Brainy Chicken Cacciatore 'alla cacciatora' or hunter style...

 

Cooking 'cacciatore' means cooking 'hunter style'. In Italian cuisine, alla cacciatora refers to a dish that has been prepared "hunter-style" and that means with onions, tomatoes, red peppers, green olives,and herbs not to mention if you dried fruits like plums.

For this dish, you will need to buy six (or enough for each dinner guest) chicken thighs with the bone in and skin on. A richer flavor will develop by having the bone in and skin; in fact, necessary for this dish to be truly authentic 'hunter style'.

Begin by searing the chicken thighs skin side down in olive oil on high heat either in a skillet or even in the oven on 400F (use a glass baking dish if you prefer to oven roast). Turn over the thighs and brown the under side as well.

When it comes to cacciatore, the basic recipe (tomatoes, chicken stock, dried herbs and dried plums) is always the best; however, you can add whatever you like to the mix (red or green pepper, onion, black olives)... except for broccoli. Certainly, whether you roast in the oven or simmer in the skillet, make sure you have fresh whole tomatoes to add or quality canned stewed tomatoes.

Turn down the heat to med. (oven to 325). Add to the skillet or baking dish, the tomatoes, chicken stock and herbs: rosemary, oregano and mint along with garlic powder and red pepper flakes for zing but not necessary.  Cover and simmer for 40 min (oven time too) while you prepare a side.

Use a wide egg noodle pasta, or linguine or even mashed potatoes as your side. Once the pasta is tender, drain, rinse and then ladle onto a low lipped serving platter. Top with the chicken cacciatore.

~ Tutti a Tavola!

Brainy Braciola with Steaming Polenta...

 

For this dish you will need: either 1 lb your choice of steak (round/flank or sirloin) or boneless pork loin, fresh green Italian parsley, provolone cheese, and prosciutto ham. Also, you will need marinara sauce or meaty bolognese, and olive oil.

Start by pounding out either the steak or pork loin. You can make a large roll or cut the meat into more individual sizes. Lay on the cheese slices or grated, prosciutto and sprinkles of fresh parsley (or use fresh spinach leaves chopped). Roll up and tie with baking string or use wooden toothpicks to hold rolls together.

Next, fry in a skillet in olive oil until browned on both sides.

Remove from skillet and lay in a glass baking dish. Pour over the top, one half jar of marinara sauce or meaty bolognese and add some beef stock until the dish is brimming. Top with fresh dried herbs: rosemary, mint and oregano. 

Prepare polenta according to recipe which you can find on a previous blog. Just type in Polenta in the search box on the Brainy Gourmet Blog. 

 Serve with polenta... 

~ Tutti a Tavola!

Being your own Brainy Gourmet Chef at Home...

 

The Brainy Gourmet has been saying and applying for years what Chef José Andres has always said... "What could you do when life takes an unexpected turn? Friends, my advice: Don't follow a recipe!"

"When we go by the book, we lose our ability to adapt, to be creative. Sometimes you will find yourself without an ingredient or two. It will seem like everything is going wrong. If things don't go as expected, make the unexpected work in your favor.  Change the name of the dish." ~ JoseAndres

Don't follow a recipe. That is still the best advice; unless, you are a beginner. The Brainy Gourmet has always advocated being your own gourmet chef starting by understanding your own taste buds. That understanding comes from utilizing your senses: sight, smell, touch, taste and even hearing.

How can hearing help you cook? Well, first off... the sound of food prior to cooking is very important. You should listen for snap, crackles and pops. While you cook, you should listen for percolating, bubbling, sizzling and swishing.

These sounds will tell you a lot about what is happening to your food as you cook it and aid in adjusting temperature as well as timing. Also, paying attention to those sounds can help you avoid burning food as it cooks as well as aid you in achieving the right texture, smell and ultimately the right taste...

*Source ~ https://www.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/news/2014/05/life-advice-from-a-chef-dont-follow-a-recipe