Each year as May approaches, I look forward to the excitement and pageantry of the Kentucky Derby, the festive and high-spirited Cinco de Mayo celebrations, and Memorial Day picnics that mark the beginning of summer and the grilling season. These fun festivities help distract me from the agonizing loss that each Mother’s Day brings.
While social media floods us with images and stories of all the fun others are having with their families, and the media saturates the airwaves with saccharine ads for flowers, candy and jewelry, The Artist and I quietly go about our day, pretending it is just like any other Sunday.
Browned chicken waiting to finish braising
Mother’s Day is a bittersweet day in our home. Both The Artist and I have lost our moms, each to the monster we call cancer. With aching hearts, we studiously ignore the pending holiday, focusing instead on other diversions. The Artist customarily retreats to his studio to create another hauntingly beautiful piece of work, often giving a discarded piece of wood or other used materials new life. And I head to the kitchen.
I instinctively gravitate toward the comfort foods of my youth, perhaps attempting to recreate the nurturing reassurance that a mother brings to her child. For me that is usually meat and potatoes or casseroles, for The Artist it is homemade Italian classics. Each year I attempt to merge our traditional cuisines into a single meal, often using herbs and seasonings to link everything together like a colored ribbon tying all the dishes into pretty packages waiting to be opened.
Beautiful smashed Yukon Gold potatoes
Growing up, my favorite dishes were chicken and dumplings, a deeply golden roasted chicken, and sizzling fried chicken (are you sensing a theme here). Each one remarkably simple in their seasonings as my mother rarely used anything except salt and pepper. But as I began cooking on my own and started experimenting with herbs and spices, I discovered a whole new world of exotic, tantalizing, and exciting flavors that transformed simple dishes into enticing new creations.
This year I am making us Chicken Cacciatore, the traditional Italian hunter’s chicken stew rich with tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms and herbs. This is the perfect blending of our childhood favorites; a simple braised chicken with Italian ingredients and seasonings. It has been a long time since I’ve made it and I know the aromas as it bakes will fill the house with memories, warming our aching hearts and easing our sorrow a little.
Though the early versions of cacciatore did not have tomatoes (they hadn’t arrived in Europe yet), not including them in Italian dishes these days is nearly a sacrilege. In this dish I like the balance of tomatoes with the other ingredients, making it one of many flavors combining to create a rich, savory sauce that begs for a bed of cooked pasta, mashed potatoes, creamy polenta, or rice to help us lap up every satisfying drop.
If you are lucky to still have your mom, call her, send her a card, of if you are close enough, go for a visit. Moms deserve to be treated like a queen every day of the year to thank them for all they do for us and the sacrifices they make for the family. They are the unsung heroes. If you are like The Artist and me and have lost your mother, our hearts are with you.
May you all have a lovely, happy and peaceful Sunday.
Jane’s Tips and Hints:
This is a dish that is better on the second day. Cook as directed, then cool and transfer the cacciatore to an airtight container and hold it overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat it gently the following day.
Gluten-Free Tips:
The only places where gluten may hide in this dish is in the canned tomatoes or the chicken broth. Check the labels to be sure and if in doubt, contact the manufacturer or use a brand that is labeled gluten-free.
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts*
- 1/4 cup organic olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, stem and seeds discarded, chopped
- 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 stalks celery, trimmed and chopped
- 1/2 lb mushrooms, halved or quartered
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic or Gourmet Garden Garlic
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried oregano or Gourmet Garden Oregano
- 1 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes (my favorite brand is Pomi)**
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- 1-1/2 cup chicken broth (gluten-free if needed, see note above)
- Kosher or fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes or Gourmet Garden Chile Flakes, optional (add if you want this to be spicy)
- Brown the Chicken: Lightly season both sides of the chicken breasts with kosher or fine sea salt. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or Circulon's 12-inch Deep Covered Skillet over medium-high heat. When it is shimmering, add the chicken and reduce the heat to medium. Cook just until golden brown, then turn them over and brown the other side. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside on a plate. You will finish cooking it in the sauce.
- Make the Sauce: With the stove on medium heat, add the bell peppers, onions, and celery to the same pan. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary, and oregano. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the wine and scrape up any browned bits from the chicken, deglazing the pan.
- Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and cook at a low boil for 20 minutes to blend the flavors and thicken the sauce a bit. About halfway through, stir in the mushrooms. When the sauce is thickened to your liking, taste and add salt and pepper if needed. If you want a spicy dish, add the red pepper flakes.
