Creamy Chicken Marsala

This is a creamy and wholesome Italian dish which is very easy and quick to prepare. The dish is said to originate from western Sicily in the 19th century with English families, where Marsala wine is produced. A heavy French influence is also suspected together with American influence in the modern version. This will probably explain why Chicken Marsala is more popular in the Unites States than Italy these days. See this article.

Smoked Chicken, Pancetta and Leek Pie

We love chicken pie (who doesn’t?). Whether it’s Kotopita (Greek pie in filo pastry) . B’stilla (Moroccan pie with cinnamon, ginger, turmeric and saffron) or a good old South African chicken pie with hard boiled eggs and sago.

We decided to put a twist on the traditional South African version by making it with smoked chicken, pancetta and leeks.

Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Olives

I decided to cook Moroccan food for date night last week as my preserved lemons were a month old and  finally ready to use.  I love Paul Wolfert’s recipes so decided to make her Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Olives for our Moroccan date night.

This is a classic traditional Moroccan tagine recipe.  I won’t call my effort a tagine though as I did not cook it in a tagine pot.  Every time I pass Le Creuset I want to buy one but then I hear the “but how often will you use it” voice in my head.

Pipián Rojo, Chipotle Meatballs and Chicken in Escabeche

We have not had proper Mexican food in ages. Most “Mexican” restaurants around here is decidedly more Tex Mex – load of tacos and chilli poppers but sadly not a  Mole or Recado Rojo sauce in sight.  Not that we don’t enjoy Tex Mex  occasionally but it doesn’t come close to the real deal.  I made  Chicken Mole Poblano  and Adrienne made Achiote Chicken and Ancho Pork a while back. Since then our  Ancho (dried Poblano) and Guajillo (dried MIrasol) chillies have been sitting in the back of the food cupboard. To make up for this travesty I decided to make 3 main dishes for our Mexican date night.