Chicken Cacciatore

When I was little, my dad bought Marcella Hazan's cookbooks, The Classic Italian Cookbook:  The Art of Italian Cooking and the Italian Art of Eating and More Classic Italian Cooking; you can bet that when he decided to cook Italian food that it was going to be a recipe out of one of those books.  That's how chicken cacciatore came to be a wintertime staple of my childhood. My mom did most of the cooking but my dad likes to "warm a pot" (his expression) and when he does, this is a go-to recipe.  I think that by now he probably doesn't look at the recipe that much. Well, if you know him, you know that he doesn't look at the recipe that often anyway!  

Hank has been extolling the virtues of buying whole chickens rather than the boneless, skinless chicken breasts that I usually go for so I finally gave in a bought a couple.  It was cold here, and I thought that chicken cacciatore would be a great, warm dinner.  I don't have Marcella's cookbooks (when I lived in Houston I could just borrow them) but I do have The Silver Spoon, which is, I think, similar to The Joy of Cooking for Italians and Italian cooking.  I also have a wonderful cookbook, Staff Meals at Chanterelle, and my chicken cacciatore recipe is adapted from these two cookbooks.

1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces (or just chicken pieces. I was a picky eater (I still prefer white meat, and my dad would often make it with just breasts.  It's important to keep the bones and skin for flavor and moisture though.
3 tbsp olive oil
flour seasoned with salt and pepper (for dredging chicken)
1 onion, sliced
1 red bellpepper, sliced
1 carrot, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes (I like the "fire roasted" tomatoes)
3/4 c red wine 
3/4 c chicken broth
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp fresh, chopped oregano (or ~1 1/2 dried)

1. If you have a whole chicken, you need to wash it and cut it into 8 pieces.  I'd be lying if I said that I did a good job . . . let's just say that my future is not in butchering meat.  I've heard that it gets easier.  The good news is that even though I did a horrible job, it still tasted great!
2. Dredge your chicken pieces in seasoned flour.
3. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
4. Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven.  Lightly saute all of your chicken pieces until just brown, in batches of 4. 
5. Set the chicken aside.  Add onions, garlic, carrot, and bellpepper to the same pan and saute until the onion is tender, 5-8 minutes depending on the heat.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the red wine and simmer until reduced by half.  Then add the chicken broth, tomatoes, oregano, and bay leaves. 
6. Return the chicken pieces to the pot, making sure to cover them in as much liquid as possible (I think of it as "tucking them in").
7. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Roast the chicken until the juices run clear, about 25-30 minutes. 

When my dad makes this, we always have mashed potatoes with chicken cacciatore.  I didn't have any potatoes so I served it with orzo and I thought it was a very nice combination.  You can make it with mushrooms but my dad assures me that this is called chicken forestiere.