Peetster's Chicken Cacciatore
 

Difficulty: Medium Hard

This is a lot of work, but you'll be left with chicken that melts in your mouth and guests asking for seconds. The pear adds a natural sweetness that counters the tomatos natural acidity.

1/4 cup olive oil
1 package fresh oregano
4-5 # chicken thighs
1 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 pound butter (1 stick)
2 medium onions, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
8-10 cloves garlic, minced
1 # mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
2 sweet bartlett pears, peeled, cored and diced
2 cups red wine or marsalla
6 # 6 oz can of whole or crushed tomatos
1 # carrots, peeled and sliced

Heat olive oil in a large 16 qt saucepan over medium heat. Add entire package of oregano.

Brown oregano, remove and discard.

Clean chicken, removing skin. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour mixture, aggressively working flour into the thigh. Shake off excess and brown in the oil over high heat. Remove thighs as they brown, cover and set aside. Do not crowd the pan, or you'll be boiling the chicken, not browning it.

Add the stick of butter to what oil remains. Hey, I said it was good, not diet food. Add the chopped onion. Bring to a simmer. Add celery, garlic, mushrooms and pears. Push the mixture around for ten minutes or so. Add the wine. Add the tomatos.

You have now gotten to the hard part. You are at war. Your enemy is water. You want to reduce your sauce to about half. Every 10 minutes or so, scrape the bottom to keep it from scorching. Use a heat proof spatula to clean the sides and push the thick tomato glop back into the sauce. You will be slowly decreasing heat and slowly pushing the cover over more of the pot as the sauce thickens. Take your time, don't rush it, and reduce the sauce.

After about 3 hours, you'll have a nice, thick sauce. Push the chicken into the sauce and allow it to cook for about 90 minutes. Keep scraping the bottom and sides.

Add the carrots and cook until tender.

Remove from heat and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes before serving over your favorite pasta with Italian bread.