Mangia Monday: Chicken Cacciatore

One of the many things I love about my husband is his adventurous palette. He'll try anything once. And while Hong Kong is the culinary capitol of Asia, Jeff isn't a huge fan of Cantonese food. So I was pretty surprised when we'd talk or skype that he would rave about the food. Evidently Hong Kong businesses like to spoil their Investment Bankers. Smart move. But by Thursday he was craving my home cooking. I love that! When he walked through the door Saturday night I had one of his favorite (and mine too) meals on the table. Chicken Cacciatore, specifically the slow cooker version from The Pioneer Woman. I made this for supper shortly after we married & ever since Jeff requests it at least once/month. It's the epitome of Italian comfort food: braised meat, pasta, a rich wine sauce, garlic, and cheese. It just doesn't get much better than that.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb egg noodles
• 8 whole chicken thighs, skin on 
• salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 4 TB olive oil
• 2 TB butter
• 1 whole medium onion, halved & sliced
• 2 whole red or yellow bell peppers, cored & sliced
• 2 whole green bell peppers, cored & sliced
• 5 cloves garlic, diced
• 12 ounces, weight mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 tsp ground thyme
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
• 3/4 cups dry white wine (serve the rest with dinner!)
• 1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes with their juice
• chopped flat leave parsley 
• freshly grated or shaved parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Salt & pepper both sides of all piece of chicken. Dredge chicken in flour. Heat olive oil & butter in a dutch oven over med-high heat.Place chicken in pot, skin down, 4 pieces at a time and brown on both sides, then set aside. Repeat with remaining chicken. Pour off half the fat & discard. 
2. In your dutch oven, toss in the sliced onions, bell peppers & garlic. Stir it around for about a minute, then add in the mushrooms, also stirring for another minute. Now add in the spices: thyme, turmeric, salt, red pepper flakes, and freshly ground black pepper to your liking. Stir, then pour in the wine and allow to bubble.  
3. Pour in canned tomatoes & stir to combine. Add the cooked chicken back into the dutch oven, skin side up and without submerging the chicken. Place lid on the post & in the oven to cook for 45 minutes. Then remove the lid, increase the oven temp to 375 and cook an additional 15 minutes. While the chicken is in the oven, cook pasta according to package directions & set aside.
4. Once cooked, remove the chicken and the vegetables to separate plates. Return the dutch oven to a burner set on med-high. Cook and reduce the sauce for a few minutes.
5. On a platter layer the cooked, drained noodles then add the vegetables and finally the chicken on top. Spoon the sauce from the pot over the chicken, vegetables and pasta. Before serving, sprinkle fresh chopped parsley & grated parmesan. And trust me, don't use that awful pre-shredded cheese. 

I always serve this Chicken Cacciatore with a green side salad & some crusty french bread. Yum! Click on over to The Pioneer Woman's recipe for step-by-step pics and directions y'all. Her photos alone will make your mouth water! As much as I'm not a fan of leftovers, this dish is an exception. The flavors marry overnight in the fridge, which makes for an amazing lunch the next day! Make this - it's seriously the best dish you'll eat all week. 

Mangia Mangia y'all!