Vinegar Glossed Chicken....

This is such a simple dish and so delicious....it comes from Lucinda Scala Quinn's cookbook...Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys...It is a beautiful collection of simple, delicious, and easy recipes. I have been feeding men and boys for over 20 years here and I know what they will and will not eat. I must admit I have a pretty spoiled bunch here. They have loved everything I have tried from this book. Lucinda's recipes are very much in the style that I love to cook. It is never too late to teach an old dog...ME...a few new tricks. It makes everyday cooking more exciting to add a new twist to things.  I am going to give this book to my college aged son for his first kitchen. I think it would be a lovely gift for any boy or young man going out on their own. Girls for that matter too... I have been enjoying it a lot myself. Especially when I need to get dinner on the table quickly...this lovely dinner was on the table in less than an hour. A wonderful meal for a busy weeknight, and one I would serve for company anytime. I served this with creamy polenta and roasted greens beans and grape tomatoes.

 Vinegar Glossed Chicken
Mad Hungry/Lucinda Scala Quinn
Mad Hungry Blog
 Serves 6 to 8

• 1 cup best-quality red-wine vinegar
• 2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
• 5 1/2 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (each part should be cut in half)
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup chicken broth, plus more as needed

1. At least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours before cooking, combine the vinegar, garlic, and rosemary to marinate.
2. Thoroughly season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat a 14-inch skillet (or two smaller skillets) over high heat and swirl in enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet. Place the chicken in the skillet, skin side down. Don't crowd the chicken; leave space around each piece. Work in batches if necessary. You should hear an immediate sizzle when the chicken pieces hit the pan. Don't move them; it takes a couple of minutes to sear the chicken so it doesn't stick. Brown all sides; this will take 10 minutes per batch. Regulate the heat so it stays high but does not burn the chicken. Place all the browned chicken back in the skillet.
3. Add the chicken broth and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat, simmer, and reduce for 15 to 20 minutes. Increase the heat to high and pour in the vinegar mixture. Swirl the pan and stir around as the vinegar evaporates to form a simmering glaze, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately or refrigerate, and reheat with some extra broth.  

My notes: I already had about 4 1/2 plus  pounds of small organic chicken legs and thighs to use, so that is what I did. I did not cut the pieces in half because they were already on the small side. I also was a little bit short of my good red wine vinegar so I topped off what I had with a bit of really nice Balsamic vinegar to make a cup. I probably used two or three tablespoons of the Balsamic in all. I admit that I threw in a few more cloves of garlic...so I used 5 in all. What can I say. We really love garlic. Since I had a lot of fresh Rosemary that needed to be used I used more of that as well. I was lucky to have some of my home made chicken stock on hand and I used that for the reduction.The vinegar reduces down to a lovely ,syrupy, sweet and sour sauce...this  chicken was wonderful reheated the next day for lunch and great cold. Uh, can you tell we loved this.

I have been making a dish we always called "Vinegar Chicken" in my family for over 30 years. It originally came from a dish called Chicken Savoy...this is very similar. But much better! 

My son took this action shot of me stirring the polenta!  His first time using my camera...how could I not include it! He was very interested in this dinner, just from the aromas wafting from the kitchen. That was a good thing...

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