We’ve been in our new home now for nine days and it feels as though we never left Nova Scotia! I love how easily we slipped back into our routine…and for me part of that means entertaining.
I made this Spanish baked chicken while we were still in NY and knew this would be a hit here, too. The Spanish know how to cook and the ingredients for this dish go so well together.
When we entertain, we like to keep things as simple as possible which means prep work is done the day before or the morning of the dinner party. This allows me to be with our friends and not stuck in the kitchen. I chose to start the evening off with homemade tapenade and a beet and goat cheese terrine followed by grilled romaine salad. To accompany the chicken, I made an aubergine with mint salsa and Israeli couscous. John and I had been to the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market and picked up a bottle of Pomme d’Or from Grand Pré winery. Let me say this, we aren’t big fans of dessert wine or anything remotely similar. Having said that, we tasted, on the advice of Mr. Stutz (owner of Grand Pré), and immediately knew the Pomme d’Or would be a wonderful way to end the evening. We paired it with blue cheese, large purple grapes, aged local Gouda and dried apricots. The evening was a huge success and our friends were a little merrier when they left.
Serves 4
adapted from Simply Recipes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 clove garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup sliced green olives
3 lbs. chicken parts (I used chicken thighs)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup dry white wine
In a bowl combine the olive oil, vinegar, oregano, salt, garlic, pepper, bay leaves, raisins and olives. Prick the skin of the chicken with fork tines and add to the marinade, coating well. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place chicken in a baking dish. Combine wine with the marinade and pour over chicken. Sprinkle chicken with brown sugar. Bake uncovered basting occasionally, until chicken is tender (about 50 minutes). Remove bay leaves and serve immediately.
The Culinary Chase’s Note: Finger-lickin’ good! I was a bit hesitant to sprinkle the brown sugar over the chicken as I thought it might be too sweet but fondly enough it helped calm the sharpness of the vinegar. The photo of the chicken was taken when we were back in NY and I cut the ingredients in half as it was just the two of us. Enjoy!
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