Chicken Cacciatore

I've followed many recipes for Chicken Cacciatore in my life, and finally last night I broke out and made a version I suspect is the way real people in Italy might do it.

We returned from a six-day trip with a three-hour time difference in the middle of the afternoon--which left us very vague as to when dinner ought to happen. There was a fortuitous conjunction of things in the refrigerator, so I began.

I heated about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a deep skillet and added these ingredients as they browned, keeping the temperature quite high. It was really like wok cooking.

1 sliced onion

4 cloves garlic

3 boneless and skinless chicken thighs, halved

1/4 pound white mushrooms

A few leftover cherry tomatoes

1 sprig rosemary

6 sage leaves

After thorough browning, I put in 1 cup red wine which had been sitting on the counter for a day or two and boiled away the alcohol. Then I added 1/2 cup chicken broth, maybe more; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; and 1/2 cup Kalamata olives.

I covered this and simmered it for 45 minutes, then lifted the lid and boiled away some of the liquid to thicken the sauce. I served it with whole wheat noodles.

Dad made fun of my dessert, but I found it amusing. Cantaloupe, dates, and chocolate-peanut butter kisses.