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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Vintage Gourmet: Sweet and Hot

A few weeks ago, I bemoaned the loss of Gourmet Magazine, which shut down in November 2009 and ended my monthly dose of Ruth Reichl.  I love Reichl's writing, particularly her food writing, and it's been too long since her last book.

So when I was griping at dinner about how much I missed Gourmet, David said the fateful words "Why don't you see if there are some issues on ebay?" 

I love ebay.  In fact, I love ebay so much that I bought my wedding dress there three years ago and had a local costume designer take it apart and alter it.  It cost a lot less than any conventional wedding dress and was way prettier.

So as a result of David uttering those fateful words, Gourmet magazine is making a comeback at our house.  It's such a joy to look at them--the photography is great, the now-dated ads are fun and the articles are so well-written.  Not that I'm suggesting you go stalk these magazines on ebay, mind you.  No sirree, because I have a few more I'm looking for and I don't want you to snap them up.

So how about you let me report back via a new feature that I'm calling "Vintage Gourmet"?  The idea is to pull recipes from random back issues of Gourmet, put my own spin on them and post them here.  Welcome to the first installment!

This recipe is a keeper:  inexpensive, equally worthy of a weeknight dinner or a dinner party and less than 45 minutes to make. 


Chicken with Sweet and Hot Peppers
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, March 2003

2 lbs. bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 bell peppers, preferably red and yellow, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, smashed with the flat of a knife and peeled
1/2 shallot, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 dried peperoncini peppers, crushed
Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper

Place the chicken thighs on a paper towel-lined plate and dry thoroughly.  Sprinkle salt on the skin side and put aside.

Warm the olive oil in a large, oven-safe skillet over medium heat.  When the oil is shimmering, add the chicken thighs skin side down.  Cook for approximately five minutes or until the chicken skin is a lovely golden brown.  Then turn the chicken over with tongs and cook for an additional two minutes.  The chicken will not be cooked through at this time;  this is just to crisp the skin.


Pour all but about a tablespoon of the fat from the skillet and return it to the stove.  Still over medium heat, add the peppers, onion and shallot and cover and cook until the veggies are softened, about ten minutes.  Then add the white wine, peperoncini, garlic and salt and pepper to taste and cook until the wine has reduced, about two minutes.
Nestle the chicken skin side up in the pepper mixture, reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, for another fifteen to twenty minutes. 

Start the broiler on high.  Uncover the chicken and place the skillet under the broiler just until the skin is very brown and crispy.
We served with a root vegetable mash and baked leeks.  Once again, remove the chicken skin if you are watching fat, cholesterol and/or calories.

16 comments:

  1. I am still in mourning as well. But I still have quite a few stashed about, especially the holiday ones.

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  2. Hope you get your stash of Gourmet back. :) Looks like a nice comforting dinner. :) Have a great week. ~ Ramona

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  3. I am thinking that these magazines may be at places like the half price bookstore, however, it looks like you are on your way to getting some of those issues back in your house!
    The chicken with the peppers does sound tasty. There is a lot of beef paired with peppers that I see, so it is a welcome change to see the use of chicken with peppers.
    I look forward to more "vintage gourmet"

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  4. ebay is DA BOMB. that said, since i've never subscribed to any food magazines, i can't completely empathize - but if you took my 70s cookbooks from me, i'd be mortified. :)

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  5. Great new feature!!! Keep digging through those old magazines...you've started out this series with a delightful bang!

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  6. I am enchanted with the simplicity - I run out of weekday meals - especially healthy ones (we calorie splurge on the weekends).It's just what the doctor ordered. And I have quite a few old Gourmet magazines and some of their books. They're never leaving this house.

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  7. This is going to be a great feature! How great that ebay allows us to buy things that are otherwise gone to us. This was a wonderful recipe to start. That chicken looks perfectly done.

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  8. All that I have heard about ebay, I have not ventured into it till now. I seem not comfortable buying anything more of from online sources. I know I am like behind time but maybe will consider after reading your sharing.

    I like that the chicken is brown for the crispy layer and then combined in with the rest of the ingredient, what more bell peppers being one of my fav.

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  9. YUM! I want to try to make this with tofu!

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  10. I too miss Gourmet, but must admit, I have saved many of the old issues. I have them hidden, cuz Gordy says I am a pack rat. This recipe looks so yummy, can't wait to try it. PS you were my first choice for the Liebster Blog Award, but I had all ready noticed that someone had had awarded to you!

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  11. Great idea to bring back Gourmet onto your table!I'm looking forward to this series :)

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  12. Cheryl's feeling kind of guilty right now because she was given her mother-in-law's complete collection of Gourmet magazines.(Sorry!) Great new feature, though. Aren't chicken thighs magnificent? Yours look fantastic!

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  13. Oooh, this looks perfect. I love peppers, and all sorts of peppers, too. Yumm!

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  14. What a great idea to look on eBay. My husband loves chicken thighs. This is a keeper.

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  15. This looks delicious! "Vintage Gourmet" sounds perfect. :-) I'm sure there are treasures in there. :-)

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  16. Cucina 49,

    My fellow food blogger and lover of delicous eats:

    Congrats! I nominated you for the Liebster Blog Award! For rules about accepting check out the post on it at my blog @ www.onsugarmountain.com

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