Some food, some drink.

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Abstract: Beta recipes are my own experiments that I've only tried once. Usually palatable, they often could be better with a little tweaking. So, please do & let us know what works.

Y'know how there's always that one dish you wanna make? And no matter how you sell it, you can't seem to convince those you live with that it's what they want for dinner? In my house, I've spent at least two years looking for a segue into Chicken Cacciatore, to no avail. The other day, I finally said to hell with it. I need to fix this for myself. So I did.

Purpose: I live with people that have an aversion to bone tissue in their slab-o-critter. Until they perfect that whole meat matrix thing, we'll just let 'em pretend that chickens are about as bony as a cephalopod, and a hog is make of 100% loin. Regardless, when it comes to poultry, my favorite pieces are almost always of the bone-in variety. There's a reason you save the carcass for stock; the essence of the flavor of the beast is closer to the bone.

This polarizing subject of bone-in chicken is probably why there was never a second when I'd raise the suggestion of Chicken Cacciatore for dinner. The idea of a chunky, rich, vegetable-laden tomato-based sauce studded with briny bits of Kalamata olive didn't really appeal to anyone but myself either. You see where this is going. There are two concepts of comfort food in my house, and neither is wrong. Don't feel bad for my s.o.; she still got a hunk of focaccia with her pasta and marinara, and I got to give into my selfish cravings.

Observation: Many Cacciatore recipes develop flavors in more of a stew/simmer sort of fashion. I had seen an episode of Anne Burrell's show on the tube about a year ago where she used a sofrito in a braise. So goes the thought process:

Hmmm... Really don't need the braise; it's chicken. But what if I can leverage the maximized vegetable surface area a sofrito method provides under the broiler to build complex flavors quickly.”

The big trade-off is that I don't get any significant liquid reduction this way, which is why the amount of H2O is judiciously controlled. Balsamic for brightness as opposed to wine, and tomato paste to finish and thicken the sauce.

Results: I totally winged it on this recipe. Sheet music vs. jazz. I didn't want to consider someone else's feelings on the matter. I just wanted to cook. With that in mind, my proportions aren't exactly gnat's-ass here. You will probably have surplus sauce long after the chicken is gone. But man, is that a good problem to have.
The carrot, onion, and celery under duress of high, dry heat seem to have a knack for making tomatoes taste like themselves. And you'd probably never know that whole mess was in there unless I told you (you'd probably just assume it's all onion). Regardless, it all comes together to make for a sauce that is complex and rich. Ladle any leftover sauce on some toasted bread and you are in for a bruschetta that becomes a meal in itself.

Gallery:

Process your veggies: For your sofrito, you can leave everything in pretty big chunks, as your food processor will take care of it.

Process your veggies: For your sofrito, you can leave everything in pretty big chunks, as your food processor will take care of it.

Post-processed veggies: You may have noticed by now, that's not quite a food processor. My stick blender came w/ a jug attachment, and it'll run double-duty.

Post-processed veggies: You may have noticed by now, that's not quite a food processor. My stick blender came w/ a jug attachment, and it'll run double-duty.

Chicken is seasoned & ready for the pan. Please do spring for the smoked paprika here. I know I put it on things to a fault, but its so worth it, especially…

Chicken is seasoned & ready for the pan. Please do spring for the smoked paprika here. I know I put it on things to a fault, but its so worth it, especially if you plan on consuming the skin of the chicken as well.

This chicken is brown and lovely to be sure, but it ain't even close to done. Use high heat to make that crust, then finish by simmering in the sauce you're…

This chicken is brown and lovely to be sure, but it ain't even close to done. Use high heat to make that crust, then finish by simmering in the sauce you're about to put together.

All the veggies are ready for some heat. Look…

All the veggies are ready for some heat. Look familiar?.

After a bit of high heat and couple of cans of tomatoes, we have the beginnings of a sauce that's ready to simmer the chicken.

After a bit of high heat and couple of cans of tomatoes, we have the beginnings of a sauce that's ready to simmer the chicken.

Just 45 more minutes of simmer and this'll be ready. I know the recipe calls for more chicken than this. I realized it after the fact. But really, the…

Just 45 more minutes of simmer and this'll be ready. I know the recipe calls for more chicken than this. I realized it after the fact. But really, the sauce stands well on its own, so you could skip the chicken altogether if you really wanted.

Chicken Cacciatore, sans recipe book. See how the chicken's taking a back seat here? The sauce was that good. Rich, complex, and not in the least bit smooth…

Chicken Cacciatore, sans recipe book. See how the chicken's taking a back seat here? The sauce was that good. Rich, complex, and not in the least bit smooth and boring.