- Place the chicken back in the pan, nestling it into the sauce. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 to 15 more minutes or until an instant read thermometer inserted in the middle of the breast registers 155°F to 160°F. Timing will depend on the thickness of the chicken pieces. If the chicken pieces are sitting partially exposed above the level of the liquid, turn them over once or twice while cooking so they cook evenly and absorb the flavor of the sauce. Taste the sauce again and adjust the seasonings if needed.
- Pull off the heat and cover. The cast iron pan will hold the heat for a long time, giving you time to finish making any accompanying dishes. I like to serve this with cooked pasta, smashed potatoes, creamy polenta, or boiled rice to help us get every last bite of the delicious sauce!
- * If you choose, you can use bone-in chicken pieces instead of the boneless breasts. Brown them and set on a plate as described. Once you’ve stirred in the chicken stock, add the bone-in chicken pieces while you are reducing the sauce. They will take about 20 to 25 minutes to cook, just about as long as the sauce takes to thicken and the flavors to blend. Add the mushrooms about halfway through the cooking. Check the chicken with an instant read thermometer making sure the probe isn’t touching a bone for the best accuracy.
- ** If you are using Pomi tomatoes or another brand that has their chopped tomatoes in a thick sauce, you can use 1-1/4 cups and delete the 1/4 cup of tomato sauce.
Now, for today’s Prize Package …
Today we have a one-two punch for you. A cookbook from the just announced James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Chef of the Year and a little something to help you recreate the recipes in the book. And by “a little something” I mean one of my favorite pans for cooking Circulon’s new Momentum Hard Anodized 12-inch covered deep skillet works for a wide variety of dishes, from simple sautés to long-cooking stews, this pan does it all. It would be the perfect choice to make today’s recipe!
Today’s cookbook, The Gramercy Tavern Cookbook, shares the recipes, stories, and pioneering philosophy from one of New York City’s best restaurants, helmed by the newly crowned James Beard Foundation 2015 Outstanding Chef, Michael Anthony. Gramercy is a culinary landmark that has been changing the face of American dining for years. High on my list when I attended IACP’s annual conference in New York, it was one of my top favorite meals. Simple and unpretentious, the chicken I had was the most succulent and memorable of my life (even better than my grandmother’s!). It takes an incredibly skilled chef and team to create a dish that still makes me yearn for it years later.
Enter the Rafflecopter drawing below. The more Facebook pages you like, tweets you send, and Pinterest pages you follow, the more chances you have to win. Good luck!
Prize Details:
Circulon Momentum Hard Anodized 12-inch Covered Deep Skillet:
Just announced in April, the new dishwasher-safe Circulon Momentum Hard Anodized Cookware is made of heavy-duty hard-anodized aluminum – a material that is twice as strong as stainless steel – and includes a premium nonstick exterior finish in a handsome black hue with matching silicone black handles. Expertly crafted to deliver excellent cooking results and convenience, Circulon Momentum cookware features Circulon’s patented TOTAL® Nonstick System for a superior nonstick experience.
Circulon’s signature and unique cooking surface of raised circles – combined with a premium quality, PFOA-free and metal-utensil safe nonstick – ensures that foods prone to sticking easily slide off the cooking surface and cleanup is quick. I can personally attest to it’s high quality and easy clean up. This is one of my favorite pans in my kitchen and I know you will love it too.
Circulon has generously donated this beautiful skillet for today’s prize package.
The Gramercy Tavern Cookbook by Michael Anthony (Clarkson Potter):
Gramercy Tavern has become a New York institution earning dozens of accolades, including six James Beard awards, plus this year’s honor for Chef Anthony. Its impeccable, fiercely seasonal cooking, thoughtfully sourced ingredients, welcoming and convivial atmosphere, and steadfast commitment to hospitality are unparalleled. The restaurant has its own magic that is captured in these pages and 125 recipes.
“With its generous size and mouthwatering photographs, it looks like a coffee table fixture, but this book from the famed Manhattan restaurant is meant for true home cooking. Corn soup with honey and a julienne of shiso leaves, earthy mushroom lasagne topped with crispy garlic, and other recipes are as approachable as they are elegant.” –Saveur
This Contest has ended. Congratulations to Winner Rose M!
