After weeks of needling Martin about what he'd like me to make him for his special birthday dinner, he finally told me that he'd like to have something with chicken.  I gave him a few options, and from the pile, he picked Chicken Cacciatore.  I'm not sure why he picked it.  It wasn't the one I would have chosen for him, but once he saw the picture that accompanied the recipe, he wasn't interested in anything else.

Even though I've never made it before for Martin, I have made a few different versions of this tasty dish.  My favorite version is one that was published in Real Simple.  It is easy to make and doesn't contain any mushrooms or peppers (anything I make with those two ingredients is deemed gross by the kids).

At 4:30 this afternoon I pulled out the recipe to review the steps.  It was at that point that I noted that the total cooking time was just under two hours.  Knowing that my father-in-law would be joining us for dinner around 6:00 and that we wouldn't be home from daycare until just after 5:00, I knew I was in trouble.

To speed up the cooking time, I browned the chicken for longer than stated in the recipe, then placed it on a broiler pan in the oven at 350 degrees F.  And while the chicken was browning and warming, I started the sauce in another pot.  Once the sauce was ready, I added the chicken, covered it and let it simmer on low for about 20 minutes while I prepared the side dishes.  I'm not sure about the timing of the each part of the process, but by 6:15 we were eating dinner - cutting 50 minutes out of the original recipe.

I served it with a side of mashed potatoes (made out of the leftover potatoes from our Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner - that recipe to be added soon) and a green salad.  Everything was delicious, and my birthday boy was happy.

Print it: Chicken Cacciatore (from Real Simple)