Minneapolis Pals Never Too Old for Slumber Parties

Shad and I had a lovely time last night with our dear friend Miss Amy Steil. I made dinner, we drank lots of wine, and around midnight we made a pan of gooey brownies and sat cross-legged around it with a couple of forks, passing a carton of milk between us. There was a brief moment of crisis when we realized that the wine supply had been depleted, but then we found some vodka and an orange, and Amy (always prepared!) remembered that she had pomegranate juice and cointreau in her car, so we whipped up some pomegranate martinis right quick. She stayed over night. Great fun.

Here's the chicken recipe. It's super easy and tasty. The dark meat acquires a really rich flavor from the slow simmering.

Braised Chicken with Prunes

4 chicken thighs (skin on)

4 chicken drumsticks (skin on)

1/2 c. flour

kosher salt & pepper

1 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup white whine vinegar

12 large dried prunes

3 Tbsp. olive oil

Rub the chicken pieces with kosher salt & pepper. Dredge through flour and shake off excess. Use a large shallow pan that is big enough to hold all the chicken in a single layer. Heat oil over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Brown chicken on one side (3-4 minutes), then flip and brown the other side (3 minutes). Don't move the chicken around while it's browning. Cover with wine, vinegar, and prunes, reduce heat a bit and simmer for about 30 minutes, until meat starts falling off the bone.