Chicken Cacciatore

Some years ago a group of us spent a week in Tuscany, staying in a charming (read: old) villa in a tiny town of Bucine. Actually we stayed at this villa twice over the course of two years. In case anyone is interested, click HERE and you can see the villa. But this is the first trip I'm talking about today. The owners of the villa provided a delicious multi-course meal for us one night (they still do it now, but for a fee). It got us all talking about our favorite Italian food. Carole talked about her fabulous chicken cacciatore, and agreed that when we returned home, we'd have a reunion with all of us to share stories, all our photographs, and she'd fix it for us.

It took us awhile to get a date for everybody, but we did, finally, meet at her home in West Los Angeles, and this is the dish she made. We slicked up our plates in short order, I'll tell you. In between quaffs of chianti and telling stories. Laughing over some of our fun and funny adventures. Like the day we took the train to Florence, and made it on time to the last train back to our little village, with most of us having to help Carole with her bags and bags of purchases. Carole is a very successful real estate agent in Beverly Hills, and she dresses very well, so she thrives on buying all kinds of lovely things whenever she's in Italy. Then there was the story about the huge antique chest Carole bought the day we spent in Siena. She spent nearly as much on the shipping as she did the antique itself (Well, not quite, but it makes for a good story, doesn't it? The chest is lovely and was very expensive.).

We had a grand time at our trip reunion. Carole happened to mention that the cacciatore recipe was Mario Batali's, so it took just a bit of sleuthing on the internet to find it. About the only thing truly different about the preparation is the addition of pancetta. (Remember, pancetta is unsmoked Italian bacon.)

Cook's Notes: This freezes well, and makes a nice presentation with some linguine or thin spaghetti to serve it on. The sauce is part of the greatness of this. And in this case, more is better. Don't skimp on the ingredients for that part.

Chicken Cacciatore
Recipe By: Adapted from Mario Batali, of the TV Food Network
Serving Size : 6
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 pieces chicken drumsticks
6 pieces chicken thighs
Kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper
1 medium onion -- chopped
3/4 cup carrots -- chopped
1 stalk celery -- chopped
1 clove garlic -- minced
2 cups mushrooms - small, whole [my addition]
2 teaspoons fresh marjoram -- or oregano
1 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons cognac
28 ounces plum tomatoes -- diced, packed in puree
2 tablespoons Italian parsley -- chopped
4 ounces pancetta -- 1/4-inch dice
1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat, add 2 T. olive oil. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, and working in batches brown the chicken until golden brown, about 7 minutes per side. Remove chicken pieces as they are browned.
2. To the Dutch oven add the remaining 4 T. olive oil. sauté the pancetta until golden brown, about 6-7 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and save. To the pan add onion, carrot, celery, then scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Add the garlic and marjoram and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the wine and cognac and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until the liquid is reduced by about two thirds.
3. Add the reserved pancetta, tomatoes and tomato puree; season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring the sauce to a slow simmer and partially cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors come together, about 35-40 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°. Add the chicken pieces to the sauce and cook for one minute to heat through. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook until the chicken is tender, about 35-40 minutes.
5. Remove the chicken from the oven and transfer meat to a heated platter and cover loosely with foil. With a large spoon or ladle, skim any fat off the surface of the sauce and discard. Stir the parsley into the sauce and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.
Per Serving: 456 Calories; 26g Fat (56.7% calories from fat); 35g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 142mg Cholesterol; 681mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 5 Lean Meat; 2 Vegetable; 2 1/2 Fat.
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Peas with Pancetta

Sometimes there's just no other vegetable (carb) except peas that will work. I really enjoy green peas, especially the young, small ones. But because they're a carb, we don't eat them much anymore except adding them onto a salad at a salad bar. This dish, though, makes me a convert every time I've prepared it. Probably it's the pancetta. I'm sure glad I was introduced to pancetta some years ago (it's Italian bacon, but not smoked as American bacon is). Trader Joe's carries it in paper-thin slices and in cube form. I keep one of those boxes of pancetta cubes in the freezer all the time now, and it's perfect for this dish.

The recipe came from Cooking Light, April, 2005. So that means it's low in fat and calories. But this recipe is high on flavor, I'll tell you.

Peas with Pancetta
Recipe: Cooking Light
Servings: 6
2 ounces pancetta -- chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
3/4 cup white onion -- diced
1 whole garlic clove -- minced
3 cups frozen peas -- petite
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Italian parsley -- minced
1. In a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat cook the pancetta until it is crispy but not brown. Remove to a small bowl and set aside. Add the diced onions to the drippings in the pan and sauté for about 5 minutes, then add the garlic. Continue to cook for about another minute. Do not let the garlic brown. Add the peas, chicken broth, sugar and salt. Simmer for about 5 minutes (or less) until the peas are just tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir in the pancetta and chopped parsley and turn out into a heated bowl and serve.
Serving Ideas : Serve in a light colored bowl - the dish looks very pretty with the green and red-brown of the pancetta. If serving with lamb, add some fresh mint to the top. Would make a very nice holiday dinner vegetable, especially with lamb, pork or turkey.
Per Serving: 102 Calories; 3g Fat (23.5% calories from fat); 7g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 7mg Cholesterol; 490mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

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Shells with Crispy Pancetta & Spinach

I'm on a roll. Trying some of the recipes amongst the hundreds of clippings I sorted through a few days ago. This one was only about 7 months old - after I broke my foot last summer I watched a heck of a lot of television, and this was one of Giada's Italian recipes that sounded so good, and I knew I'd enjoy it. It's easy to make, too. Can't beat that combination. I really can't say that I make all that many recipes from Food Network shows. I enjoy watching some of them (as theater, I suppose) but only occasionally do I go to the Network's site and print out a recipe.

