babybloomr

We haven’t swapped recipes here on the ‘Bloomr for a while, have we?

Well, tonight I made a really, really good dish for the first time and I think every one of you should run right out and get everything you need to make it this weekend– IT IS THAT GOOD, PEOPLE!

It’s called Chicken Marabella, and the recipe comes from my good friend Lynnie. (I am the only one who calls her that, by the way– her name is Lynne. I dunno why, she’s just always looked like a Lynnie to me. That name seems a better fit for someone who would carry a chicken purse into a fancy restaurant in New Orleans.)

I actually think she got the recipe from the original famed Silver Palate cookbook, which is one of my all-time favorites, and then made a couple of slight alterations. Lynnie is a great dinner party-giver. She has such a sense of style, she sets a lovely table and her food is always beautifully presented. This dish is perfect for company because you put all of the ingredients together a day ahead of time and then let it marinade for 24 hours (or more– mine ended up marinating for 2 days, because we had a last-minute change of plans on the night I had originally intended to serve it!) When it’s time to cook, you just kind of dump it in a big baking dish and set the oven at 350 for an hour. Lynnie says she likes to make a big pot of rice and mound it into the middle of a serving platter, then spoon the chicken mixture all around the edges. She also says that it’s even better reheated the second day– I’ll have to get back to you on that one, but dang, it sure was good tonight!

Here’s a picture of the finished product (not mine, I was too busy eating it to photograph it):

OK, here’s the recipe. Now don’t let the weird-sounding mixture of ingredients throw you– they totally work together, in a kind of sweet/salty, savory/fruity kind of way. And  if any of you ever do make it (I’m looking at you, LindaB), you gotta let me know how you like it. It’s definitely going to have a permanent place in my repertoire.

Note: I halved this recipe when I made it, and it totally filled one large (9 x 13 or 10 x 14) glass baking dish. This version would fill two dishes, and feed a large dinner party!

LYNNIE’S CHICKEN MARABELLA

• 8 each bone-in chicken breasts, thighs and legs (24 pieces total)
• Head of garlic (be liberal)
• ½ cup red wine vinegar
• ½ olive oil
• ¼  cup oregano
• 4 cups of mixed fruits and olives: dried apricots, prunes, figs and green olives  (I snipped the dried fruits  in half)
• 1 cup of capers (little bit of the juice)
• 6 bay leaves
• ¼ cup fresh parsley
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup brown sugar
• salt and pepper, and if desired, a little dash of beau monde (island blend) spice

Marinate in ziplock bags overnight, rotate. Layer chicken in 9 X 13 baking dish(es), tuck in fruit around it, bake at 350 for an hour or until done.

Serve it with a big pile of rice in the middle of a platter, place chicken and fruit around the edges.