The Cunning Whisk

I love Italian food. A fact that was not hindered by my working at an authentic Italian restaurant last year. I was just the baker, so I didn’t really learn a lot of how the main dishes were cooked. This is a fact I regret, but have learned to live with. Until, that is, someone gave us a cast iron dutch oven for a wedding present. *insert heavenly choirs*

I HAD to find a good recipe for chicken cacciatore. Unfortunately, every recipe I looked at seemed ever-so-slightly off to me. My old boss mentioned sending me the recipe, but I just couldn’t wait. So, kitchen witch that I am, I sat down with a blank piece of paper and started writing out a recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 c. Marsala wine
During the Middle Ages physicians prescribed carrots for all sorts of ills including syphillis and dog bites.
• 1 c. water
• 2 tsp. chicken bouillon
• 8 pcs. dark meat chicken
• 1 shallot
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 4 russet potatoes
• 4 carrots
• 28 oz. diced tomatoes
• 6 oz. tomato paste
• 1/2 c. butter, unsalted
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
Sicilians believe that young fairies, taking the form of snakes, lie amongst branches of rosemary.
• 1 Tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 Tbsp. dried basil
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 & 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 & 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. paprika

Directions:
Wash and thoroughly pat chicken dry. In a large zippered bag, combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and paprika. Insert chicken, zip and shake until completely coated. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Brown chicken on all sides, 4 pieces at a time. If you need to, add 2 more tablespoons of butter before browning second batch.

After removing chicken, deglaze pan with Marsala. Make sure you scrape the bottom well. Add in water, chicken bouillon and all herbs and seasonings. Finely mince or grate garlic and mix it into sauce. Stir n tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Quarter potatoes and carrots, finely slice the shallot and julienne the yellow pepper. Add to pot.

Mix thoroughly and return chicken to pot. Poke and prod it with your spoon until all chicken pieces are submerged. Slice up remaining butter on top. Cover and keep on medium heat for 20 minutes. Rearrange pot contents, still keeping chicken submerged, and cook on medium-low for another 25 mintes or until chicken is completely done. Fish out bay leaves.

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My mom makes the best mashed potatoes. Ever. I could eat them at least once a week and twice on Sunday. Sometimes we do. Because Mom has a secret. She uses mashed potato flakes and follows the directions on the canister. Where’s the secret, you ask? Well, there must be a secret somewhere in there, because God knows I can’t do it. I’ve tried. They turn out grainy or lumpy or watery or bland or gluey or (true story) hard as rocks. Never delicious and melty and thick.

But, I have a secret, too. I can make things better from scratch than I can follow a recipe off of a box. How wild is that? I can do magical things with a real, honest-to-God potato. Must be my Irish blood. Of course, that would also explain my inhuman ability to hold my whiskey.

Anyway, as you may remember, I made butter the other day. You know what the second best thing about making homemade butter is? It makes buttermilk as a byproduct. Do you know what the second best ingredient for mashed potatoes is? Buttermilk. Coincidence? I think not.

I also had a bunch of stuff lying around the pantry. A few heads of garlic, a box of Ranch Seasoning & Dressing Mix packets, some chicken bouillon. I was totally in business. I served these up with some Balsamic-Wine Glazed Steaks.

Ingredients:

• 3 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 tsp. chicken bouillon
• 1 Tbsp. dry ranch mix
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 Tbsp. butter

Directions:
Peel and cut potatoes into large, rough cubes. Boil until tender in just enough water to cover them, with a bouillon to water ratio of 1:5 and the garlic cloves. Strain.

In a sauce pan, melt butter over low heat. Slowly stir in buttermilk and ranch mix until thoroughly incorporated. Smash potatoes with a ricer or potato masher. In my opinion, a ricer gives a nicer texture. Pour over buttermilk mixture and blend. For an even “whippier” texture, use a hand mixer to combine the milk mix with the potatoes. If you like your mashed potatoes a little looser, add a little more buttermilk — just a little at a time — until the proper consistency is reached.

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