Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore is a dish I have had a hundred different ways from a hundred different people. You can combine a couple of hey ingredients and within an hour you have one of the most delicious dishes you'll ever have. My Mom used to make it with a whole cut up chicken and put it in an electric fry pan with tomatoes all day and it was awesome. I recreated it a couple of times with great success but it always seemed like it could be better. So it was one of those recipes that sat on the back burner for a long time and didn't get made much.

Then I started to watch the Food Network religiously and they did a special on Chicken Cacciatore. They added a ton of wine and peppers and mushrooms and all of a sudden my interest was sparked again. So I modified my recipe to take into account some of the things I saw in the show and now it's one of my go to recipes. I make this for people when I really want to impress them.

You can use whatever kind of chicken you want just as long as it has bones in it. Also make sure that it has small enough pieces that you can fry each side with ease. For this recipe I use chicken thighs because they are easy to work with and have tons of meat on them. Also I like the flavor from dark meat better than white. If you want white meat make sure to use chicken breast halfs that have the bones in them. I remove the skins in my recipe because I have found that they get kind of flimsy and not so appetizing but it's up to you. Use whatever kind of white wine you like or have on hand it's all good. This can be served with just about anything but I like to serve mine with white rice. I hope you like it and make sure to let me know what you think.

Ingredients
- 10 to 12 chicken thighs skins removed
- salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- flour for dredging
- 3 tablespoons olive oil for frying
- 1 onion sliced into half moons
- 1 red pepper, seeds and stemmed removed, sliced
- 1 green pepper, seeds and stemmed removed, sliced
- 1 yellow pepper, seeds and stemmed removed, sliced
- 5 gloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 cups good chicken stock
- 1 28 oz can diced tomatos
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil

The Process
1. Take the chicken thighs and season with salt, pepper then sprinkle with the garlic powder. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed large pot over medium heat. Dredge with flour and set on a plate until the oil is ready. In batches, fry the chicken until the side down is godlen brown about 6 minutes, then flip and do the same thing until the other side is done. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. After all the chicken has been browned add the garlic, peppers and pepper flakes and saute until the onions become translucent and start to release their juices about 10 minutes. Add the mushroom and cook until they start to release their juices about another 6 minutes.
3. Add the wine and let reduce by half. Then add the chicken stock, tomatoes, tomato paste oregano and basil and stir well. Season with salt and pepper until it tastes oh so right. Return the chicken to the pot making sure that it's covered by the sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil then turn the heat to low and simmer for an hour.
4. To plate take a scoop of rice and put on a plate. Take 2 - 3 pieces of chicken and set on plate then cover with a couple scoops of the sauce. Sprinkle with some parmesan and serve.
5. Enjoy!