Bluestem's Torchie with Oyster Mushrooms, Braised Chicken and Tomatoes

Eeep.

***

If I have ever before complained of exhaustion, let me hereby call myself a weakling and a wimp, for I have not known exhaustion until now.

*******

The move is done, it is over, thank heavens, and nothing got broken and we're still in one piece and all of our stuff is here, here in our glorious new apartment that I was scared I might have ended up overestimating, but now I can happily proclaim that, if anything, I underestimated just how big and light-filled and gorgeous it is.

The past few days have been a blur of boxes and crumpled newspaper and endless loads of laundry and dishwashing and happy sighs (we have a linen closet! a whole closet just for linens!) and frustrated looks ("really? You really had to bring that damn Rothko poster to the new apartment?"). The few times we've been able to stop and smell the roses have been at dinner, when we've taken our meal out to the balcony and sat at a little weathered table and chairs, eating in silence, watching the airplanes take off.

We've still got a long way to go, but we've found a home, dearest readers, and I am just abuzz with the glory of it all.

That pasta thing up there is the first thing I cooked in the new kitchen, after a week straight of take-out and a burning desire to get my fingers dirty with something other than packing tape. It was fine, nothing special really, and a little too complicated for such a plain, weeknight dish, but I got to use my new stove (which is actually really old - I'll show you pictures sometime) and go to the grocery store, where I promptly fell in love, both with the store and the nice people who work there (the checkout lady popped two white peaches into my bag after I paid).

The dinner might have been forgettable, but our first few nights in our new place, together, will stay with me for a long time. I'm just so happy.

Torchie with Oyster Mushrooms, Braised Chicken and Tomatoes
Serves 4

2 chicken drumsticks and 2 thighs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 onion, peeled and diced
8 ounces oyster mushrooms, cleaned and coarsely chopped
1 10-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes (and juices), crushed by hand
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup chicken stock or water
1 pound torchio, campanelle or other torch or bell-shaped pasta
Grated pecorino Sardo, for garnish
Chopped fresh oregano, for garnish.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels, season liberally with salt and pepper, and set aside. Place a Dutch oven over medium heat and add olive oil. When oil shimmers, add chicken and brown well on both sides.

2. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Add garlic and allow to brown slightly (15 to 30 seconds) then add carrots, onion and mushrooms. Sauté until onions are lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes, bay leaf and chicken stock. Bring back to a simmer and nestle chicken leg quarters into tomato sauce, spooning some sauce on top. Cover and transfer to oven to braise until chicken pulls easily away from bone, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

4. Transfer chicken to a plate and allow to cool; keep tomato sauce warm. Meanwhile bring 6 quarts of lightly salted water to a boil. Pick cooled chicken meat from bone and return to tomato sauce.

5. Cook torchio in salted boiling water until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain well and add to chicken mixture. Serve garnished with grated pecorino Sardo and fresh oregano.

Comments

[Nosheteria]

Yay! You made it through in one piece, fingers and toes to spare! