Afternoon smorgasbord
Olive chicken. Serve over pasta.
Blog reader Kristen sent in a Crock Pot recipe a few weeks ago, after I said I wanted to try a different slow cooker recipe every week until Old Man Winter puts down his beating stick.
My editor had already tried Kristen’s recipe and said it was really good, so I finally got on the bandwagon yesterday. If you missed the recipe, which calls for black olives, garlic, tomatoes and herbs, click here. In short, we liked it a lot.
I used a package of bone-in chicken breasts instead of the thighs because it had been in my freezer for a couple of months and I wanted to use it before it got freezer burned. I think the substitution led to a much more flavorful dish than regular boneless, skinless breasts would have. I did have to pick out the bones and remove the skin and return the chicken to the pot, but that was worth the extra 15 minutes or so when I got home from work. I also skimmed off some grease, which probably came from the skin.
You can see in the picture above that the recipe yields a nice bit of juice, too, which is really good served over pasta. I thought a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese was a perfect finishing touch. Thanks again for that recipe, Kristen.
In other food news, Greenvale School of Roanoke is looking for competitors in its annual Virginia State Championship Chili Cook-off, which happens every summer in downtown Roanoke (the same weekend as the Strawberry Festival). This year’s cook-off is May 1. I know we’ve got some great cooks on this blog, so if you are interested, contact Jenny Lee at Greenvale School: (540) 342-4716 or jlee@greenvale-school.org.
Finally, are you looking for a really cheap Valentine’s Day idea? What if you and your sweetie could eat for just $10 and get dessert for free? Well, if you want some Chik-fil-A, you can! Both of the Roanoke area Chik-fil-A restaurants are having Valentine’s Dinner from 4 to 8 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 13. It will include special decorations, table side service and long-stemmed roses for each lady in attendance, as well as a free fudge nut brownie for each diner.
Who says you can’t have it all?
February 11, 2010 - 4:41 PM
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What is the best pasta to serve with the olive chicken?
Yep, I tried it, too. Wonderful. I also used the bone-in, but took the skin off. Very tasty and freezes well for individual servings.
Connie, I think it would work well with any pasta you like. I used mini penne, my friend used bow tie pasta.
That sounds REALLY, REALLY good. I’ll have to try it but will have to be sly as husband doesn’t like black olives (or he THINKS he doesn’t)…
Susan, when the olive are ground up, the way they are in this recipe, they just add the great flavor but almost no one can identify what it is! So unless he reads this blog…he won’t cop to your trickery.