Yummy Braised Chicken Cacciatore

I bought some chicken thighs on sale and decided to try a recipe I'd saved for Chicken Cacciatore. Surprisingly, it's another dish that Greg has never eaten or even heard of! I mean, he LOVES chicken and tomatoes so how could that be possible? Anyway, this recipe was adapted from Cooks Illustrated and featured mushrooms and sage. It was REALLY easy and the chicken cooked perfectly with lots of great flavor! I served them over some Knorr Rice in Chicken Flavor and it was the perfect way to end the weekend!

Ingredients:


4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
1 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 c sliced mushroom
2 medium cloves garlic , minced
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 c dry red wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 c canned or fresh diced tomatoes (I used some grape tomatoes)
1 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp dried sage


Prep:


1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 2 minutes. Add chicken thighs, skin-side down, and cook, not moving them until skin is crisp and well browned, about 5 minutes; using tongs, flip chicken and brown on second side, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer browned chicken to large plate and set aside.


2. Add onion, mushrooms, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; sauté over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until moisture evaporates and vegetables begin to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.


3. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Add wine, scraping pot bottom with wooden spoon to loosen brown bits. Stir in stock, tomatoes, thyme, sage, salt and pepper to taste.


4. Submerge chicken pieces in liquid and bring to boil; cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until chicken is tender and cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes, turning chicken pieces with tongs halfway through cooking. (Instant thermometer should register 190°F in thickest part of the meat.)

Chicken Cacciatore take 2 with Zucchini!

I've made Chicken Cacciatore before and we loved it so I decided to make it again. I had some zucchini in the fridge so I added some in. I figured the more veggies the better right? This time I served the chicken over couscous and it did a great job of soaking up all the yummy sauce!

Ingredients:


2 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
Salt and black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 c onion, finely diced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 c chicken broth
1 c diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 medium zucchini, cut into sticks
1 c white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
1 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley


Prep:


1. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the thighs and brown 2 to 3 min per side. Transfer to a plate.


2. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion and garlic. Stir with a wooden spoon and scrap up any browned bits, until the onion softens and browns, about 5 min. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, thyme, rosemary and chili flakes.


3. Nestle the chicken back into the sauce and add any accumulated juices. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and cook the chicken, turning occasionally, until internal temperature reaches 160°F, another 20 to 25 min. Remove chicken to serving platter.


4. Turn heat up to high and boil until sauce thicks, about 5 min. Pour over chicken and sprinkle with parsley.

Chicken Cacciatore AGAIN?

I've made Chicken Cacciatore more than once but we're not tired of it yet! This time I followed a recipe from Life's Ambrosia Blog (which I'm totally in love with BTW!) and it turned out amazing! I used some Italian-style canned tomatoes, which were really thick so I left out the tomato sauce and I also didn't have any capers. The meat was tender and "cooked to perfection" (quoting Greg)! I served my chicken over some couscous and we made sure every last drop of that amazing sauce was devoured!

Too Hot for the Oven!

It's a VERY rare occasion when it's too hot to turn on the oven in SF. Tonight, it stayed around 80 degrees, which meant that the oven was out of the question when it came to dinner! I turned to another recipe from my Pasta Revolution cookbook and make Pasta with Chicken Cacciatore Sauce. All done on the stovetop and VERY easy! I rarely get the chance to use Herbes de Provence and loved it in this dish!

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 c onions, chopped
1 c mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Herbes de Provence
1 tsp all-purpose flour
1/4 c red wine
1/2 c chicken broth
1 c diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 lb cooked chicken, sliced
Penne, cooked
1/2 c Parmesan cheese
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Prep:

1. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms and cook until browned, 5 minutes.

2. Stir in garlic and Herbes de Provence and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.

3. Whisk in wine and broth until smooth. Add tomatoes and sugar and bring to a simmer. Cook until sauce is thickened, 10 minutes.

4. Stir in chicken, pasta and Parmesan. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Fancy French Cooking at Home!

I've been saving this Chicken Chasseur recipe for a while now and finally made it tonight. It's basically the French version of Chicken Cacciatore, which means "hunter-style" with mushrooms and onions. The braised meat came out moist and flavorful and the egg noodles really soaked up the yummy sauce! It was also the perfect stove-top meal for this mini heat-wave we're getting in SF!