Chicken and Date Tagine

It's Mother's Day in 2020, and this recipe is my Mother's Day gift to you! Everyone has a mom, is a mom, or knows a mom--so make this scrumptious dish for them. It's Moroccan in style but tastes a lot like Indian Curry--due to the similar spices. This is adapted from a Medjool Dates Company recipe from "The Costco Connection" magazine.  The dates in it provide a nice, sweet note to offset the savory cumin and turmeric.

Ingredients:

2T oil
6 boneless chicken breasts (or use a pound of packaged pulled breast meat from Costco)
a pinch or two of salt
1/4 C olive oil
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 t ginger
2 t turmeric
1/2 t white pepper (yes, you can substitute black)
1 T coriander
1 T cumin
1 cinnamon stick
1 1/2 C chicken or vegetable stock
3 T honey
1 T chopped cilantro, plus sprigs for garnish
1 T chopped parsley
10-12 pitted Medjool dates
Rice or Couscous

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add oil to a large skillet, heated over medium heat. Brown chicken, sprinkled with salt. Set aside. Skip this part of the recipe if you are using pre-packaged pulled chicken breast meat from Costco. Each package is 2 lbs, so use 1/2 package.

Replace oil with 1/4 C olive oil. Add onion and saute until limp. Add garlic, cook 3 minutes. Add all dried spices, cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add stock, and simmer while stirring until spices, garlic and onion are incorporated. Add chicken, return to simmer and cook 10 minutes. Salt to taste.

Place pan in oven, cook 30 minutes. Meanwhile prepare rice or couscous according to the directions on the package if you haven't done it ahead of time.  Remove and set chicken aside, keep warm. Simmer sauce to thicken, then add honey, fresh herbs and dates. Heat through. Serve chicken on a bed of prepared rice or couscous. Serving on individual plates is best--a large serving platter is more authentically Morroccan, but a bit messy. Pour sauce on top and garnish with cilantro.

Baked Polenta with Sausage and Artichoke Hearts

This is something my daughter found on MarthaStewart.com. It's a really easy weeknight dish, layered, similar to lasagna. Actually, it's more like layering shake shingles on a roof. Using ready-made polenta is great for working mamas. No one has to know you didn't make it over a hot stove.

Ingredients:

2 t extra-virgin olive
1/2 white onion, thinly slices
2 cloves of sliced garlic (about 2 t)
1 lb. sweet Italian sausages casings removed, or use bulk Italian sausage
3/4 C marinated artichoke hearts
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 tube (18 oz.) prepared polenta, cut into 1/4-inch rounds, drain off liquid
1/3 C chicken stock
1/4 C fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, heat oil on medium. Add onion and cook until softened. Add crumble sausage meat into skillet and cook until browned. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Remove skillet from heat and stir in artichokes, season with salt and pepper.

In a 2-quart baking dish, layer polenta rounds and spoonfuls of sausage mixture. Start with sausage and do what looks like shingles layered one half over the next. Pour stock over the top and bake until bubbling and polenta is pale gold, 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.