I felt accomplished...and excited...and energetic.
And I wanted to make a great and SUPER delicious dinner to set the mood for the whole week.
So, I started early...preparing my dish (it has to marinate 4 hours), and getting my sides ready. Everything was going swell...and I was rocking...
I went to pick up my kids, came home and put the main dish in the oven at 4 o'clock. It needs an hour to cook, meaning we'd have dinner on the table at 5:15-ish and PLENTY of time to enjoy Family Home Evening.
Then, at 4:15...my phone rang. It was the kids' dentist. They wondered how much later I'd be for my kids appointments, which were scheduled at 4:00.
Oh, crap.
I yelled cooking instructions at my husband as I hunted and extracted my children from various neighborhood haunts and threw them in the car, and proceeded to peel off like a bat out of hell (or a mother-late-for-appointments-at-the-only-dentist-in-town-who-lets-her-schedule-all-five-kids-at-once-so-she-doesn't-have-to-come-back-multiple-times-every-six-months, depending on how you like your analogies) to the dentist.
Of course, since we were late, we got sent to the back of the queue...
...of course, I forgot my phone and had no way to REFINE said instructions to my husband.
As time ticked on, I saw that we MIGHT be able to get home at a fairly decent hour...it looked as if the kids would all be done by 5:45 (Thank you, Dr. Angelakis...your staff is TRULY amazing)...
...and, of course, then I realized that they all had fluoride treatments...and wouldn't be able to eat or drink for another hour.
*sigh*
So, I trudged home.
My husband, being an outstanding chef in his own right, had managed dinner just fine, and was in fact whipping up a white sauce for the veggies as I walked in the door (How he knew JUST when we'd arrive will remain a mystery since I didn't have a phone to notify him. We'll chock it up to almost 14 years of Shannan-experience).
So...we re-heated the chicken, sliced the bread, and served the meal...as soon as everyone had met the time-requirement on the fluoride.
Only halfway through the meal did I remember to snap some pictures...but honestly, my pictures are usually fairly crappy due to fluorescent lighting in my house and a nice...but not AWESOME...camera that can only do SO much.
So here is an absolutely DELICIOUS recipe for Chicken Marbella...
...it's rich, and flavorful, and utterly satisfying...easily one of my favorite chicken dishes of all time. No need to double as it serves 8. We paired it with new potatoes and peas in a cream sauce and bakery fresh Italian bread...but there are a host of sides that would complement this...one I'm especially fond of is a Mediterranean-inspired rice.
Enjoy...
 |
| Better later than never at all... |
- 1-1/2 cups pitted prunes
- 1 cup Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing (I actually just made my own, using Emeril Lagasses' recipe)
- 3/4 cup garlic-stuffed green olives, sliced (I just halve 'em)
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
- 3 bay leaves
- 8 chicken thighs (about 3 lb.)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1. Combine first 6 ingredients; pour over chicken in a 13x9-inch baking dish. Refrigerate 4 hours to marinate, turning chicken occassionally.
2. Heat oven to 350. Drizzle wine over chicken; sprinkle with sugar.
3. Bake 1 hour or until chicken is done. Transfer chicken to serving plate; skim oil from sauce. Discard bay leaves. Drizzle sauce over chicken; top with cilantro.
 |
| Looks messy here...but is actually a very pretty dish...at least you can't accuse me of over-staging my food pictures :P |
Note: Can be made the day ahead. To capture all the sauces flavor, try serving over rice or couscous.
courtesy Kraft Foods
No comments:
Post a Comment