Don’t Judge Me Chicken
When Ben first saw this chicken dish at his mother’s over Christmas, he freaked out.
“What is that?” he scowled, peering into the dish.
“Chicken,” my mother in law replied, whisking the dish away from him and blocking the recipe. She’s a smart woman.
“What’s in it?” he demanded.
“Chicken,” she hedged.
Ben raised an eyebrow. “What else?” he demanded, poking at the dish with a fork.
“Olives, capers, white wine, spices….” she trailed off.
“What are the black things?” Ben sniffed, peering closer at the dish.
“Prunes,” my mother in law whispered. She closed her eyes and braced herself.
“PRUNES?” Ben bellowed. “You want me to eat prunes? Why would you put prunes on chicken?”
“Don’t judge it until you’ve tried it,” she snapped, shoving it in the fridge to marinate overnight. “It’s tomorrow’s dinner.”
Needless to say, Ben wasn’t looking forward to dinner the next day. When he sat down to his plate, he scowled. Again.
He pouted.
He sulked.
He balked.
And then he picked up his fork and took a bite.
And then he took another bite. And another. And another.
And then he was up at the counter, getting seconds.
Let’s just say my mother in law looked just like this literary figure.
And when I made this same chicken last weekend, Ben happily gobbled it up. “I think this is one of my top fifteen meals,” he cooed, slurping up his chicken. “This is good. This is so good.”
It’s so good that every night this week he has reminisced about the chicken.
In short: Don’t judge the chicken. Just eat it.
Paula’s Chicken Marbella
3 packs boneless, skinless chicken thighs ( I used 5 chicken breasts pounded flat. But I’ve had both versions and they’re equally fabulous. If you like dark meat, go with the thighs. I do, Ben doesn’t.)
Minced garlic in a jar (equal to 1 head of garlic)
1/4 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp parsley
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes
1/2 cup Spanish green olives, pitted
1/2 cup capers with juice
6 bay leaves
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white wine
In baking dish combine raw chicken, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers, bay leaves. Cover and marinate overnight in fridge.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange in a single layer and spoon juices evenly over chicken. Sprinkle chicken with brown sugar and pour white wine around chicken. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or 1 hour, basting with juices. Chicken is done with pricked with a fork and yellow juice comes out.
Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! Tomorrow we have a tribute to Ben’s birthday and Saturday, a new Dallas Jean! Stay tuned!
My in-laws are in town for Ben’s b-day, so I may be slow on visiting your blogs! I’ll be back to full speed Monday!
March 4th, 2010 at 3:30 am
I bet the prunes add a wonderful sweetness. Stopping by from SITS!
March 4th, 2010 at 3:51 am
That sounds soooo good. i’ve actually never had a prune but I am sure I’d like them!
March 4th, 2010 at 4:32 am
I could see how that would be yummy!!
March 4th, 2010 at 4:50 am
yummmm that sounds amazing – I love chicken with dried fruit!
March 4th, 2010 at 4:53 am
I actually like prunes! My mother used to make the most wonderful prune whip. You reminded me. I’m going to look up her recipe and post it one of these days!
March 4th, 2010 at 5:13 am
love the title and love the chicken – it looks tasty to me
March 4th, 2010 at 5:27 am
I would LUV this. Hubby probably wouldn’t. He would be a fuddy duddy. I could cook it and not let him see it. As long as I didn’t put any olives, capers or prunes on his portion – he would at least taste it!
March 4th, 2010 at 5:36 am
That sounds absolutely wonderful!! I love all the ingrediants. Prunes and all!
March 4th, 2010 at 5:42 am
Looks can be deceiving! I am guessing this is delicious because wine is in it and anything cooked in wine ends up with this fabulous taste to it!
March 4th, 2010 at 6:05 am
YUMMY!!! I will definitely try this – thank you!
March 4th, 2010 at 6:14 am
Sounds delicious. You know, if she’d just said Dried Plums (which is all prunes really are) maybe he wouldn’t have been so judgey about them before trying it? Because plums are cool whereas prunes have a bad rep. It’s all about angles, after all
March 4th, 2010 at 6:16 am
I can see how it might not look so appetizing, but it sounds like a great combination!
March 4th, 2010 at 6:19 am
I don’t even like chicken and *I* want to try it!!
March 4th, 2010 at 6:35 am
Ah, the classic Silver Palate dinner party recipe known as Chicken Marbella! I personally love sweet and savory mixed in my dish, so I have always seen the appeal of this dish. I have never made it though because I don’t like olives.
Your husband sounds like mine. It’s the same thing. “What is that?” “Chicken”. “What kind of chicken.” “INSERT NAME OF CHICKEN RECIPE HERE.” Serve it to him and he’ll dramatically sniff it before he takes a bite.
March 4th, 2010 at 7:16 am
I’ve heard of this dish before but turned my nose up at the prunes. I guess I will just have to give it a try! Looks great!
March 4th, 2010 at 7:28 am
It does look a little shady, but everything sounds really good!
March 4th, 2010 at 7:36 am
Oooh, how lovely. Very Morrocan-ish. I love this kind of food. I think fruit and meat go so well together when done properly.
Love the cheshire cat pic.
