La Comida de Mi Vida (My Life in Food)

I have never cooked with rhubarb.  My mother being a foreigner andmy dad not liking sour things I was well into my teens before I even heard of rhubarb.  My in-laws grow it in their garden.  I have as of yet to be brave enough to try it.  They gave me a bunch earlier in the spring.  Unfortunately it was right before we were leaving on vacation so it went bad before I got to try these tips.  I’m archiving the ideas here so next time I have a bunch I’ll know what to do with it.  Also, I wanted to find a preparation that used the rhubarb as a vegetable instead of in a sweet preparation.  The savory chicken dish looks like a winner good for a comforting dinner.

source http://ginews.blogspot.com/2006/07/low-gi-food-of-month.html
“You can add bi carb soda 1 tspn to the water when cooking or you can soak it with a bit more. The bi carb nutralizes, some of the acid so only half the aomount of sugar is needed. It does change the colour of the rhubarb but hay who cares??? You can also use this method in things like tomato sauce anything thats acidic and needs sugar added.”

from rhubarbinfo.com/chicken

Chicken Smothered In Rhubarb
Ingredients:

3 1/2 pound chicken, cut into 10 serving pieces
Essence of Emeril seasoning
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound rhubarb, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium onions, julienned
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon minced garlic, approx. 2 large cloves
1 bay leaf
Fresh thyme sprigs
1 cup dry white wine (cooking sherry would work – reduce any added salt if using)
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
Serving Suggestion: 2 cups cooked white rice, warm, garnish with 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, toss the chicken pieces with Essence and flour. In a large heavy pot, heat the olive oil almost to smoke point. When the oil is hot, brown the chicken for 6 to 8 minutes on each side, allow it to get a crust before attempting to move it so as not to destroy the chicken. Add the rhubarb and onions. Season with salt and pepper. Stirring constantly, caramelize onions, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any brown particles, for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, herbs and wine, cover and reduce the heat to medium low. Stir occasionally and cook for about 45 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Stir in the parsley. Arrange the chicken on a platter and garnish with Essence (essence of emeril) and parsley and serve with rice.

Last month  my family had to go to an assembly in Lansing, MI.  It was a time for spiritual refreshment and to get together with friends and family.  Though we try to conserve our money now that we have four in our little family it is nice every once in a while to go out to eat.  From the first time we ate at Carraba’s we loved it.  I believe we were in Cleveland at the time.  Then one opened in Toledo and we were thrilled that it was only an hour away.

Our favorite dish to get at the time was the thick cut grilled pork chops.  Being used to dry chewy pork chops it was a delightful departure to savor some thick juicy perfectly flavored chops.  This last visit we noticed that the chops were conspicuously missing from the menu.  We were disappointed at first, but that didn’t last long.

My brother had gotten the Chicken Bryan before and was very pleased.  So, we made a deal, my brother, DH and I would each get a different chicken dish and share so we could taste test.  I’m so glad we did. The price difference was negligible so I just got a full portion – there were no leftovers. (The descriptions below are directly from the Carraba’s menu from the Lansing, MI location available at Carrabas.com)

DH got the CHICKEN BRYAN
Goat cheese, sundried tomatoes and a basil lemon butter sauce
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I ordered the CHICKEN MARSALA
Mushrooms, prosciutto and our Lombardo Marsala wine sauce
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My brother ordered PoLLo RoSA MARIA
Chicken stuffed with fontina cheese and prosciutto, topped with mushrooms and a basil lemon butter sauce
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The warmth and earthiness in the Chicken Marsala was inviting and delectable.  My brother gave me a piece of his Pollo Rosa Maria in exchange for a piece of the marsala.  The Rosa Maria was wonderful with the mixture of the creamy cheese, the salty prosciutto and the basil lemon sauce.  I tried my hardest to eat up as much of the sauce as I could.  DH made the mistake of only getting the half portion – not that he was still hungry because we had plenty to go around,  but he didn’t have enough to share (and it is only $2 cheaper).  He ended up eating the rest of my Chicken Marsala in exchange for his Chicken Bryan.  It worked out well because I like rich, powerful flavors and he gets bored or overwhelmed with them rather quickly.  Flavors like the sour goat cheese and sundried tomatoes just leave me asking for more.  really the icing on the cake was that our waiter was friendly and attentive.  He got a good tip that evening.

I visited the Carraba’s website and found that they also have a Facebook page.  I’m now a fan of theirs on Facebook . They also have a “club” called the Amici Club that informs you via email of new menu items, upcoming events and deals.  I’m signed up for that now too.  So for a family dinner out that won’t break the bank, but will provide supremely delicious food check out Carraba’s Italian Grill.

This recipe is one that I adapted from the Food Network show Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentis.  I made it so that it was a bit quicker to put together, but still had all the depth of flavor of the original.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 large carrot, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 small onion, diced

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. leaf thyme

2 bay leaves

2 oz. basil, coarsely chopped

2 – 14 oz. cans of chicken stock/broth

1 – 15 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 tbsp. tomato paste

10 oz. canned chicken (usually come in 5 oz cans)

1 – 15 oz. can kidney beans

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a stock pot over medium high heat.  Dice the onion, carrot and celery and add to the pot to sweat together, stirring constantly,  to make your sofrito.  Once onions are translucent add your minced garlic stirring just to warm through.  Add the salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaves, basil, chicken broth, diced tomatoes and tomato paste  and allow to come to a low boil, about 10 minutes.  Then add the diced cooked chicken (juices and all) and return to a boil (about 5 minutes).  In the meantime rinse the kidney beans; once the stew has returned to a boil add the kidney beans and cook for an additional 10 minutes.   Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly and also remove the bay leaves before serving.  Makes 4 hearty servings.

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My adaptation using canned chicken instead of bone in chicken breast as the original recipe calls for cuts the cooking time almost in half.  If you want this stew to be a little thicker just cook it for an additional 10 minutes before adding the chicken and beans.  If you like it more soupy like me then add another can of chicken broth.  This is delicious served with some crusty Italian bread and some fresh parmesan cheese grated on top.