What's in your cacciatore?

Year after year the one staple we have on our Christmas table is chicken cacciatore. The recipe is my noni's, Anna, and to me it speaks true to Northern Italian cooking in it's simplicity and heartiness.

Noni was from the Marche region, more specifically Fano, which is a town in the province of Pesaro. It is a beach resort on the Adriatic. At the age of nineteen, noni came to America, by herself and never returned to Italy. She married my great grandfather, Enrico and had five children, one of which was my grandmother, Alda. My memories of noni, are of a very cute woman, who spoke broken English and always wore a white cardigan sweater. In her nineties, noni moved in with my grandmother and we had the pleasure of having her company at our Monday night dinners. She was a hoot and the banter between her and my grandmother was better than television. I thank noni for sharing her Italy with us and bringing her recipes to America. If not for that, we would not have our chicken cacciatore on Christmas Day. Grazie Noni, ti amo.

Before the recipe, I thought it appropriate to describe what a cacciatore is. Cacciatore means "hunter" and when you see "alla cacciatore" it means to be prepared "hunter style". It can be made with any game, but is most commonly made using chicken. In true Italy style there are two different styles, north and south, of cooking the "pollo cacciatora". In the south, cacciatore is made using tomatoes and red wine, where as the north uses white wine. Since, noni was from the Marche home to the delicious, Verdicchio, our cacciatore is made with white wine.
Here is our recipe for Chicken Cacciatore.....

Serves 6
1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
3 rosemary sprigs
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups crimini mushrooms, brushed clean
1/2 cup good quality white wine, Verdicchio, Falanghina, Pecorino
1/2 cup chicken stock, warmed
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Preheat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the oil, when hot, add the garlic and rosemary sprigs. Let the garlic brown a little. Add the pieces of chicken and sear on all sides. This will keep in the juices while the chicken braisie. Season with salt and pepper. When the chicken is seared, remove and set aside. Add the mushrooms to the pans. Do not move them around as they create moisture in the pan and will release their water. After three minutes, stir the mushrooms and add the white wine, deglazing the pan to release all the goodness. Allow the alcohol to cook off, then add the chicken pieces back. Pour the warm broth over the chicken. Cover the pan with the lid and place in the oven. Cook for at least 2 hours. Remove from the oven, the chicken should fall off the bone and the liquid should have thickened. Serve over a crusty slice of bread. Enjoy!