Chicken with Prunes & Olives

M of course was skeptical as to the prune section of this recipe. Prunes do get a bad rap, but it was my duty to prove to M that they are not only edible, but delicious.

We started off by browning thighs and legs in some olive oil, only seasoned with some S&P. After they were browned on both sides, we transferred them to our Dutch oven along with: 12oz dried pitted prunes chopped in half, 1/3 cup capers with juice, 12oz green olives, a few tbsp of brown sugar, some fresh thyme, oregano and a bay leaf.



We then added a few cups of chicken stock, put the cover on the pot, and put it into a 350 degree oven for about an hour. We gave it a stir about halfway through the cooking process to make sure that everyone had equal time under liquid.

I probably could've added a tad more brown sugar, but I wouldn't have changed anything else! We served it with some whole wheat couscous and a field green salad that we dressed with some of the sauce. The dish was sweet and salty and briny and made M, maybe not a prune lover, but definitely a liker!

Mojitos... and Fish Tacos

Summertime is in full swing... how about a delicious, refreshing beverage and a light, coastal meal?

I really do love the concept of fresh herbs in drinks... whether you make lemonade with some lemon thyme in it, or perhaps a basil bloody mary martini. This time for me it was the mojito that was calling my name. I really didn’t want to use all that sugar in my drink though since I’m supposed to be following somewhat of a low-carb diet right now. So I just used Splenda instead, and I was quite happy with the results. 1 teaspoon of Splenda, 2 wedges of limes and several mint leaves (more than you think) into a glass which I quasi-muddled with a wooden spoon. I then added ice, some Bacardi and a few splashes of raspberry lime club soda (that’s all I had). It came out refreshing, light and truly summery!



After that, we went for an EASY fish taco salad. Last time we had fish tacos, we included tortillas and beans - this time we decided to go REALLY light and just go with fish and veggies. We marinated a fresh fillet of cod in white wine, lemon pepper seasoning (which includes lemon zest, pepper, salt), and chives for ~30 minutes... then added the fish to a hot grill pan. Maybe 3 minutes on side A, then flipped and after 2 more minutes on side B we were ready to go.

A bed of iceberg lettuce, chopped very ripe tomatoes, and sliced black olives... a couple of BIG chunks of that delicious cod... and top it with our fish taco sauce: 1/2 tartar sauce mixed with 1/2 medium taco sauce.

Delicious! Happy Summer!

Chicken with Olives & Artichokes

A little while ago I purchased an obscene amount of chicken thighs and threw them in the freezer knowing they would work their way into our bellies soon enough. I was having a craving for salty, briny olives and thought how wonderful they would be with those chicken thighs. As with most of our recipes we kinda just invented the recipe as we were doing it, which is the fun of it!

After cutting off excess fat/skin from the thighs, we rinsed and patted them dry and seasoned them just with salt & pepper and a bit of smoked paprika. In our dutch oven, we seared them in batches (don’t want to crowd them!) in some olive oil. After wiping out the excess oil (but keeping some of the brown bits of goodness), we added some fresh olive oil and sauteed one frenched onion and 5 chopped garlic cloves. After cooking for 5 minutes, we added roughly 8oz of sliced mushrooms, and let those cook down.



Now come the stars of the show in my opinion!! About 40 olives (half Kalamata and half giant green ones) are halved and thrown in with ¼ cup of capers, a few sprigs of thyme and a small bunch of oregano.



We then deglazed the pan with about 2 cups of chardonnay, and cooked that for about 5 minutes more. We returned the chicken to the pan with 5 cups of chicken stock. We topped off with 2 16 oz cans of drained quartered artichokes, brought it up to a low boil and threw it into a 350 degree oven for an hour.

We served this delightful Mediterranean dish over some Pecan and garlic couscous, and toasted with a glass of Chardonnay as well! Bon apetit!

Bloody Mary

We finished brunch, cleaned up all the dishes, folded some laundry and even gave a cat a bath! Time to relax with a beverage that is certainly unique to Sunday Brunch - and a tradition for us on football Sundays.

We actually mixed up the Bloody Mix earlier this morning - sans Vodka. That way, the flavors get a chance to mellow/mature/mix in the fridge for a little while - enhancing the taste considerably.

So! A bunch of V8 (see, it's healthy!) goes into a big pitcher, then several liberal dashes of worcestershire (maybe 10 big ones), many liberal dashes of Texas Pete's Hot Sauce, a big spoonful of horseradish, a little "dirty" oil from a jar of olives - and a couple olives, too - many shakes of celery salt, plenty of fresh ground pepper, and a big squeeze of lemon.

Take a taste and add more of anything there ain't enough of - and then get the pitcher into the refrigerator for a good sit.


The Bar

Put some ice and then a few fingers of the cheap, frozen vodka of your choice (Gordon's - the "Smoothest, Most Mixable!") in a pint glass and fill with the Bloody mix, then pour into another, larger glass and back into your original glass to mix. Add a lemon wedge and some celery and you're happy... We like 'em as spicy - but NOT bitter - as possible. Cheers!

See, a cat fresh from the bath!

