Chicken Marbella

[Jenny3144]

Hi, I'm planning to have a dinner party on Sunday for 12 people. I am going to cook Chicken Marbella (dish from the Silver Palate cookbook). The dish is made with prunes, olives and capers. I was hoping someone had some ideas for side dishes to serve along with the chicken.

I appreciate any of your ideas!

Thanks,

Jenny

 

[suzyQ3]

Hi, I'm planning to have a dinner party on Sunday for 12 people. I am going to cook Chicken Marbella (dish from the Silver Palate cookbook). The dish is made with prunes, olives and capers. I was hoping someone had some ideas for side dishes to serve along with the chicken.

I appreciate any of your ideas!

Thanks,

Jenny

How funny, Jenny. Just a couple weeks ago, we had dinner at our friends' house, and they served that very dish. My husband and I both enjoyed it very much. They just had rice, a salad, and some bread.

It's a fairly flavorful dish, so I would think you'd not want to go overboard with accompaniments. Maybe do something a little special with the rice -- a pilaf, perhaps. Couscous or orzo might be good as well. If you have a salad, I'd suggest serving it first, rather than with the meal, as my friends did, then perhaps a vegetable with the chicken and rice or other grain. Again, I'd keep the sides simple so they don't compete with the chicken.

ETA: I just noticed the number of people you're serving. If you have a large rice cooker, that would certainly come in handy. And you might want a veggie dish that could be prepared in advance or at least parboiled and then maybe quickly sauteed. You know, something like a Morrocan style carrot dish might be perfect and could be pretty much made in advance. It would complement the chicken quite well.

 

[kitchenelf]

That is funny SuzyQ3!!!

I was also thinking rice - you could brown some onions in butter and olive oil, add your uncooked rice and let it get a nice toasty color then add the appropriate amount of vegetable or chicken stock instead of water and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Let it cook according to the package directions.

If you are looking for a vegetable you might try sauteed rapini or even roasted mixed veggies i.e., brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots.

 

[Constance]

I googled that recipe, and it looks very tasty. I'd suggest a rice pilaf and roasted asparagus to go with.

 

[*amy*]

Hi, I'm planning to have a dinner party on Sunday for 12 people. I am going to cook Chicken Marbella (dish from the Silver Palate cookbook). The dish is made with prunes, olives and capers. I was hoping someone had some ideas for side dishes to serve along with the chicken.

I appreciate any of your ideas!

Thanks,

Jenny

Hi Jenny. Welcome to DC.

You might serve a side of angel hair pasta, spooning the pan juices from the chicken over the top with steamed/buttered brocolli or green beans or haricot verts w lemon zest. Or - Scalloped potatoes. The parm/gruyere, half & half and nutmeg might compliment the flavors of the chicken dish. Have a great party

 

[auntdot]

Mashed potatoes might work, would also add mashed carrots or parsnips to the mixture. Always love that.

Or roasted veggies including taters. The problem with that is you are cooking for twelve and both dishes need the oven space.

Rice pilaf or couscous as stated would work very well, might toss some sliced scallions into them.

The dish sounds great, enjoy.

 

[Loprraine]

I love that recipe. I like serving it with cousous. Just seems to go well together. Have fun!

Ooops, Welcome to DC!!!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

From the ingredients you described, I would think the chicken would be slightly sweet, with a bit of saltiness from the capers and olives. That being the case, ballance the chicken with something cold and tart, like cold cottage cheese with a bit of paprika sprinkled over the top, and sitting on a leaf or two of Romain lettuce . Add to that a nice pilaf of white and wild rice, seasoned with a bit of sage or thyme, fresh ground coarse pepper, and chicken soup base. If you need another veggie, I agree that asparagus would be great, as would green beans. Or you could serve up some harvard beets for color and an added flavor. A crusty bread would be great, with real butter of coarse. I don't think you would want a toasted bread with this, so breschetta or crustini wouldn't be a great idea. Athough, using a good, fruity, extra-virgin olive oil for the bread would be something new for your guests, instead of using butter for their bread.

Don't know if these ideas fit your tastes, but I hope you can get some inspiration from them.

Seeeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[auntdot]

A potato croquette might work.

 

[lyndalou]

I think I would omit the salad altogether. Maybe serve light hors d's with wine or whatever drink(s) you are offering before dinner, if any.

All of the above sides sound great, but I would stick with something that will keep you out of the kitchen most of the time your guests are there. I just picked up a copy of the Silver Palate and will look that dish up, it sounds very good and would be something different to serve to friends.