EVENT: A Weekend Away with Friends
VENUE: Kate’s House, Hudson Valley
PARTY SIZE: 10
TYPE: Friday Night Post-Drive Dinner
MENU: Chicken Marbella; Orzo; Milk Bar Compost Cookies
According to my mother, for a while in the 1980s, Chicken Marbella was all the rage. The Silver Palate Cookbook came out, and filled as it was with creative, delicious, and dinner party-worthy dishes, the surprising ingredients (prunes, capers, brown sugar??) and winning flavor combination of Chicken Marbella meant that it was served at party after party back then
When Kate invited a bunch of us out to the country for a weekend, like Phoebe before me, I volunteered to bring dinner. I thought Friday night was the best for my contribution; it would mean we wouldn’t have to go into town after arriving and we’d have time to relax at the house following the day of work and the drive. And because I was carrying the meal, I got to go in the first car, which left the city about an hour before the second. But with our detour, we all arrived at the house simultaneously.
As I unpacked the chicken and set water to boil for orzo, everyone opened beers and settled into the weekend. I imagined how different (and how much more expensive) this all would have been if we’d had to reorganize into cars, go into town, find a table for ten at the Mexican place. This way, we got to relax immediately, and maybe a little too much-instead of going to the local college bar to dance, we fell asleep in front of the living room TV.
The next day we spent walking around a beautiful park and the cute Hudson Valley towns. We made a big breakfast, but then during the day we drank hot chocolate and snacked on the leftover compost cookies Michelle brought. The cookies were so delicious and filling, we never sat down to eat a proper lunch. So by the late afternoon we were starving, and, in our hunger haze, we planned the heartiest meal ever: steak, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus. All of us girls went to the grocery store and came back equipped with ingredients, and prepping and cooking together (under my dominion, of course) was fun. Emma chided me for not getting enough cheese as she grated more and more into the mac; Kate and Julie mashed the potatoes; and Michelle took care of trimming, oiling, and roasting the veggies. Though I was glad I’d been able to feed everyone the night before, I wouldn’t have traded in the evening of making a mess in the kitchen for all the Chicken Marbella in the world.
From my kitchen, where I’m bringing Marbella back, to yours,
Cara, THE QUARTER-LIFE COOK
Chicken Marbella
Serves 10
Recipe from The Silver Palate Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins. Copyright © 1982 by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins.
Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup pitted prunes
1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives
1/2 cup capers with a bit of juice
6 bay leaves
1 head garlic , peeled and finely puréed
1/4 cup dried oregano
Coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 chickens (2 1/2 pounds each), quartered
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley or fresh cilantro , finely chopped
Combine the olive oil, vinegar, prunes, olives, capers and juice, bay leaves, garlic, oregano and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon the marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with the brown sugar and pour the white wine around them. Bake, basting frequently with the pan juices, until the thigh pieces yield clear yellow (rather than pink) juice when pricked with a fork, 50 minutes to 1 hour.
With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken, prunes, olives, and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of the pan juices and sprinkle generously with the parsley or cilantro. Pass the remaining pan juices in a sauceboat.
Note: To serve Chicken Marbella cold, cool to room temperature in the cooking juices before transferring the pieces to a serving platter. If the chicken has been covered and refrigerated, reheat it in the juices, then allow it to come to room temperature before serving. Spoon some of the reserved juice over the chicken.
