Catch a Tori: A New Series on ABC Family (also, what I ate for dinner last night)

I know, I know.  Another Tori Spelling inspired food blog entry.  I'm such a cliche.

I actually chose to make chicken cacciatore because for the most part it is already a paleo recipe as long as you don't serve it atop noodles or rice.  WHICH WOULD BE DELICIOUS.  But not paleo.

Ugh. I will be so happy when this stupid paleo month is over. What was I thinking?!

The Tori Spelling reference is just a happy accident.  My playwright friend, Brooke Allen and I sometimes pass the time by texting each other shows we think Tori Spelling might want to pitch to different networks.  I mean, she's already had some gems with True Tori, So NoTorious and Tori & Dean: sTORIbook Weddings.  But why stop there?  For example -- "Tori Tori Hallelujah" - Tori becomes a minster, "Building a MysTORI" - Tori and Dean buy an old resort and turn it into a murder mystery dinner theater, or "TORIst Attraction" - Tori Amos and Tori Spelling go on a tour as a girl band, but will they? or won't they? The chemistry is palpable!

But my latest submission for our ongoing list is more kid friendly.  "Catch a Tori"  -- a baseball, voiced by Tori Spelling who accidentally gets tossed out of a little league game into the limousine of a millionaire and travels all around the world, meeting other sports equipment! Come on, you know you'd totally watch five minutes of that show. 

Recipe #3: Chicken Cacciatore

Choice of libation: A virgin daiquiri (in honor of Donna's virgin status for the first 12 seasons of Beverly Hills 90210). It was paleo, because basically it was just frozen fruit blended with ice. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. 

Choice of music:  I actually forgot to play music while cooking this one, since it didn't take very long. But.  I'll just leave this here...

So.  There's that.

I love how little there is to do for this recipe.  The first step is to microwave most of the ingredients.

Then dump all the other ingredients in the slow cooker.

Then dump the microwaved stuff in with the slow cooker stuff

(and by the way, everything smells ridiculously good at this point)...

And you mustn't forget the antioxidants...

 I had errands to run. And by "errands" I mean "TV shows" 

and by "run" I mean "watch and fall asleep to."

A relaxing seven hours later, and this awesome bowl of food happened.  The broth was incredibly complex - I could taste the blackberry notes of the malbec underneath the umami of the mushrooms and acidity of tomatoes and peppers.  I will totally make this again. 

And when I do, it won't be uncharted terriTORI.

Stolen and adapted from nomnompaleo.com

2 onions, minced in my food processor

1/4 cup tomato paste (I like the stuff that comes in a tube)

2 tablespoons of butter

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons of dried oregano

2 red peppers chopped

1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1.5 pounds cremini mushrooms, trimmed and halved if small or quartered if large

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 cup organic chicken broth

1/2 cup dry red wine (I used Bodega Elena de Mendoza malbec)

3 pounds of chicken (I used drumsticks and breast tenders because Chad refuses to eat chicken thighs)

1/4 chopped fresh basil

Dump the onions, tomato paste, butter, garlic, oregano, wild mushrooms, and red pepper flakes in a microwave safe bowl. Nuke everything on high for ~5 minutes, stirring occassionally, until the onions were softened.

Put the cooked aromatics in the slow cooker and stir in the cremini, tomatoes, broth, and wine. 

Seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper and nestle them into the slow cooker and mix everything well. 

Put on the lid and cook the dish for 4-7 hours.