Tag: food

Chicken Scarpariello – an underrated crowd favorite!

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Ingredients

Directions

  1. In small batches, add chicken along with seasoned flour in a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix until combined. 
  2. Over medium heat, place a large, high-walled skillet. Once hot, lightly drizzle with olive oil then add in the sausage. Cook until browned on all sides. Once browned, remove from the pan and set aside. The sausage does not need to be fully cooked.
  3. Drizzle the pan with a little more olive oil and add the lightly floured chicken. Work in batches, repeating step 1 with unfloured chicken. Brown chicken on all sides. Once browned, remove and set aside, again not to worry if chicken isn’t fulled cooked. While the chicken is browning, slice on a the sausage on a diagonal angle.
  4. Add a little more olive oil to a pan as needed, along with the smashed garlic. Lightly season with salt, and cook until fragrant. Add in herbs, then peppers. Then add in equal amounts of flour & butter. Allow the flour to cook, and thicken with butter / pan drippings. Deglaze the pan with white wine. Allow alcohol took cook off. Liquid with thicken, and reduce to about half. Gently scrap the bottom of the pan to release all the fond, as needed.
  5. Once the wine has reduced, add the sausage and chicken back to the pot. Then pour in the broth. 
  6. Let the Scarp simmer until the sauce thickens and the chicken is tender, stirring occasionally. This process can take 10-20 minutes. Give that sauce a taste, and adjust seasoning along the way.
  7. Once thicken, remove the Scarp from the heat and enjoy.

Plating

Scarp serves very well over pasta. While Penne is one of my favs, Farfalle is a great option, too. Just be sure to not overcook. The pasta should be served al dente. If you go this route, under cook the pasta by a few minutes. After drained, over heat, toss in with some sauce, and butter. Place the pasta in a bowl, and top with the Scarp. Pasta can help cut some of the heat, see below for more modifications in that regard.

Modifications

Chicken Scarp is traditionally made to have some heat to it. You can certainly sub the hot cherry peppers with sweet, and go with a mild sausage. I’ve made batched with only 1 cup of hot cherry peppers vs the 2. I’ve also made 1/2 mild, and 1/2 sweet Italian sausage. This will layer the flavors, while providing some heat, but not overwhelm the masses. Fennel sausage is key. With that said, I would not sub with a non Italian sausage.

Easy Homemade Bread: Step-by-Step Guide

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Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preparing the dough: In a large mixing bowl, add the yeast, water and a drop of honey. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes until foaming and bubbly. (This method is referred to as “proofing” the yeast, to make sure it is active. If it doesn’t foam, the yeast is no longer good, and you need to start over with fresh yeast).
  • Add remaining honey, salt, oil, and 3 cups of the flour. Mix to combine.
  • Add another cup of flour and mix to combine. With the mixer running, add more flour. Do this ½ cup at a time. Continue until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be smooth and elastic, and slightly stick to a clean finger, but not be overly sticky. Add a little more flour, if needed.
  • Knead the dough: Mix the dough for 4-5 minutes on medium speed. Alternatively, knead with your hands on a lightly floured surface for 5-8 minutes.
  • First Rise: Grease a large bowl with coconut oil or cooking spray and place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap. Allow it to rise in a warm place* until doubled in size. This should take about 1 1/2 hours.
  • Spray two 9×5” bread pans (or cast iron pans) generously with cooking spray on all sides. You can also line the bottom of the pans with a small piece of parchment paper, but this is optional.
  • Punch the dough down well to remove all air bubbles. Divide into two equal portions. Shape each ball into long logs, or circles, depending on the shape of your pans. Then place into greased pans.
  • Second rise: Cover pans with a lightweight, dry dish towel. Alternatively they can be covered with plastic wrap, as long as they generously covered with cooking spray. Allow dough to rise again for 45 minutes to one hour. The dough should rise about 1 inch above the loaf pans. Gently removing covering.
  • Bake: Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake bread for about 30 – 33 minutes, or until golden brown on top. I noticed it took a bit longer in the cast iron pans, vs bread pans. Give the top of a loaf a gentle tap; it should sound hollow.
  • Invert the loaves onto a wire cooling rack. Brush the tops with butter and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
  • Once cool, store in an airtight container or bag for 2-3 days (at room temperature). Bread should stay up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

The easy shopping list can be accessed here: https://amzn.to/4pomslT