delectation

Dinner, 28 August, 2004

I'm late with this, perhaps because the memories of this dinner have been a little tarnished by a small altercation I had ... but I have pictures and recipes nonetheless, and the food turned out well:

Appetizers were Coppa rolls with arugula, fennel and manchego cheese drizzled with olive oil -- the recipe called for Bresaola, but Berkeley Bowl did not carry it, and I didn't have time to get to either Genova's down the street or to Lucca's in San Francisco, and so I asked for something similar, and got Coppa (pork rather than beef). It seems that I could have also tried the Café Rouge meat market over on 4th St… ah, too little time, too many food markets… I also served some sliced Les Trois Petits Cochons Saucisson Sec, Mirabo Creme Fraiche Brie, Caramelised Walnuts with Sesame Seeds, and a sliced baguette.

For the main course I served a chicken and andouille sausage ragu over fusilli (I couldn't find capanelle) with parsley butter, and my friend David made a spinach salad with mushrooms, feta cheese and onions. Notes in italics are mine, below.

9 chicken thighs with skin and bones (about 4 pounds), well trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound chicken andouille sausage or other fully cooked spicy smoked sausage, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds (some of the feedback on the Epicurious site indicated that the spicy andouille might completely overwhelm the dish, and as I am heat-averse, I used only 1 andouille sausage, and substituted 2 sweet italian sausages to make up the difference; next time I might try linguica as another substitute)
3 medium carrots, peeled, diced
2 large onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh marjoram (from about 2 large bunches)
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 cup dry white wine
2 14 1/2-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
2 cups low-salt chicken broth

Place chicken thighs, skin side down, on work surface. Using sharp knife, cut each thigh lengthwise along each side of bone, forming 2 pieces of meat (some meat may remain on bones); reserve bones.

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken and bones with salt and pepper. Working in batches, sauté in pot until brown, about 6 minutes per batch. Transfer to bowl. Add sausage to pot and sauté until brown, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to bowl with chicken. Add carrots and onions to pot and sauté until onions are tender and golden, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup marjoram, garlic, lemon peel, and crushed red pepper; sauté 2 minutes. Add wine and boil until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with juices and broth; bring to boil. Add chicken, bones, sausage, and any accumulated juices from bowl. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 35 minutes.

Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken and sausage to bowl; discard bones. Boil liquid in pot until reduced to 3 cups, about 20 minutes. (I skipped these steps and just let the stew simmer for about an hour. It makes for a meltingly tender ragu, and the sauce gets reduced to a concentrated intensity.) Stir in remaining 1/4 cup marjoram. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Return chicken and sausage to pot. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Rewarm over medium heat before serving.) Spoon ragu over Campanelle Pasta with Parsley Butter.

Makes 6 servings.

The pasta was easy and straightforward. I feared that the butter might be a bit too much for the already rich ragu, but it nicely added another dimension of flavour and support for sauce... A great wintertime/ autumnal dish...

And finally, for no reason other than to highlight the pathetic lack of space I have in the kitchen - this is what my sink looks like after a typical dinner party:

Posted by claudine at September 6, 2004 12:14 PM