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This is one of my favorite meals...anything with capers and olives always makes me swoon. This is not your usual Puttanesca sauce, which usually contains anchovies - and I'd rather have root canal that eat an anchovy. But I have discovered Anchovy Paste...it's not fishy smelling in the least, kind of has a funny color, pinkish-gray, which if I allowed myself to think about would make me queasy...so I'll move on. Adding anchovy paste to a dish which calls for anchovies does not really take their place, but it adds flavor - more depth. It's like adding Clamato juice to Clam Chowder...it won't make it taste like clams but it give it a richer taste. Along with my first tube of Anchovy Paste I also purchased my first tube of Tomato Paste! How I could NOT have known about this sooner is a mystery! One tablespoon of tomato paste? No problem! Just squeeze it out of the tube and put the tube back into the fridge...truly miraculous. I know I use that word a lot...but really folks, Tomato Paste in a tube is just that!
This dish starts out on the cook top then moves to the oven to finish cooking...so there's plenty of time to finish the crossword puzzle before mister walks in the door. Although he was late last night - he and his good friend Jack apparently had much to discuss...there are two good things about the mister coming home late...the first? I get control of the remote. He's not there to grab it, so I'm free to claim it and in this house, once the remote is claimed then it is that person's for the entire night. So sayeth the Remote Rule Book...written by the mister. To watch an entire TV show from beginning to end - and all the commercials in between is a rare treat...and the second good thing about him being late? Caesar Beezer the Wonder Dog is getting old...and probably has Mad Cow because he's starting to act strangely...so he gets tired and goes to bed - not waiting for his master. When the mister does finally arrive home, poor little Caesar is awakened from a deep sleep and not liking it, being out of sorts, he'll fly off his perch and attack the mister - like he's a stranger entering the house...hilarious...if only he were a bigger dog!
Chicken Puttanesca - Me
6 Chicken pieces...cutlets, breasts, legs or a combination thereof, skin removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup Calamata olives, pitted
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
2 teaspoons anchovy paste
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup red wine
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup shredded Romano cheese
1/4 cup freshly chopped Italian parsley
Cooked pasta for serving.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse and dry, with paper toweling, chicken pieces. Salt and pepper chicken. In large skillet heat oil and add chicken. Brown chicken, about 5 minutes on each side, then remove chicken to a 9x13-inch baking dish and put in oven to begin to finish cooking. In same skillet, without cleaning it, add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic, olives, and capers and cook for an additional minute, stirring all the time. Add anchovy paste, red pepper flakes, red wine and tomatoes, stir to combine. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce has thickened slightly. Remove chicken from the oven and spoon sauce over chicken. Sprinkle Romano cheese on top. Return to oven and continue to bake for an additional 30 minutes or until chicken is done. Garnish with chopped parsley on top and serve over cooked pasta. Serves 4 to 6.
"If a man watches three football games in a row, he should be declared legally dead." ~Erma Bombeck
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One year ago today: Potato and Onion Timbales
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