Chicken with Apricots and Olives

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                            FOOD FUNNY
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Here's a likely story from Andrew Simko:

It was the perfect day for a little fishing, but after a while I ran out
of bait. Then a few feet up the shore I saw a snake with a frog in his
mouth, and frogs are good bass bait. Knowing the snake couldn't bite me
with the frog in his mouth, I grabbed him right behind the head, took
the frog and put it in my bait bucket. Now the dilemma was how to
release the snake without getting bit. After thinking about it for
awhile, I had an idea: I grabbed my bottle of whiskey (hey, don't laugh:
it's the best part of fishing!) and poured a little whiskey in its mouth.

Sure enough, his eyes rolled back, he went limp, and I released him
without incident. I carried on my fishing with the frog. Caught a big
bass, too! A couple hours later I felt something brush my leg. I looked
down and there was that same snake looking up at me. He had two frogs in his mouth.

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                            TODAY'S RECIPE
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One of the "secrets" to the Mediterranean diet is that people in that
part of the world tend to eat less meat than we do in other parts of the
world. Another "secret" is that the meat they do eat tends to be lower
in saturated fats than the beef and pork we are so fond of in the USA,
with chicken and fish playing a bigger role in the diet than any of the
red meats. This dish is based around a lean meat, and has a couple of
healthy fruits (yes, olives are fruits) thrown in for good measure.

Chicken with Apricots and Olives

1 medium fryer, trimmed of fat and extra skin and cut into quarters
2 Tbs (30 ml) olive oil
4 oz (100 g) green olives
4 oz (100 g) Kalamata olives
4 oz (100 g) dried apricots, soaked in 1/4 cup (60 ml) of brandy and heated until soft
1 cup (250 ml) dry white wine
2 Tbs (30 ml) wine vinegar
3 Tbs (45 ml) honey
2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock
16 cloves (or more) garlic, roasted slowly in olive oil until golden brown
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 sprig fresh rosemary, or 2 tsp (10 ml) dried
1 sprig fresh sage, or 2 tsp (10 ml) dried

Loosen the skin of the chicken breast and thighs and gently stuff half
the soaked apricots between the skin and the meat. Brown the chicken
pieces in the olive oil till golden, pour off the fat and add the wine.
Scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the browned bits into the
simmering wine. Add the vinegar, honey and chicken stock, stir well and
simmer 5 minutes. Remove the breast pieces, add the garlic, onions,
olives and herbs. Cover and cook 20 minutes till leg quarters are done,
add back the breast pieces and simmer 5 minutes.
Serves 4.
Received on Wed Jun 9 20:44:21 2010