Chicken for a Crowd

Chicken Marbella
(adapted from The Silver Palate cookbook)

serves 8-10 people

Chicken Marbella is one of those legendary recipes that you always seem to come across...I think it was very popular in the 90's for entertaining as it serves a large crowd and can be prepared the day before. I first had this dish at a high school graduation party.

While it wasn't as fabulous as I remembered, it was still very good! However, next time I make it, I would adjust a few things...

1. cut down on the amount of oregano

2. Use a mix of green and black olives and double the quantity

3. Double the quantity of prunes

I served this with steamed broccoli, and Israeli couscous that I made with half water, and half chicken stock. I then add sauteed shallots and garlic, fresh parsley, lemon juice, salt, pepper and Herbamare seasoning. Delicious!!









See below for the original recipe-

Ingredients:

5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
1 bulb garlic, finely puréed
1/4 cup dried oregano
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cups pitted dried plums
1/2 cup pitted green olives, or a mix of olives such as Greek, Moroccan, or French
1/2 cup capers with about a tablespoon of their juice
6 bay leaves
1/2 cup brown sugar (I cut this back from 1 cup)
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

Method:
1. Place the chicken in a large bowl. Cover it with the garlic, oregano, coarse salt and pepper, vinegar, olive oil, dried plums, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves. Rub the chicken well with the marinade and refrigerate, covered, ideally overnight, but at least for 2 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

3. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in 1 or 2 large, shallow baking pans and spoon the marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around but not on them.

4. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, basting every 10 minutes with the pan juices.

5. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken, dried plums, olives, and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and sprinkle generously with the parsley. Serve the remaining pan juices in a separate bowl.

Vegetable Chili and Spoon Bread

I remember eating this dish when I was in elementary school and high school. To be honest, I was never a big fan as the tomatoes grossed me out and I was a tad fearful of the zucchini chunks. Fortunately, my taste buds have gown up slightly...I still pick out oversized tomato pieces but I now enjoy the zucchini and the spoon bread is as divine as it gets. Spoon bread is similar to corn bread but much softer with more of a pudding like texture. I figure that the chili is so healthly that a little spoon bread on the side is a acceptable indulgence.











Vegetable Chili
serves 6

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil (very uncessary, I use less than 1/4 cup)
2 onions, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 red peppers, cored, seeded and cut into squares
2 zucchini, cut into cubes
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 14oz cans peeled whole tomatoes ( save yourself the trouble and use 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes)
salt and pepper to taste
1 15oz can kidney beans, drained
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped coriander
2 Tbsp lemon juice

-Heat the oil in a deep casserole over moderate heat and add onion, garlic, and red pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and continue to saute for 3 more minutes. Stir in chili powder and cumin and stir for a minute. Add the tomatoes, roughly chopped, with their juice. Season with salt and pepper and stir in chickpeas and kidney beans.
-Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, until vegetable are tender. Lastly stir in parsley, coriander and lemon juice to give the dish a fresh taste.
- Serve with spoon bread.

Spoon Bread

Ingredients

3 cups milk
4 oz butter
1 cup corn meal
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3 eggs, separated

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the milk and butter in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the corn meal, salt and sugar and whisk. Cook for 5 minutes. Cool slightly, then beat in egg yolks. Whisk egg whites until stiff and fold until the mixture. Bake in a buttered dish for about 45 minutes, until risen, golden and crusty. Serve immediately.

Cherry Squares

I got this recipe a long time ago from a friend's Polish grandmother. These are a cinch to make and are delicious...well honestly, they should be considering the rude amount of butter and sugar in them. Sorry P, I know this doesn't fall into the "clean eating" category but I made them for a Superbowl party so it doesn't count right?










Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups flour, sifted
1 tsp vanilla
1 14-15oz can sour pitted cherries

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-Drain the cherries and set aside.
-Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, and sifted flour.
-Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.
-Press cherries into the top ( makes sure to use the whole can!).
-Bake for 45 minutes until done.
-Sprinkle with powdered sugar.