Here are Giada De Laurentis' stuffed jumbo shells, placed in a baking dish. Photo from the Food Network.

I almost always have pancetta on hand, but I didn't have the 3/4 inch cubes Giada mentions in the recipe - I had the tiny cubed pancetta that I get from Trader Joe's in 4-ounce packages. DH offered to go grocery shopping for me, so I wrote down "large pasta shells." I should have known that "jumbo" was what I wanted. Soooo, I had to improvise a bit. The large shells are way too small to stuff, so I just made a casserole of them instead. Am sure they tasted the same, but most definitely didn't look as attractive as Giada's. The Asiago cheese is part of what "makes" this dish, since it has a kind of sharp taste. Good, though. And the dash of nutmeg in the mixture was really delish. The dish is rich, so it's filling. DH liked this a LOT. Said I could make this anytime. Any day. Night. Whenever.

Shells with Crispy Pancetta and Spinach
Recipe: Giada de Laurentis, Everyday Italian, Food Network
Serving Size : 8 [Giada says this feeds 4-6. No way - more like 8-10 in my estimation.]
SHELLS:
1 package jumbo pasta shells -- (12-ounce)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound pancetta -- cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 pounds frozen spinach -- thawed and drained
15 ounces ricotta cheese -- whole milk
1 cup asiago cheese -- grated
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
SAUCE:
1 tablespoon butter
1 garlic clove -- minced
1 cup cream
2 cups asiago cheese -- grated, set aside 1/4 cup
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. For the shells: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.
3. Warm the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Remove the pancetta from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a large bowl. Add the spinach, ricotta cheese, asiago cheese, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Stuff the shells with about 2 tablespoons of the spinach mixture each and place the stuffed shells in a large, buttered baking dish.
4. For the sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to very low and add the 2 cups asiago cheese, parsley, and pepper. Stir until the cheese is dissolved. Pour the sauce over the shells. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup asiago cheese.
5. Bake until golden on top, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Per Serving: 410 Calories; 31g Fat (66.9% calories from fat); 26g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 103mg Cholesterol; 1419mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 3 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 4 1/2 Fat.

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Creamy Leek Soup and a bit about Onion Goggles

So I had these leeks that had been in the refrigerator for about 2 1/2 weeks. DH had gone to the market before Christmas and he mis-read my list - I wrote 6 leeks. He thought it was 6 bunches of leeks. Sigh. So I had a heck of a lot of leeks. They weren't all that attractive, I'll admit, since the outer layers had become wet and mushy. But the interior, the part we use in cooking, was just fine. A couple of months ago I made a leek and Kielbasa soup, but I didn't have any Kielbasa, so wanted to use what I had on hand. I found a recipe on Epicurious that utilized many of the ingredients I did have, so I altered the recipe some (added pancetta, coconut milk, and some fat-free half and half) and deleted the items I didn't want (potato, whipped cream garnish).

Then I got out my magic (onion goggle) glasses. Ta-da.

If you haven't seen these, you're missing a VERY good thing. I was skeptical they'd work since I cry buckets when I peel and chop onions. What was wonderful, though, was that I could SMELL the onion, but I got none of the biting tears. They're a wonder! I took several snapshots of myself with them on, but every one was so positively ugly I couldn't make you look at a one of them. I look like an owl. But thankfully, you only have to wear them for a few minutes. They come in colors - mine are green and white, as you can see. Get thyself to a kitchenware store soon and buy a pair of these. And go chop some onions.

Creamy Leek Soup
Recipe: loosely based on a recipe from food editor Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez at epicurious.com
Servings: 6-8
3 pounds leeks -- trimmed, leaving white and pale green parts only, chopped
1 medium onion -- chopped
2 large carrots -- chopped
2 large celery ribs -- chopped
4 ounces pancetta -- cubed or minced

1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 cup dry vermouth
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth -- or beef broth
3 cups water
1 Turkish bay leaf -- or 1/2 California
1 1/2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
14 ounces light coconut milk

[I also added about 1 cup of fat-free half and half)
1. Wash sliced leeks in a large bowl of cold water, agitating them, then lift out and drain well in a colander.
2. Cook leeks, onion, carrot, celery, pancetta, salt, and pepper in 4 tablespoons butter in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add wine, stock, water, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Stir in parsley and simmer soup, uncovered, 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf and keep soup at a bare simmer.
4. In a covered jar, shake the 1/4 cup flour with the coconut milk until smooth. Add some water if the mixture is too thick. Add to soup, bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes until thickened.
5. Blend soup in 4 batches in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), about 1 minute per batch, transferring to a 3- to 4-quart saucepan. Reheat if necessary, then season with salt and pepper.

NOTES : Soup is best when made 1 to 3 days ahead (to allow flavors to develop). Chill soup, uncovered, until completely cooled, then cover. Reheat, thinning with water if necessary. Yield: approximately 15 cups.
Per Serving (based on 6 main course servings): 277 Calories; 14g Fat (44.5% calories from fat); 14g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 34mg Cholesterol; 947mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1 1/2 Lean Meat; 3 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 2 Fat.

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