The old adage about ‘nice guys finish last’ comes to us from the world of baseball by Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher in 1946. In the cooking world it’s a bit different as a nice dish can finish first and be very popular among restaurant eaters. Having just returned from 2 weeks of hell in the Pacific Northwest I was craving a nice, easy home cooked meal and decided a chicken cacciatore style plate is what I’d like to eat to bring some joy back into my life.
Many things in life start with desire and once I set my taste buds on this plate my mind focused and this dish was easy to pull together.
Sauce is a big part of a pasta dish and making a good one from scratch usually takes the better part of a day or a second day to have it set right. The Dude of Food believes that sauce is always better the second day. I decided to cut corners and use Private Selection sauce made in Italy and distributed by Kroger of Cincinnati. I actually used 2 jars of sauce. The first jar was Porcini Arrabbiata and the second jar was Tomato and Black Truffle.
Below is the simple ingredient list and procedure for preparation.
Kroger Private Reserve sauce – 2 jars
1 Porcini Arrabbiata and 1 Tomato Black Truffle
1 chopped yellow onion
6 chopped garlic cloves
1 tray of rubbed chicken: 8 legs
salt
pepper
Mushrooms, grated carrots, celery, olives or any other favorites are ingredients that could also be added to this dish.
Start by chopping up the onion and garlic. Put a small amount of wine in a pan and warm. Once the wine has warmed, the alcohol will lift. Then add a little olive oil into the pan with a touch of butter, salt and the onions. Simmer the onions on low to medium heat. When the onions begin to clear up add the garlic and let them warm up together. Once the garlic has had a chance to expand and release its flavor it’s time to add the 2 jars of sauce. Stir, cover and let simmer on a low heat, stirring occasionally.
As the sauce does its magic it is time to start heating the rubbed chicken. Get another pan and add a small amount of olive oil and a touch of water and heat. As the pan heats add the 8 rubbed chicken legs, lightly salt and cover. Pan fry the chicken on stove top over low to medium heat. You are trying to heat the chicken thoroughly but not overcook it or dry out. Low and slow is the way to go.
Time to check the sauce and stir.
Next add a pot of water to the stove top to boil the pasta and begin to heat. Salt can be added to this water if you salt your pasta water. Some folks do.
Boil enough water for 1lb of fettuccine or your favorite noodle shape.
Now you have all the moving parts working and it’s time to clean up as you monitor and stir the heating pans.
The noodles will be ready first. Drain the pasta and add a little of the starch water to the sauce. Cover the drained noodles and let sit.
Once the sauce has simmered enough to be considered ready and the chicken is cooked enough to eat turn all of the heat off and prepare to plate these items.
Start by adding a lump of pasta in plate center.
Surround pasta lump with chicken legs.
Scoop sauce over noodles with plenty for the chicken too.
Sprinkle the top with grated Parmesan cheese and serve.
Bon appetit.