It was kind of chilly today
chilly for southern california
but good
i love the cool weather and was getting a bit bored of the 80 degree fall
and I heard that we got a bit of snow at our cabin,
which makes me very excited to head up there
soon,
very soon
but in the meanwhile I am going to pretend that we live in a very cold place
because I made a chicken stew tonight for dinner
--it didn't turn out exactly as I expected
but it was good enough
and had all the required nutrients
and basically works from the pantry
6 chicken thighs
a large can of whole peeled tomatoes (squish them in your hand to break up)
5 whole garlic cloves
1 large onion--cut in half then sliced into half-moon
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces
few handfuls of baby spinach (or any kind of spinach...or no spinach at all)
1 Tbs tomato paste
1 cup broth (chicken or turkey or veggie is best)
1/2 cup or so of red wine--any kind you might have in your fridge white wine will work too
sprig of fresh rosemary or 1 Tbs dried
sprig of fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
balsamic vinegar to finish
Cover the bottom of a dutch oven or sturdy skillet (with top) with olive oil in a thin layer. Place chicken thighs, skin side down and cook until the skin is browned, but the chicken is not cooked all the way through. Remove from pan. Toss in whole garlic and the potatoes, cook until the potatoes are a bit crispy, remove. Toss in onions--adding a bit more oil if necessary. When they are beginning to caramelize, put everything back in the pot and add the tomatoes with any liquid, wine, broth, tomato paste, rosemary, oregano and salt and pepper. Don't over do it with the salt, allow some room for fine tuning when the stew is fully cooked.
Cook for about 40 minutes on a low fire with top on. Remove the top, stir a bit, allowing some of the potatoes to break up to thicken the sauce. Let cook for about 5-10 minutes more. Taste for salt and pepper.
Drizzle some balsamic vinegar on the top of each serving.
Eat Up!