On Monday night I arrived back home after a stupendously glorious 5 days in Kansas City, MO!  More about that trip in tomorrow’s post!  Oh man, hot weather, sunshine, lots of great friends and bling (and, ahem, hot cowboys)…umm…yes that’s for tomorrow’s posting goodness.

I’ve been in a whirly whirlwind since getting back home.  Had such a great time, but I missed a good, home-cooked meal…as much as the food on the road was amazing.  This past week back at work has been quick pasta-and-pesto dinners, exhausted, at home. 

So today I wanted to not only REALLY cook something fun at home, but also try something local and new.

Enter The Pike Place Market Cookbook, which I picked up on Amazon a few days before leaving town.  And here it was in my mailbox when I got home!  This cookbook was published in 2003 and while some of the merchants and vendors have come and gone since this book came out, the spirit, energy and passion of the Pike Place Market is as strong as ever.  And why not try a new recipe with something that rings of “home”?

Garlic fans, unite!  This is a delicious recipe for Chicken Adobo.  Silly me I thought ‘adobo’ meant American southwest style food.  Nope!  This is Filipino style and you’ll want to soak up every last bit of the sauce with your rice or just a good old spoon!  The pic in this post is of the chicken basking in the sensational marinade after several hours in the fridge and just before sautéing it.  No, it wasn’t cooking on the stove top in a Ziploc bag…horrors!

Serves 4-6 as an entrée, or 6-8 as a side dish.  ** Requires marinating **

• 1/2 C Philippine coconut vinegar or distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 C Philippine soy sauce or Japanese soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp finely ground black pepper
• Kosher salt to taste
• 3 or 4 cloves garlic, crushed, PLUS 2-3 T minced garlic
• 2 lbs chicken parts (legs, thighs, or breasts with ribs)
• 2-3 T peanut or corn oil

In a large bowl or resealable plastic bag, combine vinegar, soy sauce, garlic salt, bay leaves, pepper, salt and the 3 or 4 crushed garlic cloves.  Add chicken parts and marinate in refrigerator several hours or (preferably) overnight.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 T of the oil.  When hot, add the 2 or 3 T minced garlic and stir-fry until lightly browned.  Remove fried garlic and reserve.

Add the remaining 1 or 2 T of oil to skillet over medium heat.  Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry, reserving marinade.  Add chicken parts to skillet and cook 10 to 20 minutes, or until well browned on all sides and completely cooked through.  The final cooking time will depend on the types of chicken parts you choose. (If using large chicken breasts, you can cover the pan to speed the cooking process.)  Remove chicken parts to a clean platter and set aside.

Slowly add reserved marinade to pan drippings to make gravy, stirring constantly and scraping up the bits on bottom of pan.  Once all the marinade has been added, reduce sauce to the desired consistency.  Add chicken to gravy, stir thoroughly and heat through.

To serve, divide chicken and gravy among dinner plates, then garnish with fried garlic.

Really try to use peanut oil in this recipe…it has wonderful flavor, is super healthy and is a nice alterative from olive oil!

Buon appetito!