chicken marbella at marla's

Sooo.. I've been out of town for the last two weeks. And now I'm going to attempt to catch you up a bit. Probably more than 1/2 of my meals were at restaurants.. a true vacation.. but I did get to do a little cooking all along the way. I didn't take photos of food during the first leg of my trip in Chicago.. but I did sing a lot of jazz and go out tango dancing. The next stop I made was Cleveland, to visit my uncle, aunt, and cousins. Here's one of the dishes we enjoyed together :)

It's the famous chicken marbella from the Silver Palate Cookbook - also on epicurious.
"It's good hot or at room temperature. When prepared with small drumsticks and wings, it makes a delicious hors d'oeuvre. The overnight marinating is essential to the moistness of the finished product: the chicken keeps and even improves over several days of refrigeration; it travels well and makes excellent picnic fare."

(we cut the recipe in 1/2.. to serve 6, instead of the original 12, and we also substituted honey for the brown sugar)

You'll need:
2 chickens, 2 1/2 pounds each, quartered
1/2 head of garlic, peeled and finely pureed
2 tbsp dried oregano
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup pitted prunes
1/4 cup pitted Spanish green olives
1/4 cup capers with a bit of juice
3 bay leaves
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup white wine
2 tbsp parsley or fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Oven! 350. (I almost just used the words straight from the book.. sorry.. if that's not good enough for you:)

In a large bowl combine chicken quarters, garlic, oregano, pepper and coarse salt to taste, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.

Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over it evenly. Drizzle chicken pieces with honey and pour white wine around them.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with pan juices. Chicken is done when thigh pieces, pricked with a fork at their thickest, yield clear yellow (rather than pink) juice.

With a slotted spoon transfer chicken, prunes, olives and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and sprinkle generously with parsley or cilantro. Pass remaining pan juices in a sauceboat.

To serve Chicken Marbella cold, cool to room temperature in cooking juices before transferring to a serving platter. If chicken has been covered and refrigerated, allow it to return to room temperature before serving. Spoon some of the reserved juices over chicken.

Enjoy!!!