As soon as I saw this recipe on Carol’s site, I knew I’d have to make it. I rarely try to duplicate meals I’ve had in a restaurant, but this is a dish I’ve ordered several times over the years. It often includes wedges of white potato, though this version does not and that suited my family perfectly. I served it with spaghetti and steamed broccoli (the boys had no interest in the chicken). Almost Italian has a nice history of the dish on their site.
Carol warned that her recipe was seriously spicy, so I cut down on the hot cherry peppers. It was still almost too much for my mom and I to take. Our noses were running, our tongues were numb… we were a mess. The flavor is delicious, but we just couldn’t get past the heat. We actually opened up some beer to help us cope. Still, I think J. would have loved the heat level (if he ate chicken or sausage!), so if you are hot pepper kind of a guy, go for it.
The kosher chicken & turkey sausage I used this time (Neshama) is pre-cooked, so it just needs some browning. If you are using raw sausages, you may want to start cooking them at the same time the chicken goes into the pan. Or, do as Carol does and pre-boil them to make the dish less greasy.
I will probably stick to ordering this meal in restaurants from now on, mostly because I don’t have many people to cook for that like this combination of ingredients. Let me know if you experiment and find a more manageable proportion of hot cherry peppers.
Chicken Scarpariello
Adapted slightly from Carol’s recipe
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts
black pepper
2 tsp. olive oil
8 oz. pre-cooked mild Italian sausage, cut into 1-inch lengths
2 tsp. garlic, minced
3/4 c. sliced hot cherry peppers
1 c. sliced, pickled sweet bell peppers (reserve 1/2 c. liquid)
1/2 c. vegetable broth
Rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts, then slice into bite-sized cubes. Season with ground pepper (and salt, if you like), and add to a hot pan coated with the olive oil. Cook for about 10 minutes over medium-high heat, until chicken is cooked through and golden brown.
Add sausage pieces, garlic, all peppers, pepper liquid, and broth to the pan. Raise heat until the sauce comes to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes, until liquid is reduced.
This past week was super-slow on the cooking front. A construction project kept me from the butcher, so I didn’t get to the Chicken Scarpariello. But I’m looking forward to it tomorrow. I find that the less I cook due to circumstance, the less I want to cook. It’s not a good cycle. Unfortunately, there’s not too much cooking to do this week either, since one or more of us are not home for several dinners this week.
What I really need to do is start brainstorming some warmer-weather recipes. The Broccoli Slaw & Chicken Wraps are a great start — they were easy, delicious, and FAST! Even though it’s supposed to be in the high 70s this week, I chose rather wintery meals. What do you cook when it’s warm outside? Maybe I need to finally learn to grill this summer.
Finally, our first farm share pick-up of the season is this Wednesday! I can’t wait to see what we get.
Tuesday: Boys go out with my MIL; we’re at a benefit dinner
Wednesday: Boys have yogurt, challah, fruit (quick meal after a late playdate and farm share pick-up); defrost sweet potato & black bean burritos for J.; I’m out to dinner with friends
Last week had no great successes. I enjoyed the braised skirt steak with garlic sauce, but the boys wouldn’t touch it and I didn’t love it reheated, either. (Plus the photo makes me cringe every time I look at it, but it was the best one I got!) I had hoped to get to some baking this weekend, but we’ve been busier than expected so that dropped off the plan. Overall it was an uninspired week cooking-wise.
Here’s my short and sweet menu plan for this week:
Monday: Memorial Day! bringing a roasted veggie pasta salad to a lunch BBQ; then those elusive Spicy Cheese Enchiladas that I still have not made for dinner
Tuesday:Banana Pancakes (made with whole eggs), grapes or watermelon
In case just eating enough vegetables (or getting enough into our kids) wasn’t enough of a challenge, new research shows that how we prepare the veggies we eat greatly impacts their nutritive value. (See Finding the Best Way to Cook All Those Vegetables, NYTimes.com) I never would have guessed that boiling anything would be more beneficial than steaming, but that’s true for carrots, zucchini, and broccoli. Thankfully, the article concludes with “the main lesson is to eat a variety of vegetables prepared in a variety of ways.” OK, I can do that.
