Recipe 2: Chicken Ragu with Farfalle

Next up is Chicken Ragu with farfalle. I chose this recipe because I love farfalle (bow tie pasta for those of us who don't want to sound pretentious!) I also chose this recipe because it seemed to be accessible and features one of my favorite ingredients-white wine!

The shopping list was rather easy with this one, since the recipe calls for pretty basic ingredients-- celery, carrots, garlic etc. I found it interesting that it called for a red onion instead of a normal white or yellow. This is simply because the sauce comes out sweet and the onion helps carry the sweet flavor. It is also nice that the recipe features the use of easy to find dried and fresh herbs. Flat leaf parsley can be found in even the most "non-foodie" of grocery stores or "markets" and sage, thyme and rosemary can be found in any spice rack.

My favorite part of the meal, aside from the wine, was the use of chicken legs. To me, chicken can be overpriced and under flavored, but this is not true of chicken legs. You have to be a bit more committed to the time it takes to fully cook them, however the flavor and moisture of the overall product is more than a simple reward. I was able to pick up a package of chicken legs from Kroger for about $2.09 since they were on sale that week (Gotta love Kroger!)

All in all, the meal took about an hour and a half to make. Let's face it, we aren't all Rachel Ray and we don't have a staff to prep our vegetables for our so called "Thirty Minute Meals." With chopping, peeling, dicing and mincing the prep work took a bit of time, although I do have to say it was well worth the time. The chicken was tender and moist juicy, the sauce was thick and chocked full o'vegetables, and all in all the meal was satisfying. If I had to make one critique, I would choose a different noodle. Although I have a certain infatuation with bow tie pasta (being a former Buckeye and the President E. Gordon Gee's love of bow ties.... it brings me back). The sauce remains very full bodied, while the noodle is not. I would pair it with a wider pasta such as fettuccine or pappardelle in the future.

I would certainly recommend this recipe to someone who wants a culinary challenge. The time investment is worth it to test your culinary fortitude and the outcome is nothing short of classic comfort food. To those following this, you might have realized I am not following the order in which I said these recipes would be tried, but one night I realized that chicken just didn't sound good so Andy and I went out! It happens ya know! But I do promise I will get to those recipes just as my schedule allows it!


Much love in the cold weather....

Abbie