Chicken with Artichoke Pan Sauce

Posted in Chicken, Main Dishes, stews by The Spicy Simmer (Jenny)

You all know very well (or, maybe you don’t) how much I love to read cooking blogs, cookbooks, and other things of related nature. I’ve added so many to my feed that I often have trouble keeping up; I had saved so many recipes in 2014 that I got overwhelmed and deleted them all – so I’m starting fresh 🙂 I’ve had a subscription to Cooking Light for the past few years and figured that maybe it was time to save a little paper and cancel my subscription, too.

I found this recipe in the last issue that I received. It was so good that I may change my mind and keep my subscription after all…and maybe just do the digital subscription instead!

Chicken with Artichoke Pan Sauce

adapted from Cooking Light

1 cup chicken stock/broth
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp garlic powder
1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into halves
salt and pepper (eyeball it)
1/2 cup shallots, thinly sliced
2 tsp dried rosemary, chopped/crushed
2 oz pancetta, finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 can (14.5 oz) artichoke hearts, drained
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

In a small bowl, whisk the stock and flour together. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine 1 tbsp of the oil, the lemon juice, and garlic powder. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes (or in the refrigerator for a few hours).
When you’re ready to cook, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Remove the chicken from the marinade (discard the marinade) and add to pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; cook about 5 minutes on each side until the chicken is done cooking. When the chicken is done, remove it from the pan onto a plate or dish and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil; swirl pan to coat. Add the shallots, rosemary, and pancetta, cooking until the shallots are tender. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the sherry to the pan and let the liquid reduce (about 4 minutes or so). As the liquid boils down, scrape the pan to loosen the browned bits. Add the stock/flour mixture and bring to a simmer.
Add artichokes and cook until the sauce thickens just a bit. Add chicken and turn to coat. Sprinkle with parsley.
This photo is proof that I may be the worse plater ever.

Don’t let this *awful* picture fool you – looks can be deceiving as this dish was terrific! I realize after the fact that I let the mixture thicken a little too much after adding the stock/flour to the pan.

The chicken has a great lemon flavor to it that compliments the richness of rosemary-pancetta pan sauce. The artichokes only add to the depth of flavors. I served it atop some couscous I had in my pantry, but you can use rice or orzo if you’d prefer. I served this along with some braised kale – which paired really well with it. According to my husband, his portion reheated very well.

Not only was this dish tasty…it didn’t take very long to make! Make sure to marinate the chicken ahead of time – I did it several hours before and was able to complete the dish in a half an hour after coming home from work.

Now we have another 2 oz of pancetta left in our refrgerator…I’m seriously thinking about making this dish again next week. It was that good. 🙂

20Jan2015

Chicken Cacciatore

Posted in Chicken, Italian, kitchen gadgets, One-Pot Meal, Pasta, stews, Uncategorized by The Spicy Simmer (Jenny)

Okay – I feel better now 🙂 I made a dish that didn’t fail; granted it’s a tried and true recipe and the previous ones were ones that I hadn’t tried before. Even so, I feel like less of a failure and I feel that it’s relatively post-worthy.

Look at one of my pretty Christmas gifts from my husband! A gorgeous red Le Creuset dutch oven. I’m so in love with it. I’ve been wanting one for quite a while and he remembered…I wasn’t picky about the color, but I do like red things for my kitchen so again, he remembered!

I’m not very well-versed in cookware like this, so I still have a lot to learn in terms of what I can and cannot cook in it. I figure “low and slow” is a good mantra for this pot – soups, stews, and dishes that need at least a good 30-45 minutes to meld together. I am proud of the fact, however, that I remembered that it’s a coated cast iron pot – meaning that you need to wear oven mitts whenever dealing with it or else you risk some major burns. This is also a step in the right direction for me, as I’m that person that will carelessly forget when a pan has been in the oven, and will accidentally grab it with my bare hands when I’m ready to serve it (my husband will vouch for me on this one).

Anyways – it’s winter time. It’s pep band season. We’re working a lot, and to save a little bit of cash, we need dinners that are going to last us a while so we’re not stopping at the store for a quick meal or even *ugh* fast food. Dinners that are still delicious and (relatively) healthy, but still stick to the ribs to keep us warm. Know what I mean? I thought about something to cook this week with my new pot, and immediately thought of chicken cacciatore!

