Catch a Tory

I've never cooked chicken cacciatore before ... but tonight I tackled it (without benefit of a recipe) ... and it turned out pretty well.  Today I bought four chicken thighs for $4.35 and decided to try my hand at this dish.  Here's how it went:

Rinse the chicken thighs and dry them thoroughly.  Salt and pepper them liberally on both sides.  Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat.  Add a good olive oil (I actually used peanut oil tonight ... I couldn't find the olive oil) and heat until smoking.  Add the chicken thighs and cook them until well browned.  Remove the thighs to a plate and add one well chopped onion ($0.30), three slivered garlic cloves ($0.25) and one well diced Italian pepper ($0.50).  Then add a good sprinkling of red pepper flakes and some fennel seeds to taste (I like a lot of them).  Put a big can of good whole tomatoes ($1.69) in a big bowl and squeeze them to a pulp and then add them to the frying pan.  Add a good pinch of salt and some more black pepper grinds, a palm-full of dried parsley flakes, a bay leaf, and a good pinch of oregano.

Cook this sauce for about ten minutes and then return the chicken thighs to the pan along with a can of drained artichoke hearts ($1.89) or just artichoke heart bottoms and any juices from the thighs.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook another fifteen minutes or until the chicken is real tender.  (A few things I could have added but didn't -- some chopped-up sun-dried tomatoes and a good splash of red wine.)  In a separate pot boil a good quantity of salted water and cook some cappellini ($1.29).  Serve the chicken cacciatori over the pasta with a liberal sprinkling of Romano cheese.  Enjoy.  (You pick the side entrees ... maybe oil and garlic broccolini and a balsamic-vinegar tomato salad, see: My Tomato Salad.)

So, for around ten dollars I main-course fed very generously three people (with enough left for my lunch tomorrow.)  We all said it was delicious.  Not bad for a chicken-cacciatore tyro.

Eggplant Parm

Last week, in between tutoring gigs, I stopped for lunch at a place called Ziti's on Speen Street in Natick, MA and ordered its eggplant parmigian ($7.95).  It was sublimely delicious.  So tonight I tried to duplicate it here at home.  I came very close.

First get a firm, fresh, standard eggplant.  Peel it and cut it into 3/4 inch rounds, discarding the ends.  Then place two layers of paper towels on a cookie sheet and, salting the eggplant pieces liberally on both sides with Kosher salt. place them on the paper towels.  Cover them with another two layers of paper towels and another cookie sheet and then something heavy (say a big cast-iron frying pan.)  Let them stand for at least an hour.  Remove and discard the paper towels.  Pat the rounds dry.  Then grind fresh black pepper on both sides.

Now place the big cast-iron frying pan on high heat, covering the bottom generously with extra virgin olive oil.  When quite hot, start frying the eggplant rounds in batches (adding lots more oil as required) until nicely browned on both sides ... removing them to more paper towels.  (No egg wash and bread crumbs ... why the extra calories?)  Finally, in the remaining oil, saute three minced garlic cloves, red pepper flakes to taste (I used about four shakes), a pinch of salt, some fennel seeds, and a large can of good crushed tomatoes.  Cook about five minutes.  Then place about a cup of the tomato sauce on one of the cookie sheets (should have at least 1/2 inch sides), then the eggplant slices, and a good slice of fresh mozzarella cheese on each.  Spoon the rest of the tomato sauce over the cheese and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Bake in the top half of a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes until the cheese is brown and bubbling.

Eat until you burst.  No need for anything else.  And the next time you are in Natick, MA stop by Ziti's and say thank you (over a plate of its eggplant parm.)