Chicken Canzanese…Italian Comfort Food!

It’s freezing outside!

Actually the temperature is 21º, but who’s counting?  If it’s below 75º, I’m cold, so suffice it to say, I’m dressed like I should be living in Alaska!

I’m definitely ready for some warmer weather, but for now I guess I’ll just hunker down and wait this cold spell out.  If nothing else, it gives me a chance to cook some great cold-weather dishes I’ve been wanting to try.  This italian chicken dish really hit the spot tonight!

Chicken Canzanese-Italian Comfort Food

It’s called Chicken Canzanese (can za nay zay), and I happened to see it prepared on the TV show “America’s Test Kitchen“.  What I love about that show is they do all the testing and experimenting beforehand, so what you get is the final “best of the best” dish.

This dish was delicious!

After the chicken is browned, it’s braised in the oven in a wonderful herbed sauce.  Since the top of the chicken isn’t submerged in liquid, it comes out with a beautiful crispy skin.  Next time, I think I’ll serve it over mashed potatoes or maybe polenta to soak up that wonderful sauce.  YUM!

Chicken Canzanese

America’s Test Kitchen

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 ounces prosciutto (1/4 inch thick), cut into 1/4 -inch cubes
• 4 medium garlic cloves, sliced thin lengthwise
• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 pounds), trimmed of excess fat and skin
• ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 (4-inch) sprig fresh rosemary, leaves removed and minced fine (about 1/2 teaspoon), stem reserved
• 12 whole fresh sage leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• salt & pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325º, and adjust rack to lower-middle position.  Heat 1 teaspoon oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed ovensafe skillet over medium heat until shimmering.  Add prosciutto and cook, stirring frequently, until just starting to brown, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic slices and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes.  Transfer garlic and prosciutto to small bowl and set aside.  Do not rinse pan.

Increase heat to medium-high; add remaining 2 teaspoons oil and heat until just smoking.  Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with ground black pepper.  Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until well browned, 5-8 minutes.  Using tongs, turn chicken and brown on second side, about 5 minutes longer.  Transfer chicken to large plate.

Remove all but 2 tablespoons fat from pan.  Sprinkle flour over fat and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.  Slowly add wine and broth; bring to simmer, scraping bottom of pan with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits.  Cook until liquid is slightly reduced, 3 minutes.  Stir in cloves, rosemary stem, sage leaves, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, and reserved prosciutto and garlic.  Nestle chicken into liquid, skin side up (skin should be above surface of liquid), and bake, uncovered, until meat offers no resistance when poked with fork but is not falling off bones, about 1 hour 15 minutes.  (Check chicken after 15 minutes; broth should be barely bubbling.  If bubbling vigorously, reduce oven temperature to 300º.)

Using tongs, transfer chicken to serving platter and tent with foil.  Remove and discard sage leaves, rosemary stem, cloves, and bay leaves.  Place skillet over high heat and bring sauce to boil. Cook until sauce is reduced to 1 1/4 cups, 2-5 minutes.  Off heat, stir in minced rosemary, lemon juice and butter.   Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Pour sauce around chicken and serve.

Liz’s Notes:

1. Don’t be tempted to substitute breasts for the thighs…they will turn out too dry!
2. I prefer to use a stainless skillet that does NOT have a non-stick surface coating) for this dish.  This skillet will brown the chicken well enough to form “fond”, the crispy bits remaining in the pan that form the basis for the sauce.  Non-stick skillets do not produce this fond.
3. The crispy skin is a MUST for this dish.  Be sure and pat chicken dry with paper towels before adding to your skillet.  If there is any moisture on the chicken, it will “steam” rather than “brown”.  After using a paper towel, I like to let my chicken “air dry” for another 15 minutes or so.
4. As tempted as you might be to flip the chicken when browning, set a timer and DON’T touch it for at least 6-7 minutes.  When it’s nice and brown, the meat will release from the skillet without sticking.  If you try and turn it too soon, you’ll leave half your chicken stuck to the pan.

Caldillo-Delicious Green Chili Mexican Stew

Well, hello again!  Thanks to all of you and your emails of concern as to where I’ve been lately. All is well…sometimes life just has a way of  keeping us very busy!   I hope to be back to blogging now on a regular basis!

Here’s a dish that I grew up with in El Paso.  No, it’s not the “Caldo” recipe that is so popular here in San Antonio, but rather a green chili stew that is more prevalent on New Mexican menus.  El Paso has a lot of  New Mexican influences especially when it comes to food.  Hatch, New Mexico is famous for their green chilies, and they are THE most important ingredient in this dish.   Everyone who has tasted this stew loves it and always asks for the recipe.  I’ve used both beef and pork with great results…Just make sure you simmer it until the meat is very tender.  Put the potatoes in during the last 30 minutes so they don’t overcook.  Served with warm flour tortillas, it’s the perfect dish for that cold winter night!

Caldillo

Caldillo-Green Chile Mexican Stew

Printable Recipe

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs lean stew meat, cubed (can also use cubed pork)
• 1 1/2 cups diced onion
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• vegetable oil
• 1 (32 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 1/2 cups diced Hatch green chilies (roasted and peeled, See Note #1)
• 8 cups (2 cartons) chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 4-5 potatoes, peeled and cubed

Preparation:

In a large pot over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of oil.  Brown meat in batches adding a little more oil if needed, taking care NOT to overcrowd. (See Note #2) Remove each batch to bowl, and cover with foil until all meat is browned.  Add a little more oil and saute onion and garlic until onion is translucent, 3-4 minutes.  Add meat back in with juices, tomatoes, chiles, broth, salt & cumin.  Bring to boil, lower heat to simmer, cover and cook until meat is fall-apart tender, (2-3 hours), stirring occasionally.  About 30 minutes before serving, add your diced potatoes.  When potatoes are tender, serve with warm flour tortillas. (See Note #3)

 

Note #1: If using fresh chilies, they must be roasted and peeled. You can find roasted and chopped chilies in the frozen section of some grocery stores as well as canned and jarred.

Note #2:  When browning cubed meat, take care to leave enough space between each piece so that they brown correctly.  If placed too close together, the meat will steam and you won’t get that nice brown caramelization you are looking for.

Note #3:  Once meat is browned, this dish can be cooked in the crock pot. Just add the browned meat to the rest of the ingredients and cook in the crock pot on high until it is fall-apart tender.

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