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Monday, January 16, 2012

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

This weekend was chock-full of the good, the bad and the ugly.

First, the good:  Love, Loss and What I Wore opened on Friday to a full house and was a benefit for our local chapter of the YWCA.  We were sold out again on Saturday and while we had a smaller house yesterday, the audiences have just eaten up the show. 

The bad:  stage fright.  I haven't acted in so long that I've forgotten what it was all about.  It didn't show in my performance, fortunately, but I was petrified going out there on opening night.  It really helped that my fellow actors were so amazing that I warmed up before too long.

The ugly:  the tiramisu cake I made yesterday for this month's Cake Slice pick.  You'll see what I mean on Friday. 

And a second entry for "the good":  last night's dinner.  How many of you were readers of the late, lamented Gourmet Magazine?  My guess is most of you.  It kills me that when I sold my house in 2008 to move in with my now-husband, I recycled almost a hundred issues of Gourmet because I didn't want to move them.  I figured that there were plenty more issues to come, right?  A year later Gourmet stopped publication. 



I have a handful, maybe ten, of random issues that survived the Great Recycling Binge of 2008, and I treasure them.  This recipe is a reminder of what made Gourmet so great.  I'll post the polenta recipe tomorrow.

Tuscan Chicken with Olives and Pancetta
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, January 2009

Large chicken, backbone cut out and cut into 10 pieces*
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1.5 tbsp. rosemary, chopped
1.5 tbsp. thyme, chopped
1/2 tbsp. sea salt
4 peperoncini, crushed
5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 slices pancetta, diced (optional)
1 cup dry white wine (I used Vermentino;  any white will work as long as it's bone dry)
1/2 cup of good-quality pitted olives (I used a mix of black and green)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and position a rack in the middle.

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper flakes, ensuring that the chicken is coated with the oil and spices.  Lay the chicken pieces skin-side up in a rimmed pan--we used our large paella pan and it worked perfectly.



Scatter the garlic over the chicken pieces, along with the pancetta.  Roast until the chicken skin browns, about 25 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven and drizzle the wine over the chicken, along with scooping up pan juices and pouring them over the chicken so it remains moist.  Bake for another 8 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven again and add the olives.



Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the chicken is golden and cooked through.  Remove from the oven and tent with foil.  Allow to sit for another 10 minutes or so before serving to let the flavors intensify.



If you are watching what you eat at this time of year, remove the skin from the chicken before eating.  The flavor is still fantastic, and the fat is significantly reduced.

Suggested Wine Pairing:  Italian wine, naturally.  I used a lovely crisp Vermentino to cook the chicken, and it was a great match for the final dish.  If you prefer reds, a fruit-forward red such as Negroamaro or even a good-quality Chianti would be a good match.

*The way we cut it, there are ten pieces:  two wings, two drumsticks, two thighs and each breast is cut in half.  The original recipe recommended cutting the chicken breasts into three pieces each, but I think that's overkill.

26 comments:

  1. Oooh, this looks DELISH!!! Thank goodness for Epicurious...but I can't always find every old favorite! And congratulations on the success of your show...and for facing your stage fright and working through it! Brava!

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  2. Congrats on another hit at the theater! Stage fright-I know what that is like, glad you had some support from your fellow actors.
    This does look like a delicious pick from Gourmet! I really do enjoy italian spices with chicken more than other meat-yum! After Gourmet Magazine disappeared I was worried about Bon Appetit-I gave 10 years away of that magazine. Glad that they are hanging in there. Have a great day!

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  3. Congrats on the play :) I bet you were wonderful.
    This looks beyond delicious - I love olives and the tang they give to dishes. This sounds like perfect chicken!

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  4. This look yummy! I love finding a good recipe that uses olives.

    I know what you mean about Gourmet. I have about 5 issues that I am NEVER getting rid of!

    Congrats on getting through opening night ok!