I made another batch of the vegan dark chocolate cupcakes this week, subbing 1/2 cup flax seed meal for the flour. You couldn’t see or taste the flax seed, though I did wind up with some of them caught on my teeth, which was unpleasant. The boys didn’t notice. Also, it made the crumb of the cupcakes a little too light and fluffy — not dense enough to stay together when bit into by tiny, messy mouths. I’ll keep experimenting.
There are few things cuter than listening to my two-year-old clamoring for me to make him “flapjacks.” I made a flax seed meal version while he was sick (he was inspired to ask for them based on a Little Bear episode, where Father Bear makes his famous Flying Flapjacks), but wound up freezing most of them. One morning this week the boys went through all my frozen pancakes AND almost an entire additional fresh batch. This time I upped the flax seed to 1/2 cup and again they didn’t notice. I hope they get over this pancake kick somewhat quickly, only because I can’t face making that many dirty dishes so early in the morning. I need to add them back into my dinner menu again, and this time I might try sneaking in some banana and ricotta, like in Nick’s version.
Last week’s plan was thrown out the window since G. was sick most of the week, and I was needed for snuggling on the couch. A lot of this week’s plan is therefore carried over from last week.
Challah is on the menu twice, but I’m not making it either time. The boys’ school has an annual fundraiser where we sign up for a Zomick’s egg challah delivered to A.’s backpack each Wednesday. I used to be able to surreptitiously remove it from his bag and stash it until Friday night; now he’s totally aware of it’s delivery and can’t wait to tear into it, so we wind up eating it Wednesday and Thursday instead. That’s fine, I’ve just started incorporating it into my menu. On Friday we get a second challah most weeks — one that is baked by A.’s class at school. So that’s where all the bread is coming from!
I’m going to try to get to the Easy Batter Rolls this coming long weekend — they really do sound simple and it will increase my confidence in working with yeast, I hope.
My household is healthy once more, and that means I’m back in the kitchen. Tonight I made two variations on chicken and broccoli. For the boys, I made oven-baked chicken tenders, steamed broccoli, and corn on the cob. Normally both boys happily eat the corn. A. will usually eat a little broccoli, and G. might have the chicken. Tonight no one ate anything. (more…)
My little guy has had a stomach bug since the weekend. Mostly he feels OK, but he is clearly not and has been attached to me nearly 24-7. With him out of school and up during the night I haven’t kept on my normal schedule of shopping for groceries or cooking. Which is fine — he needs plain food like noodle soup (have it in the freezer) and applesauce (something he loves!) anyway.
I did find a bread recipe to make tonight, but I will save it for another day. It’s the Easy Batter Rolls from A Simple Walk (you have to scroll down a little). I also got lots of help with recipe ideas from Anna in Sweden, Laura, and Sonshine. Thank you all!
This morning A. told me he did not want any sprinkles in his yogurt; he wants to eat it plain like I do. Then he told me he likes to eat cream cheese on his challah because it gives him some extra protein. Apparently, what I do and say is absorbed at some level. A very nice Mother’s Day present to me.
We had a lazy, rainy afternoon at home today, finishing up some crafts projects and getting ready to have family here tomorrow. I lost track of time and forgot to start the chicken roasting for dinner. I’ll make it tomorrow instead — I have a new recipe to try called “Neil Sedaka’s Chicken” that I got from an e-mail recipe exchange. I have no idea where the name comes from. But I’ve now watched enough Neil Sedaka on YouTube to last an eternity.
Have you tried playing with Supercook yet? Add the contents of your pantry or fridge, and this search engine will return a list of recipes you can make with what you have on hand.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 5 and 7, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more about me and CITK, or reach me at .
Want to Try
Sweet Potato and Gruyère Turnovers: These easy pockets (using pre-made, refrigerated dough) sound delicious to me, and even include swiss chard -- something I always seem to have in my fridge from our CSA.
Cook to This
"Kids" by MGMT. Truly bizarre video, but a song that always perks my ears up when I hear it on the radio. They're a 21st century update of synth-pop bands I loved in the late 80s/early 90s (hello, New Order).
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 5 and 7, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 