Mission 8: White Chicken Cacciatore
February 7th, 2010 
Goombah Gourmet 
Chris
The Goombah Gourmet did a bit too much this week (2 cheesecakes, 120 anisette cookies), so I wanted to chill a bit on Sunday and not make anything particularly difficult. Well, that and the fact that I knew I wanted to give bread another whirl, and bread is a pain to do, so I really didn’t want a high-prep-time dinner. So I gave Christie three choices: (a) Chicken in Lemon Sauce, (b) White Chicken Cacciatore, or (c) Shell Steak with Bell Peppers in Beer Sauce. My taste buds were actually directed straight at (c), but my low level of energy was hoping for (b). Luckily, Christie chose (b), even as I pushed (a) and (c) as more interesting food choices. So (b) it was. I didn’t have my hopes up for a great meal this time, but I was intrigued by the non-typical way this dish (from the Arthur Avenue cookbook) was made. It was actually surprisingly good.
UPDATE: Presentation: 9, Goombaliciousness, 8.5
Christie loves her some Chicken Cacciatore. In the past, when we would go to Italian restaurants (er, not here, back East), I always ordered something boring like Chicken Parmigiana, and she always ordered Chicken Cacciatore. Especially if we went to Mario’s – she ordered it every time. So I had a bit of pressure here, given that it was one of Christie’s favorite foods. However there were two things I knew I needed to adjustment for this particular meal. First, Christie hates dark meat, and this dish is traditionally prepared using legs and thighs, which adds a lot more flavor to the meal. So I had to substitute white breasts, which would make things a bit blander in terms of flavor. The second is that I wasn’t making the fake Chicken Cacciatore that you typically see in restaurants or in Rachel Ray “30 minute meal” books. Instead, I was making white Chicken Cacciatore, which is the traditional way it is served.
The fake Chicken Cacciatore (which tastes just fine, if you ask me) uses a red sauce and it is usually served over linguine or spaghetti of some sort. This is more of an “add on” meal that can be used to adorn pasta. Hey, that’s fine – like I said it tastes good — but it’s not the traditional dish and after all I am the Goombah and the Goombah is always authentic. The real dish concentrates just on using mushrooms, onion, wine, and a little chicken broth and it is not used to adorn pasta (though I suppose you could use it that way, but I don’t see why you need to). The fact that there’s no red sauce means that it’s a bit less spicy (well, a lot less, actually) and so a bit more bland than the fake dish. With that in mind, it’s probably an even better idea to use chicken parts (dark meat) when making the white traditional dish (provided that your significant other doesn’t complain), to make sure you get the extra flavor.
I did neither: I used white meat and a white traditional sauce. It’s pretty good, but if you’re looking for an attacking taste that reaches out and grabs you, this isn’t your dish. Instead, this dish is smooth and understated, but in a particularly good way. Obviously, the onion and mushroom is the main taste, and they go together well. This meal also goes particularly well with bread (which I also made – some pani di casa), as the mushroom and onion sauce is very ‘sop up’ able. If you know what I mean! As I type this, I’m actually pretty stuffed.
On to the instructions!
What You’ll Need
1. 3 pounds of chicken parts (if you can hack dark meat), or 5 or 6 chicken breasts (if you’re a wuss like Christie and want white meat)
2. 1 large onion
3. 2 cups of fresh mushrooms
4. ¼ cup of dry white wine
5. ¼ cup of chicken broth
6. 2 teaspoons of white vinegar
7. 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
8. ½ cup of flour
9. Olive oil (the only kind of oil, you know)
10. 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
What to Do
1. Cut up the onion and the mushrooms (removing the stems of the mushrooms)
2. On medium high heat, heat up a deep skillet pan covered with olive oil (just covered, not a lot of oil)
3. As it is heating up, beat down your chicken (if using breasts) somewhat (not too bad, just get it a bit more flat for easier frying) and flour each side lightly.
4. Brown the sides of the chicken in the pan, usually about 5 or 6 minutes a side (perhaps a bit longer).
5. Remove the chicken and put the onions and mushrooms in the pan.
6. Saute the onions and mushrooms (don’t carmelize the onions, just get them soft). Generally this should take around 15 or 20 minutes.
7. Once the onions are soft, toss in the wine and deglaze the pan.
8. Add the lemon juice, chicken broth, and vinegar.
9. Put the chicken back in (I cut the breasts up to make things easier)
10. Simmer on medium heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
11. Remove to plate, garnish with parsley.
And there it is…
That Looks Pretty Good, Actually!
Comments
Presentation: 9, Goombalicious: 8.5
This is a pretty low problem meal – low stress prep, and it doesn’t make that big a disaster of the kitchen. A definite keeper recipe for the Goombah! On presentation, I’m giving it a 9. It looked pretty good on that white plate. On taste, Christie gave it an 8.5. She said that this was only because she preferred the red sauce dish, because she likes spicier food. If not for that, and on its own, Christie said that it was probably a 9 or a 9.5.
The only thing I would alter at this point is the amount of lemon juice. 2 teaspoons was not quite enough to detect, and I think this dish would really be really sweet if you could detect the lemon. So next time I’ll double to 4 tsp.
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