Chicken Scarpariello the perfect protein for casual dinner party

It was my turn to host a friend's group we call The Four Chefs. Quite simply, it's four couples where the men are really good home cooks. Calling us The Four Good Home Cooks seemed accurate, however not quite a reflection of our capabilities.

All four men love to cook, and their significant others love to let them. We get together every three months, rotating homes, where the host provides the protein, beverages, appetizers and bread.

The remaining three chefs bring anything they want. One of the “chefs” makes outstanding desserts, including a cheesecake he keeps perfecting and letting us sample at each get-together. Lucky us.

Of course, the host has the advantage of being able to prepare the main course protein without having to bring it. Transporting warm contributions, like the Boursin Cheese Creamed Spinach Bake one chef brought can be tricky. Keeping the dish from being overcooked by the time it lands on the dining table takes some skill.

For the protein, the internet provided me with a recipe for Chicken Scarpariello (braised chicken with sausage and peppers) that seemed authentic, impressive and doable. There were over 300,000 links to recipes for this old-time Italian dish.

I used the recipe from J. Kenji López-Alt, culinary consultant at seriouseats.com as my base. My decision was easy since I'd made other recipes from López-Alt and all were consistently successful.

López-Alt's Chicken Scarpariello serves four, so I needed to bump it up to serve nearly twice that. My partner, Nan, had the perfect porcelain-clad casserole for my version.

Part of what makes this dish so tasty is using skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. But I didn't want my guests to chase a thigh around their plate with a fork and knife, so I went with boneless, skinless thighs. And I also chose organic.

At a local market, I found some fresh-made, sweet Italian sausage. The recipe gives calls for hot or sweet sausage. I didn't want my guests to find the dish too hot. And knowing heat (like hot pepper sauce) can be added at the table, I went with sweet.

Sage is the herb that makes this dish and I, fortunately, have a fresh sage plant in my garden. My farmers market still had garlic. They're smaller than what I find in the supermarket, but they're guaranteed organic and fresh.

The recipe also calls for sweet or hot pickled cherry peppers. Again, I went with sweet. Interestingly, some of the juice that came with those peppers is used in this dish, too.

With all the acids in this dish, it's no surprise that López-Alt used 2 tablespoons of sugar to mellow-out the sauce. I didn't use sugar since the sausage and peppers, as well as the fresh red peppers, all contributed sweet notes.

How did it turn out? Sensational. Every couple took some home, leaving Nan and me with just enough for leftovers.

Chicken Scarpariello is a moderate hassle to make, but it is well worth the effort. Guaranteed.

Note: Today, this column marks its 31st anniversary. Lean and Lovin' It began in 1992 with my editor, Olivia Wu. Wu and future editors must have been good teachers for this column to last this long. I love writing this column and sharing my food and my life with you. Thank you for reading my column all these years.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.

Four Chefs Chicken Scarpariello

3 pounds large boneless, skinless organic chicken thighs (about 8 or 10 thighs)

1 tablespoon Kosher salt

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 links sweet Italian sausage (about 2 pounds), sliced crosswise into 2-inch pieces

1 large onion (about 8 ounces), thinly sliced

2 medium sweet red peppers, cored and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon dried, ground sage

8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

8 hot or mild banana pepper rings, along with 1/4 cup pickling liquid

1 1/2 cups dry white wine

1 1/2 cups low-sodium, organic chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped, fresh, organic Italian flat parsley leaves

Place the oven rack in the center position and begin heating the oven to 350 degrees.

Season chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper. Add oil to a large (6- to 8-quart) straight-sided sauté pan or Dutch oven and place over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add chicken thighs, folded over, and cook, without moving, until lightly browned, about 6 to 8 minutes total. Using tongs, turn thighs over and cook lightly browned, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer thighs to a large plate. Set aside.

Return pan to heat and add sausage pieces. Cook until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn sausage pieces over and cook until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer sausage pieces to a second plate, drain all the fat except for 2 tablespoons, and return the pan to the heat.

Add the onion, and bell pepper, and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, until softened and starting to brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add sage and garlic, stir to combine, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add pickled cherry peppers and their liquid, stirring and scraping up browned bits from the pan's bottom. Add wine and cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add chicken broth; stirring to combine. Return sausage (and any liquid on the plate) to the pan; toss to combine. Add the chicken pieces (and any liquid on the plate) to the pan, nestling them down with the sausage and vegetables.

Place pan in the oven and cook until chicken is tender and 165 degrees, about 30 minutes. Distribute chopped parsley evenly over chicken and sausage. Serve immediately, spooning sauce, vegetables, and sausage around chicken pieces. Distribute chopped parsley evenly over the chicken and sausage. Serves 8.

Suggestion: If using hot Italian sausage and hot pickled cherry peppers, add 3 packets of organic stevia to the sauce when adding the chicken broth.

SaltSense: Omitting the added salt and using sodium-free chicken broth reduces the sodium per serving to 943 milligrams.

Nutrition values per serving: 456 calories(37.3 percent from fat), 19 g fat(5.6 g saturated fat), 9.6 g carbohydrates (8.4 net carbs), 3 g sugars, 1.2 g fiber, 51.7 g protein, 173 mg cholesterol, 1467 mg sodium.

Don Mauer