New City, New Restaurants

A new city means new restaurants to explore. San Fran has so many I don't even know where to begin. It's pretty daunting. I felt like an old pro in Chicago. I had my favorites. DMK for burgers. Hema's Kitchen for Indian delivery. Davanti for Italian. Fat Rice for the best food ever. Now what? Back to the drawing board.

We've tried a few places in the city and have fallen in love with a couple. Nopalito for Mexican. Roam for burgers. Ramen Yamadaya for noodles. And my personal current favorite, our neighborhood Italian joint around the corner. Jackson Fillmore. The place itself is pretty unimpressive at first glance. It looks like an old sushi joint turned Italian. But the food is great. The menu is tiny, and the waitstaff is awesome. Plus, it's a block away.

This dish was inspired by one of the specials I had at Jackson Fillmore. It's a spicy, hearty dish with no pasta required, and it all goes in one big pot. A loaf of crusty bread will do the trick to ensure you can soak up all the delicious sauce that simmered in the oven, and the chicken and sausage are melt in your mouth delicious. 

Chicken and Sausage Fra Diavolo in Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

makes 6 servings

2 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin on

1 chicken breast, bone-in and skin on (broken down into 4 pieces)
3 hot Italian sausage links (~1 lb.)

1 large yellow onion (diced)
6 cloves garlic (minced)
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
2 28 oz. cans whole peeled tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 tsp chili flakes
kosher salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Get out a large Dutch oven. Everything's going in here. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

On the stovetop, heat olive oil over medium high heat. First, we're going to brown up the sausage. Cut 2 of the sausage links into pieces (about 2 inches each). Take the casing off of the third link and drop the uncased sausage into the hot Dutch oven. Break it up and let it brown for 5 minutes. Some of the fat will start to render. Now add the rest of the sausage pieces, and brown on each side for 1-2 minutes. Remove all of the sausage to a plate. Leave the fat it the pan!

Add salt and pepper to each of the chicken pieces (thighs and breast pieces). Drop the chicken into the Dutch oven, skin side down. Let each side brown for 3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Again, leave the grease.

Lower heat to medium. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add tomato paste and red wine to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Let thicken and cook down for 3 minutes.

Now add whole tomatoes plus juice to the Dutch oven. Crush the tomatoes with the back of your spoon so they break down a bit, but you still have a chunky consistency. Add crushed red pepper, bay leaves, and a good amount of salt and pepper. Add the chicken and sausage back to the pot. Make sure to tuck the meat down into the sauce. Cover and pop into the oven.

Let cook for 1 hour 45 minutes, covered the entire time. Serve immediately with a loaf or two of crusty bread.