My plan of getting through the holiday preparations is to eat out at much as possible. Oh, sure, the sweet chicken, the tsimmes, the roast, the vegetable pie, maybe a kugel, maybe taiglach. But for those days when i’m not hosting, I’m off to Pappas.
Here’s the chicken i’m considering:
CHICKEN WITH FIGS
2 (3 lb.) chickens cut into 8 pieces each
6 cloves of garlic, minced fine
2 tbsp. dried thyme
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
4 tsp. green peppercorns, drained
1 1/2 c. dried apricots
1 c. dried sm. figs or lg. fig pieces
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. olive oil
1 c. black olives
1/2 c. Madeira wine
Grated zest of 2 lemons
1 c. lg. pecan pieces
Day before serving, combine chicken, garlic, thyme, cumin, ginger, salt, vinegar, oil, peppercorns, olives, apricots and figs in a large bowl. Marinate, covered, overnight in refrigerator. Remove from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange chicken in a single layer in a large shallow baking pan. Spoon the marinade mixture evenly over the chicken. Sprinkle with the sugar and pour the Madeira between the pieces. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, basting frequently with the pan juices, until the juices run clear when a thigh is pierced with a skewer, 40 to 50 minutes. Using a fork and slotted spoon, transfer the chicken, olives and fruit to a large serving platter. Drizzle with a few large spoonfuls of the pan juices and sprinkle with the pecans. Sprinkle the grated zest of the lemons over all. Pass the remaining pan juices in a sauceboat. Serves 6
Oh, yes, and if you can’t invite some strangers to your table, give one of the local charities a few food baskets.
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