Pasta Puttanesca

Is our Pasta Puttanesca the real thing? Maybe not, based on some of the recipes we've found online... Truthfully, however, our version sounds better because we make it with chicken and fresh (not canned) tomatoes. Unlike a deep, long-simmered pasta sauce (which we love, but...), our puttanesca recipe is a quick and fresh-tasting version of this famous "whore's pasta". From Wikipedia:

The name originated in Naples after the local women of easy virtue. Puttana means "lady of the night" (i.e. a prostitute), but the reason why the dish gained such a name is debated. One possibility is that the name is a reference to the sauce's hot, spicy flavor and smell. Another is that the dish was offered to prospective customers at a low price to entice them into a house of ill repute. According to chef Jeff Smith of the Frugal Gourmet, its name came from the fact that it was a quick cheap meal that prostitutes could prepare between customers.

Fun! What's better than a dish with a spotty history?

Our version of puttanesca goes down very quickly - we don't start with the sauce until we drop the pasta (whole wheat penne) into the boiling water. The whole dish takes 12 minutes from the time the pasta goes in, so quick is an apt description. Because it all happens so fast, we like to sous everything up before hand:

• Chicken breasts cut into big-bite-size-ish pieces
  
• Flour seasoned with black pepper, kosher salt, and a little onion/garlic powder
  
• Five big plum tomatoes seeded and chopped into nice-sized chunks
  
• A bunch of Spanish/pimento-stuffed olives (a few handfulls, maybe a little less than a cup) roughly chopped
  
• A few tablespoons of drained capers
  
• Anchovy paste - in a tube
  
• Two lemons cut in half - for juice
  
• Parmesan cheese - in the green can or fresh grated, if you're cool like that

Water boiling, penne goes in and the timer is set for seven minutes. Chicken chunks get dredged in the seasoned flour - just a very light coating - and then added to a hot pan with olive oil in it. Brown the pieces on the first side (3-4 minutes), then turn over. Squeeze one of those lemon half's worth of juice on there and continue to cook a few minutes. Then add the chopped olives and capers and a couple squirts of anchovy paste - whatever your tastes are - and a couple more squeezes of lemon juice and mix that together. After another minute, add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, and any more lemon juice to taste - and stir to combine.

At this point, the pasta should be done and drained. After two minutes, we're ready to add the pasta and a generous amount of parmesan cheese. Fold all of this together and serve hot!



We LOVE the very briney anchovy-and-olive-and-caper flavor of this dish... some people don't, however, and you can easily modify this recipe to your taste. Instead of the capers and anchovy paste, add fresh basil (at the end, with the tomotoes) and mushrooms. Or spinach. Regardless, you'll have a fresh-tasting chicken pasta dish that produces, yup... GREAT LEFTOVERS!

Grazie,

Il Chef De Boston

Cold Appetizers - Walnut and Blue Cheese Grapes and Cherry Tomatoes stuffed with Olive Tapenade

Let’s try our hand at appetizers! We’ve been invited to a neighborhood post-holiday party and since our last name is in the beginning of the alphabet, we were assigned an appetizer. Boston Chef #2 and I found a couple of grand sounding recipes on foodtv.com – walnut and blue cheese grapes and tapenade stuffed cherry tomatoes. Unfortunately Boston Chef #1 (that’s me) was running late that day and didn’t make it to the grocery store until 2 hours before go time. So the scores we give these dishes are lower than what we would’ve given them had they more time to chill out in the fridge. (We had some leftover which indeed tasted better the next day).

Walnut and Blue Cheese Grapes
Chop up about 2/3 cup walnuts pretty finely and then toast those at 325F for 8-10 minutes.

Using a hand mixer (which Boston Chef#1 is scared of due to an incident involving a 40 year old mixer that liked to stealthily start by itself especially when my fingers were nearby) or a food processor, mix 6oz Gorgonzola with 4 oz lite cream cheese until smooth.

Now here comes the EXTREMELY messy part. Pull up yer sleeves!! Make sure your red or black seedless grapes are washed and dried. Put ~1tbs cheese mixture in your hand and glop around the grape. Don’t worry about the prettiness factor at this point, trust me! Put grapes on sheet pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer. Then roll those suckers in the nuts and put them in the fridge again for at least 15 minutes.

Remove and slice in half and you get little apps that strangely resemble eyeballs. Maybe a good app for a spooky Halloween party?!?

Score: 5.5 out of 10 the night of, but after an overnight chill, score goes up to a 6.5. Definitely chop walnuts finer than you think.


Tapenade stuffed cherry tomatoes

Cut a little sliver off the bottoms of about 30 tomatoes so they’ll stand up, and then cut of the top about ¼ way down and hollow them out.

This is actually supposed to be a Spanish tapenade using Spanish Brandy, but heck, I’m just buying a nip and I doubt they had froufrou Spanish brandy in the nip/tuck size.

Mini-chop to the rescue…fill er up with ½ cup Spanish olives with the pimentos, 1.5tsp capers, 1 tsp cheap-o brandy, ¼ tsp lemon zest, 2 tbs olive oil, black pepper and some lemon juice.

Spoon into the tomatoes, garnish with fresh chopped parsley and refrigerate!

Score: Nite of 6/10, next day 7.5/10


A bit too salty, but that mellowed the next day. Definitely throw in a garlic clove (maybe 2 depending on the size of them, and maybe fewer capers.