Chicken Marbella

 I found this recipe in People magazine.  It was featured as Matt Lauer's favorite recipe from all the cooking segments he had ever done.  It is really easy and most people like it.  Here is the exact recipe copied from People, I couldn't figure out how to link it. (Originally, this recipe is featured in The Silver Palate Cookbook, which is a pretty highly respected cookbook from about 30 years ago.)

CHICKEN MARBELLA

• 1 whole chicken, 5 lbs., cut into 8-10 pieces

• ½ head of garlic, peeled and finely pureed

• 2 tbsp. dried oregano, coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

• ¼ cup red-wine vinegar

• ¼ cup olive oil

• ½ cup pitted prunes

• ¼ cup pitted Spanish green olives

• ¼ cup capers with a bit of juice

• 3 bay leaves

• ½ cup white wine

• ½ cup brown sugar

• 2 tbsp. Italian parsley or fresh coriander, finely chopped

1. Combine chicken, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and bay leaves in a large bowl. Cover bowl and marinate in refrigerator overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Place chicken in large, shallow baking pan, and spoon marinade over it evenly.

4. Pour white wine over the chicken, and sprinkle with brown sugar.

5. Bake for 50-60 min., basting frequently with pan juices.

6. Transfer chicken, prunes, olives and capers to serving platter with a slotted spoon. Moisten with pan juices, and sprinkle with parsley.

My notes:
I usually make this in the crockpot. On high for 6 hours, low for 8.  I don't cut up the chicken.  I have also just bought chicken pieces (because of a sale) legs or legs and thighs and it turns out great.  I don't always remember to marinate it, it turns out fine.  If when it is done in the crockpot, it doesn't turn as brown and crispy on the top as you would like (this happened to me last night), then throw it in a baking dish and stick it under the broiler in your oven for 5 minutes. 

I don't use sugar at my house, so I used some honey instead. I have just thrown whole cloves of garlic in, instead of pureed, and that works fine.  If I am using a whole chicken, I will make sure to stick some garlic, a bay leaf, olives and some prunes inside the cavity of the chicken. 

Since I am usually only buying capers for this recipe and opening a bottle of white wine (we don't drink much wine), I try to have an extra chicken/pieces of chicken and put one in a big freezer bag so it is ready for later.  Then later the whole bag can be defrosted and stuck in the oven or the crockpot.