Monday, March 3, 2008

Keeping it in the family

So my dad is a really good cook and he made this chicken that left me wanting more. Want to make it too? Here goes:

7 sun-dried tomatoes
1/3 bottle beer
1/2 head fennel, julienne
1 large white onion julienne
7 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 summer sausage cut into bite size pieces
1 chorizo sausage cut into bite size pieces
double smoked bacon cut into bite size pieces
1 cinnamon sticks
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 whole chicken, skin on and cut into edible pieces
A generous amount of fresh rosemary
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup of black olives
4 tbs olive oil

Soak the sun dried tomatoes in the beer for 20 minutes or until soft. Blend them with the beer in a food processor until it becomes a paste and put aside.
Preheat oven to 400 Degrees Fahrenheit.
Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet, brown the chicken all over and set aside.
Keep the oil hot and add onion and garlic. Sautee until onions become translucent but not brown.
Add fennel and sautee for another minute.
Add bacon, summer sausage and chorizo.
Arrange the chicken skin side up. Smear it with the sun dried tomato paste, add the cinnamon stick and sprinkle the olives and rosemary all around.
Add the orange juice and cover the pan with tinfoil.
Braise for 1/2 hour and uncover, adding the orange slices and pine nuts. Bake for another 20 minutes or until skin is crispy and chicken is cooked through.
Serve in the skillet and make sure to scrape all the good bits of the bottom of for maximum taste sensation.

2 comments:

Sofi said...

Maia, I am coming over and you are making this for me. Please?

Unknown said...

OK, so I was the lucky one to sample this dish, cooked by Maia herself!!!

My one comment: Droooooooooool