Chicken cacciatore is “hunter-style” chicken; chicken with mushrooms, onion, and tomatoes. It’s a hearty dish that fills you up, goes a long way and tastes amazing. The recipe that I based my dish off of, however, doesn’t include mushrooms! I think I’ll have to make a note in my cookbook for next time.

Chicken Cacciatore

adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

4 boneless chicken thighs, cut in half
2 boneless chicken breasts, quartered (or 4-6 tenders, halved)
salt and pepper (just a sprinkle of each)
1/2 cup flour
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (based on your preference)
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 ( 28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup chicken broth/stock
3 tbsp drained capers
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. On a plate or in a shallow bowl, dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat.
In a large heavy saute pan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and saute just until they’re just brown (~5 minutes). Do not crowd the pan; feel free to brown the chicken in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium and wait two minutes. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute until the onion softens. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper.
Add the wine and simmer until the liquid reduced by half (~3-5 minutes). Add the entire can of diced tomatoes (including the juice), broth, capers and oregano. Stir to combine.
Return the chicken to the pan and coat it in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until all the chicken is cooked through and the flavors have melded together.
Serve hot, sprinkled with basil and with pasta if desired.

As I said in the recipe, you can serve with or without pasta. This makes a lot of sauce and leftovers reheat really well. I had mine with a piece of baguette from work on the side to pick up any last sauce that was leftover in the dish.

I cannot recommend this recipe enough this time of year – it really warms you up and sticks to your ribs! Delicious Italian food in the dead of winter. How can you go wrong!? Enjoy 🙂

7Apr2013

Hunter’s “Stoup”

Posted in Chicken, Main Dishes, Pasta, soups, stews by The Spicy Simmer (Jenny)

I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve written a post!

Our Easter weekend was full of eating wonderful things, drinking wonderful things, and seeing wonderful people. I’ve been on spring break (it has been glorious!) and have had the time to cook a bit more, too. Thus this week, we wanted to eat a few meals that were a bit more healthy for our waistlines.

I found this recipe in one of my Rachael Ray cookbooks that I occasionally sift through. After reading through the ingredients, I remembered that I had made this recipe before, when my husband & I were first married. It’s a great dish to serve, yet again, on a cold & snowy evening. And, wouldn’t you know it – it’s been snowing on and off all week up here in our neck of the woods. Spring, where are you?!?!

Hunter’s Stoup – adapted from Rachael Ray

1 lb whole wheat penne
2 tbsp olive oil
4 oz pancetta, chopped
1.5 lb chicken breasts, thighs, or a combination of the two – cut into bite-sized pieces
salt & pepper
1 large onion, chopped (I used red)
2-4 carrots, peeled & roughly chopped
8 oz mushrooms, cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp. dried rosemary
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 cup dry red wine
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
Romano cheese, to taste
parsley
crusty bread

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil pasta until al dente.

2. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and chicken; season with salt and pepper. Cook until chicken is slightly browned. Remove and reserve the meats on a paper towel-line

3. To the pot, add the onion, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, rosemary and red pepper flakes. Cook until the veggies soften; season with salt & pepper.

4. Add the red wine to the pan and let it simmer, deglazing the pan. Scrape the ‘browned bit’s off of the bottom. Then, add the tomatoes and chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 5 minutes, then add the reserved browned chicken and pancetta back to the pot and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes more so that the flavors combine.

5. Remember that pasta you were making? Drain the water off. While it’s still hot, place some into the bottom of your serving bowls. Pour a ladle of stoup on the pasta, followed by a sprinkling of Romano cheese and parsley. Serve with crusty bread.

Forgive the quality of this photo…

I really love the flavors in this dish. The pancetta (an ingredient that I don’t use often) adds a really nice, smoky depth. I made a lot of adaptations to this recipe based upon what I had on hand in my pantry, such as the tomatoes. You can also vary the amount of carrots you use in this dish, depending on if you’re a carrot fan or not. You could probably use celery as well, if you wanted.

Through using what I had on hand, I was able to determine that I successfully canned my diced tomatoes right 🙂

Hopefully, this will be the last of the thicker soup/stew posts for the next couple weeks. I know that all of us up here in Michigan are very tired of the snow and cold weather and are praying for the weather to break. At least the fruit farmers & maple syrup makers are happy!