Contest Housekeeping
After each drawing, the non-winning entries will be added to the next prize set so that each entry makes you a candidate for all the giveaways! Apologies to my wonderful international friends, but these giveaways are limited to USA and Canadian readers. Each entry period will last 10 days. Winners will be randomly picked and notified by email. The winner has 48 hours to contact me with their shipping information. If I do not hear from them, another winner will be picked and contacted. All cookbooks provided by The Heritage Cook.
Create a New Tradition Today!
Let’s connect! If you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, need to alter a recipe for gluten-free, or want recipe suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact me. Thanks for joining the Heritage Cook Family!
Unauthorized use, distribution, and/or duplication of proprietary material from The Heritage Cook without prior approval is prohibited. This includes copying and reprinting content and photographs. If you have any questions or would like permission, I can be contacted via email. Feel free to quote me, just give credit where credit is due, link to the recipe, and please send people to my website, www.theheritagecook.com. Please see the Disclaimers page for additional details.
This site is not intended to provide medical advice. The suggestions here are not intended as dietary advice or as a substitute for consulting a dietician, physician, or other medical professional. It is the reader’s sole responsibility to determine which foods are appropriate and safe for their family to consume. Always consult your doctor. The author makes no claims regarding the presence of food allergens and disclaims all liability in connection with the use of this site.
Thank You!
Rust
Cajun chicken alfredo.
Jane Bonacci
That sounds wonderful Rust – full of flavor and spiciness!
sarah k @ the pajama chef
i would make hashbrowns!
manda
Pork chops.
Linda
I would make the Chicken Cacciatore recipe; I know my family would just love it.
Jane Bonacci
Ahhh, thanks Linda. I know my family loves it 🙂
Kim
Fajitas!
Jane Bonacci
Mmmmm, you know I love Mexican food Kim 😉
Donna L
I would make beef stroganoff.
Jane Bonacci
One of my favorites too Donna!
Natalie
I would love to make a pasta primavera with this! There are a lot of things I would love to make.
Jane Bonacci
It is the perfect season for primavera Natalie! So many fresh vegetables at the farmer’s market.
Sheila K.
I would make a spinach and mushroom omelette!
Jane Bonacci
Healthy and delicious, fantastic choice Sheila!
Alison H.
I would make a potato sausage hash with a fried egg…for brunch 🙂
Jane Bonacci
OK, now I’m definitely going to have to make that – maybe for dinner tonight, LOL!
Annette
I have a Circulon stir fry skillet and it’s my favorite pot. I’d love to have this skillet and the first thing I’d make in it is Indian Butter Chicken.
Jane Bonacci
I’m going to have to look that recipe up Annette, I’ve never heard of it but it sounds wonderful!
Kim Reid
I would make alfredo chicken with broccoli, one of my favorite dishes!
Jane Bonacci
I like how you are making Alfredo healthier with the vegetables and chicken. Sounds fabulous Kim!
nicole dziedzic
The first thing i would love to cook in this pan is some chicken parmesan.
Jane Bonacci
That is one of The Artist’s favorite meals Nicole. Good choice!
Jennifer Essad
I have to say I love my mom’s Chicken Cacciatore too but her fried chicken is amazing
Jane Bonacci
I liked my mom’s fried chicken too Jennifer – yum!
HS
I’ll make lemon parmesan asparagus.
Jane Bonacci
That sounds fabulous. The asparagus is so beautiful right now!
jan
I would make a big batch of polynesian chicken. Yum!
Jane Bonacci
Send me some when you make it Jan – it sounds wonderful!
Kim Henrichs
I have also lost my mom to cancer, and the inundation on social media during this time is really tough. I’m sorry for your loss!
Jane Bonacci
Thank you Kim, the loss is always difficult, but especially on days like today. I am sorry for your loss too. <3
Kim Henrichs
I would love to make some chicken with cilantro rice!
Jane Bonacci
Oh my that sounds good Kim – this California girl loves Latin foods! 🙂
Nick
Taco meat for tacos!
Jane Bonacci
Mmmm, I love tacos too!
latanya t
I would cook cajun chicken pasta.
Jane Bonacci
Great choice Latanya – I love spicy chicken!
Denise M
hmm good questions, probably a pizza frittata
Jane Bonacci
Sounds wonderful Denise – now I’m drooling LOL
Barbara @ Barbara Bakes
My mom is gone too. Cooking sounds like a great way to remember them. Especially comfort food like this.
Jane Bonacci
I’m sorry for your loss Barbara. I know you would whip up an incredible dinner with all your amazing talents!!