Whip It Up: Week 3: Great- Grandpa's Chicken

I cannot tell you how excited I was to see this weeks Whip It Up theme.
It gave me the perfect excuse to cook something that I have heard my family rave about for years and years and years... but I have never had the courage to try.

So I hope you enjoy.... My Great Grandfather's Chicken.

Close to the turn of the 20th century, my Great- Grandma Frances immigrated from Stromboli, a small island off the coast of southern Italy to America. My Great- Grandpa Joe had already been living in New York City (lower Manhattan) for the past 10 years earning a living so that he could have a future here for his wife and newly forming family. According to my Grandmother, her mother's cooking was so wonderful that no one in the family had ever been able to recreate the taste of her food. No matter how hard they tried. Perhaps it was due to the fact that there was never a specific recipe. Great-Grandma would just add a little of this and some of that and then everyone would eat. Unfortunately no one ever thought to write anything down. But some details lasted.

But the lone dish that I always heard about was my Great- Grandpa Joe's Chicken.
When I called my mother to tell her I was ready to try making it, she said good luck, "We have all tried.. but it's never tasted as good as his used to".

My Grandmother was more optimistic, "Use LOTS of Garlic and plenty of Olive Oil, and it will be really good." She continued to tell me that the key to cooking it was to stand over it just like her father used to do. "No one had patience like he did".

Ingredients:

Chicken Legs and Thighs
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Garlic- 2 Bulbs (ish)

1. Rinse the chicken. Heat about an inch or so of oilve oil over low- medium heat in a pan and place whole garlic cloves into the oil.

2. Once the oil is warm place the chicken into the oil, strategically... like so:

Chicken Round #1- Notice the whole garlic bulbs. They tasted INCREDIBLE once they were roasted for a while.

3. Watch the chicken. Move it around a little bit every few minutes. The smell in the kitchen will be awesome. As the chicken cooks sprinkle it with salt and pepper, so that it tastes extra good when it's done. It took me about an hour to cook it, on low heat.

Finished product.

Now down business:

1. Was the recipe easy to follow? Considering there was no real recipe, yes. However I was extremely nervous because I had major shoes to fill.

2. Did it taste good? Um. YES. Good lord. It was the best chicken I have ever tasted. Even Tim loved it. I think that keeping the stove on low- medium heat and standing over the pan was really the trick here. If it was too hot, it would not have tasted as good.

3. Would you make it again? Of course. Next time I am going to do it true Panitieri Style. Over Spaghetti.

My Great- Grandfather passed away in 1969, when I wasn't even a twinkle in my mom's eye (I have never understood that saying). Even though we've never met.... I think he would have been proud of my effort in the kitchen. I know I was.