Food Recipes - Passing time while automating

Last week, week of March 8, 2015, cleared the deck of a few inches of melting snow to utilize the BBQ grill here in the Midwest.  We were able to utilize the grill towards the evening.  This post though isn't about using the the grill.  
 
Rather its about a receipt tweaked over the years for chicken vesuvio.  Here is a quickie wiki on the beginnings of chicken vesuvio right here locally in Chicago.  Over the years here in some midwest restaurants have noticed modifications of said original recipe some good and some really bad. 
 
 
Chicken Vesuvio, a specialty of Chicago, is an Italian-American dish made from chicken on the bone and wedges of potato, celery, and carrots; sauteed with garlic, oregano, white wine and olive oil, then baked until the chicken's skin becomes crisp. The dish is often garnished with a few green peas for color.

In Chicago, one also often finds the technique applied to other foods, like "steak Vesuvio," "pork chops Vesuvio" or even just "Vesuvio potatoes."

The origins of the dish are unknown, but some suggest it might have been popularized by the Vesuvio Restaurant, which operated at 15 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago, in the 1930s.
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Note that the Wiki above is incorrect and has been modified incorrectly with the addition of celery and carrots.  (willy nilly wacky creative writer).  Weird how a wiki can change things becoming slightly modified.  I know of one where I saw it happening with my own eyes totally become modded and turned in to a fictional account as it reads better I guess. Well the base is the same though.
 
Pause here as I requested the recipe and the preparation has changed and now done by memory .....got it...like pulling teeth...
 
Chicken Vesuvio - recipe used for 4 servers
 
- Bone in chicken pieces (8)
- Russet potatoes cut in wedges (2-4 - skin on)
- 6-7 garlic cloves - minced
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- 2 cups of white wine
- frozen peas
 
- 1/3 cup of flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 3/4 teaspoon oregono
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
 
Mix flour and spices.  Salt and pepper chicken and dredge in seasoned flour - shake off excess
 
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in heavy frying pan until fairly hot.  Brown chicken on both sides and drain on paper towel.  Dredge potato wedges lightly in flour and brown in skillet.  Drain on paper towel.
 
Put chicken and potatoes in 9" X 13" (or a bit larger) roasting pan.
 
Leave only a few tablespoons of oil in the pan.  Add the minced garlic and saute for just a minute - do not burn.  (I sometimes take the pan off the heat before adding the garlic.)
 
Deglaze the pan with the wine and add the chicken broth.  Let it cook and reduce some.  Mix remaining season flour with a small amount of water and add to the pan to thicken sauce slightly.
 
Put sauce in pan around chicken and potatoes.
 
Back uncovered in 375 oven for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes or until juices run clear.  Add approximately 1 cup of frozen peas the last 15 minutes of cooking.
 
pete_c said:
Last week, week of March 8, 2015, cleared the deck of a few inches of melting snow to utilize the BBQ grill here in the Midwest.  We were able to utilize the grill towards the evening.  This post though isn't about using the the grill.  
 
Rather its about a receipt tweaked over the years for chicken vesuvio.  Here is a quickie wiki on the beginnings of chicken vesuvio right here locally in Chicago.  Over the years here in some midwest restaurants have noticed modifications of said original recipe some good and some really bad. 
 
 
 
Note that the Wiki above is incorrect and has been modified incorrectly with the addition of celery and carrots.  (willy nilly wacky creative writer).  Weird how a wiki can change things becoming slightly modified.  I know of one where I saw it happening with my own eyes totally become modded and turned in to a fictional account as it reads better I guess. Well the base is the same though.
 
Pause here as I requested the recipe and the preparation has changed and now done by memory .....
Click to expand...
 
That is similar to one of our favorites from epicurious.com that I think you'll like:
 
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/roasted-chicken-legs-with-vegetables-and-arugula-100749
 
We use a mix of legs and thighs.
 
Mike.
 
Don't thank me, I love to eat and to share good recipes. I cooked for myself as a bachelor for a decade or so in the 80's but I don't do much cooking these days. My wife doesn't want anyone in "her" kitchen so she does the cooking and I do the barbecue but I love good food and could see my attention turning more to the kitchen at some point. I showed her your recipe for Vesuvio and she's interested in trying it. I think that I'll print it and leave it on the kitchen counter.
 
I did my first bbq a couple of weeks ago. I did ribs but wasn't that happy with them. They were too meaty and not fatty enough and they were more like pork chops than nice tender fatty ribs. A brisket is in the near future.
 
Mike.
 
Updated OP with Vesuvio Receipt.  My x father in law (RIP) would cook Vesuivio in a large electric frying pan all day.
 
Yup, here cooked for myself in the 1970's. 
 
I do sometimes these days cook; but as mentioned above; kitchen is mostly off limits.  I did learn a few family receipts over the years.  None originally documented.  Wife did document them over the years. 
 
She does make me old favourites of lentil soup, great northern bean soup.  She doesn't make squid or cod or smelt in tomato sauce.  Here I remember my grandmother leaving salted cod to dry in the garage for many days sometimes.
 
pete_c said:
Thank you Mike.
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Pete
 
If you or anyone else has any interest in trying the arugula chicken recipe I recommend getting the best arugula available to you. The recipe is very dependent on the arugula being tender and strong flavored. We grow it in the garden and make that recipe when we can pick it fresh.
 
Mike.
 
Very nice Mike. 
 
Yesterday passed the recipe over to wife.  Many neighbours here grow a variety of vegetables in the back yard gardens.
 
Sometimes the neighbours just give us a variety of what is grown or mention to us to just pick whatever during our walks.
 
Fresh is best.  I will ask around to see if any of them are growing arugula.
 
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