AN AUTUMN DINNER

October 17, 2006
Show #516

A trip to the grocery store or the farmer's market these days is a bracing experience. Fall produce is almost tumbling off the shelves and inspiration is in full flood. It's hard not to cook seasonally with this abundance at our finger tips, which is how Al came to cook an Autumn dinner for some friends.

It's hard to look at all the produce and not feel inspired. This is a great time for apples, pears, dark salad greens, beets, colorful peppers and plump eggplants. Being a transitional season one might consider recipes that are midway in the heaviness scale. Big old pot roasts and dense stews will be more welcome a couple months from now. Chicken is a good foil for these seasonal ingredients and Al found a wonderful recipe that seemed custom designed for October. Food and Wine magazine has published a delightful cookbook called "Chef Recipes Made Easy," which features dinner menus from over a dozen of America's foremost chefs. Here is Al's take on a chicken and pepper entree with a Spanish twist.

BASQUE CHICKEN AND CHORIZO SAUTEE
(Inspired by Daniel Boulud's recipe in "Chef Recipes Made Easy" Food and Wine Books, 2005)

1/2 pound chorizo sausage, cuts in chunks
olive oil for sautéing
6 chicken leg quarters, cut up
salt and pepper
1 medium eggplant, trimmed and cut into 1/2 slices
4 long sweet red peppers, seeded and cut into strips
2 yellow bell peppers, seeded and cut into strip
1 large red onion, sliced thinly
2 tbs minced garlic
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
chopped parsely for garnish

1.            Sautee the chorizo in a heavy skillet until brown. Remove chorizo and set aside. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add olive oil to the skillet and sautee the chicken, turning at least once, until it starts to brown. Remove chicken and set aside. Add more olive oil and sautee the eggplant slices until they are tender. Remove and set aside.

2.            Pour some olive oil into a large dutch oven and sautee the peppers and onions until they start to become tender. Add the chorizo and the chicken along with the garlic and cherry tomatoes. Stir the whole mixture over moderate heat about five minutes.

3.            Add the sherry and seasonings and cover the dutch oven. Place in a pre-heated 325 oven and cook for about an hour.

4.            The oven cooking will result in considerable liquid in the bottom of the dutch oven. Remove it from the stove and pour off the liquid into a sauce pan, and reduce it over a high flame to create a sauce.

Add the eggplant slices to the chicken/pepper mix and stir in well. Cook uncovered for an additional 30 minutes in the 325 oven. Plate a drumstick and thigh along with the chorizo and vegetable mix. Spoon the sauce onto the chicken and chorizo pieces, and serve immediately with a little chopped parsley as garnish. A lemon almond couscous is a perfect accompaniment.

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