Braised Chicken for Fall

Have you ever worried you've lost your cooking mojo? See that raised hand? That would be mine. After a summer in which I spent very little time in the kitchen--a combination of off-putting hot weather and, well, no time or energy because of family health issues--I've felt off my game.

But this week, with cooler weather for at least a couple of days, I finally felt excited again about being in my kitchen. Finally motivated to pick up a knife, turn on the oven, and make myself a real dinner. But I started with the familiar--braised chicken thighs. This dish is one of my favorite comfort food go-to's at home as the weather cools. The chicken is transformed into melt-in-your-mouth bites by braising in vegetables that release their juices, along with the fragrant herbs and smokiness from the dry Marsala I usually add. The added bonus is the sweet aroma the kitchen takes on when it's cooking. It just makes me feel good to be home.

I make this dish many ways, depending on what I'm craving and what ingredients I have. Braised chicken is so easy and so versatile you almost don't need a recipe. What you do need is the chicken, of course, some vegetables, herbs, spices, and white wine. I veer from tomatoes, red peppers, garlic, onions, and leeks to marinated artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, capers, and fennel. Love carrots and celery? Add them. Winter squash? Eggplant? Go for it. Sometimes I'll bread the chicken, otherwise I'll just sprinkle the pieces with salt and black pepper. I like to include dried herbs like oregano, marjoram, and thyme. If I want heat, I'll add diced chiles or crushed red pepper flakes. Most often I turn to Marsala or sherry, but if I have an open bottle of Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay, in that will go. I usually make this just for myself. Two pieces turns into two meals for me. But I've made it for six people with a dozen pieces and just added more ingredients to a larger pot. No problem. You may just need to brown the chicken in batches and cook the dish longer.

Braised chicken for one or two takes about an hour in a 375° oven. You can use a clay pot (don't preheat in that case so the pot won't crack from the shock of the heat) or a heavy metal pot, like a Le Creuset Dutch oven. Whatever you use needs to be oven ready in terms of the handles and lid top for metal pots and pots that can absorb higher heat for clay.

Prep your veggies. Then add some olive oil to the pot on the stove and add your seasoned chicken, skin side down, with enough space between them so they don't steam. Let the skin brown--don't pull the chicken from the bottom of the pot. Wait to turn the pieces until they lift easily.

Then, once the chicken is skin side up, start layering half the vegetables. Once you have one layer in, add half the seasonings. Add the rest of the vegetables, the rest of the seasonings, and your wine. If you don't drink wine, you can add a little apple juice or chicken broth.

Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and place it in the oven to cook for an hour. Serve it over grains--I made farro for it this week--so you have something to absorb the sweet and salty juices. Make enough for a second meal. It tastes even better the next night!

Braised Chicken with Mediterranean Flavors
Serves 1 or 2
(printable recipe)

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 chicken thighs
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 onion thinly sliced
3 to 4 large cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 dozen or more pitted Kalamata olives
1 dozen quartered marinated artichoke hearts
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
crushed red pepper flakes
3 ounces Marsala

Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°.

Heat olive oil in a heavy, oven-ready pot that has a lid.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the chicken pieces skin side down in the pot. Let brown. Turn only once the chicken easily lifts from the bottom of the pot.

Layer half the onion, garlic, olives, and artichoke hearts over the chicken. Sprinkle with half the herbs and sprinkle in some crushed red pepper flakes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Layer in the rest of the onion, garlic, olives, and artichoke hearts. Add the rest of the herbs, more crushed red pepper flakes if you like, and salt and pepper. Drizzle the Marsala over the mixture.

Put the cover on the pot and place in the oven. Cook for about an hour.

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Easy Clay Pot Chicken with Provençal Flavors

 
I don't really have a name for this dish. Nor do I have a precise recipe. It's one of those meals I first tossed together years ago when I had my usual whole leg of chicken but felt that I should do something other than roast it (the kind of push  against the path-of-least-resistance decision often made when cooking for one). It's since become a go-to meal in cold weather since it's so "stewy" and comforting and the flavors are so rich.

The ingredients tend to vary depending on my mood and the contents of my pantry but they skew toward "Provençal." Usually I'll throw in halved Kalamata olives, capers, sliced onions, diced shallots, quartered artichoke hearts, whole peeled garlic cloves, and a good amount of Marsala wine. Last night I left out the onion but added the remnants of a bag of pre-cooked and frozen Peruvian giant cuzco corn I'd bought awhile ago at Latin America Travel and Services (now at 3644 30th St., I believe). Sometimes I add canned garbanzo beans. In other words, I simply collect ingredients I already have that harmonize with each other and the chicken.

The technique is simple--a cross between baking and braising. And you don't have to use a clay pot but I enjoy it because I think it mellows the flavors compared with cooking in metal. But if you are using a metal pot, like Le Creuset, pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. If you're using clay, keep the oven cold so that the pot isn't shocked by the heat and won't crack -- and be sure you use stoneware, not earthenware.

First cut the chicken into individual pieces. Then dip them briefly in milk before rolling in bread crumbs. Brown the breaded chicken in a pan heated with olive oil. If you're using a metal pot, you can brown the chicken in that and save yourself a pot to clean. While the chicken is browning, prep the rest of the ingredients.

Spread a little oil around the bottom of the clay pot. Place a small amount of onions, shallots, and garlic on the bottom and then top with the chicken. Add the oil, fat, and scrapings from the pan you browned the chicken in. Then start bringing in the rest of the vegetables in layers, periodically adding salt, ground pepper, and any herbs or spices that appeal to you (I usually include oregano and thyme but last night I pulled out Hatch chile powder for a little heat). Finally, you'll want several generous splashes of the Marsala (alternately, you could use your favorite white wine).

Cover the pot and put it in the oven. If you're using a clay pot, now is the time to turn on the heat to 375 degrees. The chicken should be done in about an hour, depending on how much you're cooking. While I usually make a leg and thigh for myself, which gives me enough for two dinners, I've made large quantities for six people and it takes just a little longer.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare your favorite rice or grain to serve it on. After all, those aromatic juices need to be absorbed by something. This week, I made basmati rice in one of my favorite clay pots -- an inexpensive sand pot I bought a few years ago at the Vietnamese market Lucky Seafood in Mira Mesa. You have to be a little gentle when doing this with a sand pot. You can't just crank up the heat immediately to bring the rice to a boil. You have to ease it up. So it takes a little longer but not much. Bring the rice to a boil, stir, cover, reduce the heat, and finish cooking according to the directions.

Scoop a helping of rice into a large bowl, then add the chicken, vegetables, and juices. The chicken should be so tender it practically falls off the bone and thoroughly shot through with the flavors it was braised in. The vegetables and Marsala flavors should meld, but give you nice bites of different textures and flavors -- saltiness, thanks to the capers and olives, sweetness from the onions, artichokes, and garlic, comforting heat from the chile powder, and chewiness from the corn. It's a cozy dish perfect for a chilly night.

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