Monday, October 13, 2014

Italian Chicken Stew

Happy Fall everybody!  This is by far my favorite time of year. Cold enough to make soups and stews, chilis and casseroles, but still nice enough to open the windows and let a breeze blow through the kitchen while you're slaving over the stove.

Now, I know I've titled this post Italian chicken stew... but please please please do not mistake this for someone's Nonna's recipe.  This is one of those situations where the ingredients in my refrigerator drove the recipe and what came out looked and tasted "Italian" to me.  I almost called it "Tuscan Chicken Stew" but then I realized that this Irish American Ginger knows as much about traditional Tuscan cuisine as he does about interior design.  That is, he may have seen a couple of people do it on TV, but he has absolutely zero practical experience with the concept.

Now that I've got that off my chest, let's talk about this crazy tasty and filling stew I made for lunch today.

Last night before I went to bed, I pulled a couple of boneless and skinless chicken thighs out of the freezer to thaw in the refrigerator.  The plan was simple... I've been staring at a jar of capers on my refrigerator door for the past few weeks and I had some fresh thyme sitting in my vegetable drawer.  That's what I had in my head as I was falling asleep.
I did my normal internet reconnaissance for "chicken and capers" and paged through a half dozen braises and sautes. None of the individual recipes held my attention for long, but a general concept began to form as I started to apply my pantry to the different methods presented therein.