*kisses* HH
March 4th, 2010 at 7:41 am
I wasn’t sure about the prunes either but if Ben likes it, I probably would too. Nicely done.
March 4th, 2010 at 7:42 am
That looks so similar to the meals my Moroccan family used to make, I feel all nostalgic!
Have a great time with your in-laws!
March 4th, 2010 at 7:53 am
Sounds delish but I can guess there’s a certain gentleman in my family who would be the same.
Jane
March 4th, 2010 at 7:59 am
It’s not the best looking dish at first glance, but it sounds so good.There is lots of strong flavors there, but I guess they do compliment each other.
I usually make pork with prunes. It’s delicious.
March 4th, 2010 at 8:33 am
This is a delicious dish. It’s no wonder he liked it. I’ve tried to make it without the prunes and found it sadly lacking. My husband pushes the prunes (now dried plums
) to the side of the plate, but I no longer complain. This is great party food – perfect for feeding a gang a special meal.
March 4th, 2010 at 8:41 am
Just from reading the ingredients, I know that this is a good chicken dish. It’s similar to that Chicken Marbella, are you familiar with that famous chicken?
March 4th, 2010 at 10:37 am
I’m thinking the prunes give it a little sweetness am I right? It does sound delish. Man if I only had the prunes I could begin making it right now! YUMMY! Thanks for sharing.
March 4th, 2010 at 10:42 am
Ah, that sudden cartoon in the middle of the post is surprising!
March 4th, 2010 at 11:05 am
Many fruits fresh or dried, can have a tenderizing effect on meats, as well as adding flavor..marinating chicken too long in the wrong marinate(one high in vinegar) can make the meat mushy!
March 4th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
I’m just going to admit it…I judge all food by its appearance. But…in honor of Ben’s birthday, I’ll just eat this!
March 4th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
i might freak out a little bit at first too, but methinks i could get past the initial hesitancy. paula sounds like she knows what she’s doing.
March 4th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Don’t you just love when the silly boys realize they were wrong when it comes to food. I find that there is often resistance followed by seconds and thirds.
March 4th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Take out the olives and I’m all over this recipe
March 4th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Yup, dried fruits are awesome in savoury dishes – looks yummy!
March 4th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
I would like to blindfold my children at every meal so that they give everything a fair try before they decide it’s gross.
March 4th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
A girlfriend of mine made this for dinner for us after the birth of our second child, when kind souls took turns bringing us a meal. My husband LOVED it. So of course I’ve made it for him…not. Can’t get over the prunes! I’m such a child!
March 4th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
I made a cake with dates once, and another with prunes. I knew I’d have a buttload of Ben-like reactions, so I never gave the real name of what was in them. And I did once make a chicken like this, with carrots and PLUMS (because you wouldn’t want to say “prunes” to anyone under the age of 55!)!
March 4th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
I’m sure this would get some weird looks in my house too – but I think I would love it! If Ben likes it that’s good enough for me. I have a lot of catching up to do – I didn’t have Internet for almost a week – it will probably take me a couple days to get caught up. Have fun with your in-laws and Happy Birthday to Ben!
March 4th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Yum! I like all the component parts of this, so I’ll bet it’s yuuumy!
Have fun with your in-laws this week!
March 4th, 2010 at 6:47 pm
This story reminds me so much of myself! I always want to know exactly whats in my food and if it looks kinda strange investigate it lol. Normally everything my mom makes turns out to be delicious though!
xoxo
FashionEye
March 4th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
Hi Duckie!!!
Your chicken looks so good! Yummy!!! I am loving your Pemberly Petshop story – Hannah and I are reading it together.
I hope things are going well at the Pond! Love you friend!
XOXO
Jen
PS – I’m leaving on a trip for a week, so I won’t be around for a while, but will catch up on your stories when I get back
March 4th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
That looks AMAZING! I think it’s slightly moroccan in ingredients. And I really enjoyed how your wrote this post
it was cute.
March 4th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
i’m sold! even as adults sometimes we still need to learn to taste everything once!
March 4th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
Prunes with chicken…very interesting indeed.
March 4th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
It looks awesome and you know my daughter really loves prunes, I was surprised to recently discover that. So I always keep some in a house now
I bet she would really love this chicken!
March 4th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
I love all the layers of flavor – glad your hubby enjoyed it
March 4th, 2010 at 10:51 pm
Yum! I’d be lining up for this, no worries. Prunes, olives and capers ring my bell
March 4th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Well, I have to say that I’ve never had chicken with dried fruit in it but that dish does look amazing!!! Olives, capers and white wine…yum!
March 5th, 2010 at 9:14 am
Hmm…prunes. I won’t judge until I try it!
March 5th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Prunes, capers, olives…some of dh’s favorite things! Thanks for the recipe!
March 5th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
I have to say, I don’t much care for prunes – but that dish really looks delicious!
March 5th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
Ben sounds just like my hubby. I’ll have to try this without letting him see it.
March 6th, 2010 at 8:53 am
I would be with your hubby on that one, thinking I wouldn’t like it. Your MIL is right about not judging until you taste it:)
March 7th, 2010 at 8:44 am
Looks interesting and sounds good! Thanks for passing it along. I’m going to give a try. We’re having pork today but I’ll be trying this sometime this week.
~ingrid