dirk Flanigan and his James Beard House dinner, stop over here. 

Simple and Delicious: Chicken and Rice with Saffron

Lately, I've been having less and less time to cook dinner during the week. The fact that I no longer work freelance from home may have something to do with it. I may have to start planning my meals on a weekly basis if I want to eat properly and avoid the whole take-out Chinese or pizza thing. This week was not one of those plan-ahead weeks. I got lazy about researching recipes and writing a shopping list and instead spent my weekend figuring out the perfect lighting scheme for the apartment, with the help of Ikea. 

But I need to eat and I want to blog about it, so there was one day this week where my husband and I ate out at Porsena, Chef Sara Jenkins' pasta-centric restaurant. She is the one that took a pork sandwich and made it into a work of art at Porchetta. I didn't take photos of the meal, going there directly from work and having no camera on hand. Yesterday morning, however, I remembered to take something out of the freezer for dinner. My options were limited. Pork tenderloin or chicken. The pork tenderloin my husband makes is more of a long and leisurely-type meal, so not the quick weeknight meal I was looking to make. For the pork recipe, click here.  

I took out a pack of bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks and decided against a complicated recipe with tons of ingredients. Simplicity would be the route I would take. I remembered a dish I often ate as a kid. Chicken and rice. There is a version of chicken and rice in every culture and the one that I recall is chicken and rice prepared with hints of aromatic saffron. Saffron has long been the world's most expensive spice. About 50,000-75,000 saffron crocus flowers yield about one pound of the spice which is the stigma of the flower. It can go for as much as $5,000 a pound.

Preparing rice in my culture is not taken lightly. Basmati rice is rinsed till all starchiness is washed away and then steamed till perfection. I have a rice cooker which always make perfect rice. I will outline a method that does not require a rice cooker. I roasted the chicken in the oven with the most simplest ingredients that you certainly already have in your kitchen, minus the saffron maybe.

 

Chicken and Rice with Saffron

Ingredients:

4 bone-in chicken thighs 

4 drumsticks

Juice from 1 lemon

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Pinch of quality saffron

2 cups Basmati rice

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

 

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Put saffron in a small cup, like an espresso cup, and fill with boiling water. Let steep. 

Pour the rice in a bowl and rinse by filling the bowl with water and emptying it out. Do this until the water becomes clear, about 6-7 times. Refill with water and leave on the counter.

Generously season the chicken with salt and pepper and arrange pieces in a lightly oiled roasting pan.  Drizzle with olive oil and the lemon juice. Once the saffron has steeped enough and the water has turned a beautiful bright orange, spoon a little saffron water over each piece of chicken. You will have leftover saffron water. Reserve it for the rice.

Put the chicken in the oven and let roast for about 45 minutes. You may want to check the chicken after 30 minutes since cooking times may vary depending on your oven.

While the chicken is cooking, you can get started on the rice. In a large non-stick pot boil two cups of water. Make sure to salt the water.

Once the water is boiling, drain all the water from the rice that was resting on the counter. Add the rice to the boiling water. Drop in the butter and stir. 

Let the rice boil over medium-high heat until most of the water is absorbed. Wrap the lid of the pot with a large dish towel and place the lid on the pot tightly. Bring down the heat to low and let the rice steam for about 20 minutes. You may want to check the rice during the steaming and fluff it up with a fork. You can even place the cup of saffron water in the pot to let it continue steeping. Taste the rice after 20 minutes. It should be cooked through. The rice will not be sticky, but light and fluffy. There will inevitably be some rice that sticks to the pan. That's okay. Eat it, it's nice and crunchy.

Spoon the rice into a serving dish and pour over the saffron-infused water. Remove the chicken from the oven and serve with the rice.

Happy cooking!