Chicken with Sausage and Potatoes

I got this recipe from the Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine. Hubby didn't like how it looked at first, but was wowed by the taste. I had to do some tweaking and substituting of some ingredients to better suit our preferences.

September 2010 issue

What you need:

• 2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound smoked kielbasa sausage, sliced
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken drumsticks (skins removed)
• 1 medium-sized Vidalia onion, diced medium
• 5 pieces red potatoes, quartered
• 3 stalks celery, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 tablespoon dried oregano
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

What to do:

In a heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown all over, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a dish. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pan. Cook until golden brown on all sides. Transfer chicken to the dish with sausage.

Sausages schmausages!

Add onion, potatoes, and celery to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, 3 to 5 minutes. Return sausage and chicken to the pot and add 1 cup of water. Brintg to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Remove lid and increase heat to high; boil until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter. Add the red wine vinegar and oregano to vegetables and sausage and stir to combine. With slotted spoon, transfer vegetables and sausage to platter with chicken. Serve hot.


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:

1. Use better chicken parts (like breast) if available.
2. Instead of kielbasa sausage, use sweet Italian sausage.
3. If using fresh oregano leaves, put 1 tablespoon.
4. Use the celery leaves as garnish.