Rachel's Chicken alla Romana

Chicken all Romana a la Rachel

This past week has been a tough one for me, and I am beginning to realize that one of my coping mechanisms is to cook. Duh! Although I have been in a winter funk food wise, I made no fewer than six new-to-me-recipes over the past two weeks. Some were good, one not so good.

Ina Garten's Lemon Chicken with Croutons was a total disappointment. My chicken lacked the flavorful juiciness that was to flow over the crisp croutons. The staff of one national magazine dubbed this recipe "Engagement Chicken" because every staffer who made it for a date ended up engaged to be married. Let's say that I am glad that I've been married for forty-one years.

Next came a scrumptious Orecchiette with rapini and goat cheese from Saveur via David Lebovitz' Pinterest Board which we shared with L and J along with a nice Sauvignon blanc.

One cold afternoon I simmered a Sausage and Pork Ragu for four hours then tossed some with rigatoni and dusted the dish with Pecorino Romano cheese. This was shared with T and J with a lovely Amarone.

No photo of the finished dish--so this is the beginnings of the sofrito base

I've already written about the deliciousness that is Domenica Marchetti's Crema di Pomodoro Soup,  a great addition to any cold-weather soup repertoire.

But my favorite of the week has to be Pollo Alla Romana from rachel eats. Rachel's food is straight forward and quite satisfying. Braising is one of my favorite ways to cook chicken, especially in the winter, and this chicken braise does not disappoint. Using a good chicken, some pancetta, white wine, canned tomatoes and beautifully ripe red peppers you will be able to create a delicious dish. Click on the recipe and start cooking.

Cook's Notes: Instead of a whole chicken, cut up, I used 8 chicken thighs. I used about 2 ounces pancetta, 6 ounces of white wine and a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained. May be made ahead and reheated before serving.