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  5. I'm glad you did well in your show! I had a bit of stage fright every year about my dance recitals despite having done them for 12 years. It's just something I could never shake! I think a little bit of nerves is good though. It keeps you on your game.

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  6. I know I would never be able to do a play. I would absolutely have stage fright! I used to do pampered chef for a short bit and even speaking at small parties used to freak me out. I even felt nervous doing a party my mother had for family. Yes, it's that bad. You.. you're a pro! I'm glad you got your feet wet and it all worked out for you on opening night. This Tuscan Chicken looks amazing. I love the olives and all the flavors you have here! Well done. :)

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  7. Ahhh Gourmet - I recycled way too many of them. But all the goods add up to mighty fine. Glad the play was a success - the dinner is delicious and the tiramisu? Tomorrow is another day.

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  8. Congrats on your opening night! I miss Gourmet sigh I to recycled most of mine during a move and then all of the sudden it didn't exists anymore. Tear :( This dish looks wonderful.

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  9. Congrats on your show's success!I love Italian food and the use of garlic and pancetta tells me, its delicious and flavorful!

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  10. I miss Gourmet sooooooooooo much. I really appreciated it more after reading ALL of Ruth Reichl's books and then (like you mention) "poof" it was gone! I still have a stash. I think I will get them out this weekend. (Who am I kidding? I haven't read December's Bon Appetit yet!) :)

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  11. Congrats for the full house of your show! Your Tuscan chicken looks flavorful.

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  12. This looks delicious! Congratulations on the full house - I had NO doubt you'd do great...despite the stage fright!

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  13. That chicken looks amazing! I love these dishes with the saltiness of pancetta and olives. Reminds me of Italy. :)

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  14. Congrats on the play! The chicken looks fabulous! :)

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  15. This looks good. Congrats on the full house.

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  16. Like you, I get stage fright everytime I have to speak in the public and sometimes its scary and my voice does give way. Suppose with practice we can control this. When I saw the word Tuscan, its already like making me wanting to try and what more after seeing the pics. Hahhhh!!! the fragrances and flavors of rosemary and thyme are simply wonderful.

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  17. The chicken looks so flavourul and tempting. It's a pity that gourmet stopped publication.

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  18. This looks great! I'm putting this on my to-do list!

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  19. I have a hard time letting go of magazines for that very reason! And recipes on boxes - my grandmother used to make these bars that were on the side of some recipe box for like 20 years and then all of a sudden they stopped adding it to the box but she'd never written it down. I still wish I knew what that recipe was! Congrats to you on the success of your show - I'm sure you were awesome, nerves and all!!

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  20. Congrats on a successful show! That must feel so good! Sorry about the tiramisu, its always disappointing when something doesn't turn out the way envisioned. And finally, great winner with the chicken dinner. Poor Gourmet...do you think if enough food bloggers petitioned they'd bring it back? :-)

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  21. So glad that the show was a hit and I hope you had a fabulous time! The chicken looks sensational. Love it on the polenta. And I don't care how ugly you think your tiramisu is...I bet it TASTES fabulous! Treasure those issues of Gourmet. Looking forward to your Friday post! : )

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  22. You did represented Gourmet well with this wonderful dish. Thanks for sharing a dish that brings us back to the very missed magazine. Congratulations on the play going so well how exciting! I used to act in H.S. and had great stage presence and wasn't shy, now, I don't even like to be in places with too many people, let alone on stage before a large audience! I'm sure you already realized after the first performance, it gets easier, you feel more at ease. Once again congrats on your performance, and a well presented dish! =]

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  23. Congratulations on the successful show! I'm too shy to be in front of a big audience so I can imagine! But I'm sure you did wonderful (and only you know you were nervous!). This easy and delicious dish. I love how you presented this dish as well.

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  24. I doubt they're going to bring Gourmet back no matter how much we all want it...however, cooking from this back issue has inspired me to find some other back issues and cook from them. More Gourmet memories and recipes to come!

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  25. That looks awesome,and I was just thinkin aboout bakin a chicken,thanx for the ideas!

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