The Ugliest and Most Awesome Sauce EVER

OK, I don't have a photo to go along with this post 1. because I forgot, and 2. because the sauce is pretty ugly in comparison to its more sexy tomato sauce cousins. But I promise you it is the most DELICIOUS sauce ever: Mark Bittman's version of Bolognese from How to Cook Everything. I had it first when my mom came out and cooked for us, etc. shortly after Goo was born. In the past month I've made it twice - once to go simply over pasta, second as part of a somewhat improvised but turned-out-pretty-great lasagna. In the past I have eaten it over leftover mashed potatoes because I had no pasta. I have eaten the last leftover spoonfuls of sauce by itself.

You need a good amount of time (3 hours +) to do this right, but the majority of the work is basic prep, the rest is cake (mmm, cake).

2 tbsp e.v. olive oil
1 chopped onion
1 chopped carrot
1 chopped celery stalk
1/4 c chopped bacon or pancetta
1 lb ground meat - beef, or a mixture of beef and pork
3/4 c dry white wine or juice from tomatoes (or... I added a splash of red wine in addition to the juice from the tomatoes; it worked)
One 28 or 35 oz can whole plum tomatoes
1 c stock (beef or chicken)
salt and pepper
1 c cream, half and half or milk
Freshly grated Parmesan (optional - honestly, you don't need it)

Olive oil over deep skillet or saucepan (or Dutch oven) over med-low; when hot, add onion, carrot, celery and bacon. Cook for 10 minutes or so until veggies are softened. Add meat, cook stir to break up clumps, about 5 minutes. Add wine/juice, raise heat a little and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes for most of liquid to evaporate. Crush tomatoes (your hands work best) and add, then add stock. Turn heat to low and let simmer for about an hour - make sure to stir a couple times to break up any meat clumps or chunks of tomato. Then add some salt and pepper to taste and cook for at least another hour. When it's done, the sauce should be thick and most of the liquid should be gone. Add cream, cook 15-30 minutes, stir occasionally. Serve with/in desired medium! AMAZING.

Chicken Marbella

This is such an easy, earthy dish to toss together and then throw in the oven for an hour.  It looks much more complicated than it is, and the sauce--you'll want to have something to sop it up with.  I recommend polenta or cornbread, but rice or potatoes would pair well.  Serves 4-5

2 chickens, 2 1/2 pounds each, quartered (Or about 5 lb chicken parts. I've used thighs, and legs, but I'd imagine chicken breast would work great)

1/2 head of garlic, peeled and finely pureed 

2 tbsp dried oregano
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil 

1/2 cup pitted prunes
1/4 cup pitted Spanish green olives
1/4 cup capers with a bit of juice 

3 bay leaves
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white wine 

2 tbsp Italian parsley or fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl or ziploc bag combine chicken quarters, garlic, oregano, pepper and coarse salt to taste, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.

Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with pan juices. Chicken is done when thigh pieces, pricked with a fork at their thickest, yield clear yellow (rather than pink) juice.

With a slotted spoon transfer chicken, prunes, olives and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and sprinkle generously with parsley or cilantro. Pass remaining pan juices in a sauceboat.