The Chicken Marbella turned out very well. My only issue was time managment ... I had planned on dinner around 7 & we didn’t get home until almost 8 (visiting next door with the recent graduate & his parents/sister). The chicken was in the fridge marinating (from the night before) so it was cold. I should have left it out an hour or two to get closer to room temp. I did crank the oven from 350 to 375 and it took almost 2 hours for the 8 thighs to get to the point the meat came cleanly off the bone.
That being said, the smell while cooking was wonderful and the chicken itself was quite delicious. My mom really liked it ... thought it was a rich dish that you would only get in an expensive restaurant (probably true). The hardest part of making it is chopping the garlic - the rest is measuring & dumping ingredients in for the marinade.
I would recommend Chef John’s version of this recipe. Silver Palate (the original) & Ina Garden (updated) have versions, but Chef John uses chicken thighs so the pieces are all the same size & finish roasting about the same time. Also, chicken thighs just don’t dry out like breast, drumstick meat. His instructions are also better, IMO.
https://www.allrecipes.com/chef-john-s-chicken-marbella-recipe-8350241
One other recipe of Chef John’s I’m probably going to try this week as a test run for having company to dinner at the new house is this one:
Slow-Cooked Green Beans
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/233794/slow-cooked-green-beans/
My company will be country folk used to simple fare/comfort food & these beans look like they will fit the bill as a side dish. If you read the reviews, people just love these beans! This dish looks very similar to Greek Green Beans with Tomato (Fasolakia Yiahni) which was always my favorite dish at the Greek Festival that’s held here every year.
I wish my husband liked olives. I love them and I can’t imagine how this dish would taste without them. He picks them out of everything when they’re included. I’ve never understood it. He’s not a picky eater by any means.
I guess we all have something that bugs us. I hate peas and carrots mixed together. Separately is fine.
I wonder if there’s anything I can substitute for the olives. It sounds amazing!
Green beans and bacon.......what could possibly go wrong.