CHICKEN ALLA VIN SANTO

This easy chicken dish is quite delicious and equally impressive for company.

1 Chicken or Chicken Parts – your choice, cut into serving size pieces
1 Red or Purple Onion – thinly sliced
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
Garlic Powder – to taste
4-5 Garlic Cloves – thinly sliced
1 C. Good White Wine – one you would enjoy drinking while you cook
1 Large Yellow Onion – thinly sliced
1/2 C. Vin Santo
Fresh Parsley – chopped for topping
1/4 C. Olive Oil – for frying

Rinse and dry well all the chicken pieces.  Rub lightly with a little olive oil and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Heat oil in a heavy frying pan and when the oil is hot, place the chicken in the pot skin side down.  Cook over medium-high heat without moving the chicken until the skin is brown.  Turn over and cook the other side. When done, remove to a place and tent to keep warm.

Return the oil to medium-high heat and add all the onions and the garlic. Season lightly with salt and pepper and cook until very soft.  Add the white wine and cook until the aroma of the wine has disappeared.  Return the chicken to the pan, cover with some of the onions. Cover and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes on a lower heat.

Uncover, add the Vin Santo and simmer for 15 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked.  Garnish with the chopped parsley and serve.

This is a great dish to serve with rice or polenta and a nice salad.

NOTE: Vin Santo is a delicious, sweet wine and adds a wonderful flavor to this dish. If you are not able to get some Vin Santo, a sweet or dry Vermouth can be used but it will have a different flavor.

BUON MANGIATA!

SPAETZLE

Spaetzle is a type of Central European egg noodles often served as a side for meat dishes or dishes that have a sauce or gravy.

1 3/4 C. Flour
3 Tbsp. Sparkling Seltzer Water
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg – freshly ground
3 Tbsp. Butter – softened
4 Eggs
Salt – to taste
1 Tbsp. Basil or Parsley – chopped
Freshly Ground Pepper – to taste

This is best done with a slightly sprayed spaetzle maker.

Bring a large pot of salted water (or broth if you prefer) to a boil over high heat. 

Meanwhile combine the flour, salt, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Beat eggs and water together in another bowl and add to the flour mixture beating with a wooden spoon until the batter is elastic and is forming small bubbles. This will take several minutes – 5 or 6 possibly. Batter should be able to fall from the spoon in long strands.  If it can’t, then whisk in 1 more tablespoon of water at a time until you have the right consistency.

Fill the spaetzle maker with a good amount of the batter and while holding it a few inches above the boiling water, slide the spaetzle cup slowly back and forth letting the dough fall through the holes and into the boiling water, in 2-inch strands. The faster you slide the batter filled cup the shorter the strands will be. Continue until all the batter is used. Cook constantly stirring for about 3-4 minutes to keep the noodles moving around. If you don’t, you will likely end up with one big ball of dough.

When the spaetzle are floating on top and are cooked to your taste, carefully remove them with a spider or a large mesh strainer, shaking gently to remove the excess water. Transfer to a bowl, toss with warm butter, taste for salt and pepper and garnish with basil or parsley to serve.

NOTE: I find that it helps to have a second person handy to stir while I slide the cup back and forth and then refill the cup with more batter. As soon as you have finished with the spaetzle maker soak it in hot soapy water which will make it a lot easier to clean. Otherwise, the batter might adhere like glue! I have also seen this done without a spaetzle maker by pouring the batter into a funnel and as it slithers out above the water it is cut with scissors at the desired length.

BUON MANGIATA!