All Because of the Mojito

Time warp with me back to January 2008. I decided to recount some of the culinary adventures from last year.

I am not ashamed to admit that I planned an entire dinner party around a cocktail: the mojito. I wanted to serve mojitos, so I cooked a Cuban feast of Brian's birthday party last year.

The main dish was a Fricase de Pollo, dessert was a coconut milk flan, all else is hazy due to too many mojitos. But here's the recipe I used for the fricase...it was tasty, I do remember that.

Fricase de Pollo

2 cup sour orange juice or mix orange and grapefruit juices half and half
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
4 pounds chicken pieces skinned
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large onions peeled, chopped
1 large green bell pepper chopped
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup capers
1/2 cup stuffed green olives
1/2 cup raisins
1 pound potatoes peeled and cubed

Combine the sour orange juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a container suitable for marinating the chicken. Add the chicken pieces to the marinade, cover and refrigerate a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. Remove the chicken and blot in on paper towels. Reserve the marinade. Warm the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat and brown the chicken pieces. Do this in batches rather than overcrowd the pan. Then return all the chicken to the pan. Add onions and green pepper, sautéeing with the chicken until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add reserved marinade, tomato sauce, wine, capers, olives, raisins, and potatoes. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to a large serving dish and spoon the sauce over it.

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