Chicken Pepperoncini for Bloggeraid

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About six months ago, a very industrious and passionate trio of bloggers organized an international consortium of even more bloggers and Bloggeraid was born. According to founders, Ivy from Kopiaste, Val from More Than Burnt Toast and Giz of Equal Opportunity Kitchen, Bloggeraid is "a growing group of international food bloggers determined to make a difference in aid of world famine. The love of food and community that brings us together drives the compassion of its members to reach out to our world to help those less fortunate than we are. Banded by a mission of helping to make a change in a world where starvation affects such a profound number of people, we will raise money and awareness for the hungry in communities both at home and abroad."

Pretty amazing, huh? Did I not tell you that these three ladies were industrious and passionate? Back in January, Ivy, Val and Giz announced that Bloggeraid will be publishing a cookbook with 100% of the profit from sales being directed to the School Meals program of The World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations frontline agency.

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Why School Meals? Well, in countries where school attendance is low, the promise of at least one nutritious meal each day boosts enrollment and promotes regular attendance. Parents are motivated to send their children to school instead of keeping them at home to work or care for siblings. In the poorest parts of the world, a school meals program can double primary school enrollment in one year. Among the key beneficiaries are girls, who otherwise may never be given the opportunity to learn.

The WFP School Meals program primarily involves providing nutritious in-school meals. However, in its "take-home ration" projects, WFP also provides basic food items, often including a sack of rice and a can of cooking oil, to families who send their daughters to school.

The Bloggeraid cookbook is targeted for sale on Amazon by November/December 2009, and all bloggers have been invited to contribute their favorite recipes to this effort.

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I'm very happy to be a member of Bloggeraid, and even happier that I am able to contribute a recipe for the cause. This Chicken Pepperoncini is one of the first dishes that I learned to prepare after I was married. Both my mother and grandmother used to make it a lot and it has always been very popular with my family.

In case you're wondering what pepperoncini are, they're a small, bright green variety of sweet pepper in the Capsicum annuum family. They are also known as Tuscan peppers, sweet Italian peppers and golden Greek peppers. Pepperoncini are mild, but zesty, with a slight heat to them. They are commonly pickled and sold in jars, which is how I used them in this dish.

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The recipe is not a complicated one. Sliced onions, garlic and fresh mushrooms are sauteed with chicken. After which, the ingredients are braised in some white wine, chicken broth and pepperoncini juice. Then, the pepperoncini, themselves are added to the mix and simmered a little bit more. The original recipe uses a whole cut up chicken, but I always make this dish with boneless chicken thighs. Using boneless chicken cuts down the cooking time quite a bit. Plus, the thighs hold up well to braising without drying out.

This Chicken Pepperoncini is a zesty, hearty and very flavorful main dish. It has elements of sweet, sour, salty and spicy woven through it. The dish is warm and mellow, but leaves a little kick in the back of your throat while going down. Of course, the dish really sings when served over a huge bowl of pasta!

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If you'd like to have the recipe for my Chicken Pepperoncini, I'm afraid you'll just have to wait for the cookbook. I'm such a tease! But seriously, all of the recipe contributors have been asked not to publish their recipes before the book launch.

If YOU would also like to contribute to this wonderful and worthwhile cause, there's still time. The deadline for recipe submission is not until March 31, 2009. Hop on over to this page on the Bloggeraid web site and find out all of the details.

Comments

Oh, that looks so gorgeous! A wonderful dish which I'm sure I'd love!

Cheers,

Rosa
Meg said…
YUM! Look at those beautiful mushrooms.
Anonymous said…
Yum! Great dish for Bloggeraid!
Ingrid_3Bs said…
What a great cause....thank you for passing along the info. I had a vague knowledge of it but now realize it's something I need to give some thought to.

Your chicken dish looks wonderful. I love pepperoncinis(& mushrooms)!
~ingrid
Ivy said…
Susan, I am so grateful to you. I love, love, love those peppers and didn't know until now that these are the pepperoncini I see in recipes. In Greece we just call them peppers so I couldn't find them in the dictionary. I can't wait to try your recipe.
Anonymous said…
Yes, a great cause indeed. This is a good recipe to have in store. Pepperoncini are so good on pizza and in sandwiches...why not chicken!
Anonymous said…
I love eating pepperoncini right out of the jar. It never occurred to me that you could cook with them. I bet the tangy heat is great with the chicken and mushrooms.
Oh you tease! :-D

This is a very creative use of pepperoncini. I don't think I've ever seen these outside of salads.
Susan @ SGCC said…
Thank you all for your great comments! I'm so glad you like the dish!

Ingrid- It definitely is a great cause. I hope you decide to participate.

Ivy- It is my pleasure! This is such a wonderful project that you, Val & Giz have come up with! I am honored to participate!

Duodishes- Pizza! Oh yeah! These peppers are great on pizza too!

Marc- My husband loves them out of the jar too. I prefer them cooked. It mellows them out a bit, but you still get a little jolt of heat.

S(d)OC- You should try the peppers cooked sometime. I've made a version of this with beef strips that is really good too.
Elyse said…
What a great cause! And a great recipe to contribute. I love pepperocini. I once bit into one and squirted the juice into my friend's eye--oops! But I can't wait for the book to come out so I can try your recipe!
J.L. Danger said…
this looks sooooo delicious! I love pepperoncinis! I add them to everything!
Snooky doodle said…
nice dish looks very appetitising. :)
MaryBeth said…
Wonderful combo of flavors and texture, my husband would kill for a plate of this!! What a wonderful thing you are all doing!!!
The chicken-pepperoncini looks very appetizing Susan! Wait to the recipe to try it!

Speaking about the Bloggeraid I'll put a link to this post in my next "food blog contest and events post", in order to promote it :) Hope it will help to get success!

Cheers!

Gera
test it comm said…
That looks good! I just tried pepperoncini recently.
Nina Timm said…
Those peppers are beautiful and in your lovely chicken dish, they look even more scrumptious!!!!
Deeba PAB said…
What a great great entry for a cause as good as this. It's delicious & I'm glad you said what a pepperoncini was...
Cheers Deeba
Tangled Noodle said…
What a delicious dish! I can imagine how tasty it would be over pasta but I'm thinking rice would also hit the spot. Thanks for the info about BloggerAid!
Cate said…
Hi. I have an award for you! Come by and get it at Cate's Plate.

Love your blog.
Maris said…
What a great cause - I'm going to check out the Bloggeraid website now!
sunita said…
Susan, that is such a wonderful entry for a great cause. I'm sure it tastes awesome :-)
Anonymous said…
Hi Susan, what a wonderful dish and entry! Want to try it now already!
Thanks for sharing this amazing dish with the BloggerAid crew for the cookbook. We are so pleased with the caliber of the dishes and photography that have been sent in. As of todasy I haven't received your entry, but I am sure you are on top of it:D Val
Snooky doodle said…
what a yummy dish. I ve never tried peperoncini. Maybe here I won't find them :(
Unknown said…
You wouldn't believe how I found your blog. I was looking at Google trends trying to figure out why Pepperoncini was in the top 50 searches and found you! lol! That's a good thing for you!

We LOVE Pepperoncini and so I can't wait to get the recipe!

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