Fab Foodie Mama

My Grandma's Italian Style Chicken (aka Chicken Cacciatore ) is a quirky one and a tough one to get right consistently.  I'm going to try it here in real time and blog about it as I go. So far I have assembled a cut up chicken, with the skin kept on, in a roasting pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom.  I'm realizing that my pan is a bit too small.  I preheated the oven to 350 degrees and placed the chicken, seasoned with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder, uncovered in the oven until the skin gets browned and a bit crispy.  I'm hoping the bottom pieces get crispy or else I may switch them around in the pan during cooking. So,  after 15 minutes, I took the chicken out.  The top pieces were getting browned, but not underneath.  What I did was transfer the chicken to a larger roasting pan, spreading the pieces out more evenly and adding more oil and spices.  I set timer for 15 more minutes.  Note to self, ge...

My Grandma and Grandpa always hosted Christmas Eve Dinner at their house for as long as I can remember.  I am the oldest of 9 Grandchildren and I fondly remember every Christmas Eve spent at my Grandparents' house for a great Italian dinner with all the aunts, uncles and cousins. I know it is already February but it took me a while to get to this blog. When we moved back here in 2004, I started having the traditional Christmas Eve dinner here at our house.  My Grandma's health was not the best and it was harder for her to host the 30 plus people and do all the cooking.  I definitely had some big shoes to fill.  She was a wonderful cook.  This past Christmas was the first one without Grandma P.  She died in January of 2010.  I usually always make most of her recipes anyway, but this year I decided to make everything that was perfected by her, from the appetizers to the dessert. A lot of these recipes can be made ahead to save time in the kitchen d...