Monday, June 21, 2010

Winnie's Chicken Cacciatore

Billy Head helped a friend move some furniture last week and they thanked him by fixing dinner for him. He came home and said "You're Italian, right"? I said, "yeah....so" and he said..."then you know how to fix Chicken Cacciatore, right"? "Huh" I uttered. Well, Italian blood is in my veins but I must confess that during my 48 years I have never made Chicken Cacciatore. Thanks to Winnie Schamerhorn and her family recipe.... I have now scored brownie points with my husband and have made him Chicken Cacciatore. Here's the recipe plus my notes:

6 lbs chicken, cut up ( I used a package of breast tenderloins)
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 medium onions, chopped (I used 1 onion- only b/c that's all I had, but 2 would be great)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup oil
2 cups water
1 can (16 oz) tomato sauce
6 tablespoons vinegar
6 tablespoons sugar (this sounded like a lot of sugar for me, so I started with approx 2 and I would add from there, if you like things sweet, keep adding until you get it the way you like it)
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons oregano
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

Dredge chicken in flour, salt and pepper and paprika. Saute onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon oil, remove and set aside. Brown chicken in the remaining oil, using as little as possible, until all pieces are browned. Remove and set aside.

Place tomato sauce and remaining ingredients in pan and blend well. Bring to a boil and add onions and chicken. Simmer 40 minutes to 1 hour covered. Serve over pasta. (I used linguine).

Note: Use red wine vinegar instead of cider for a better taste.

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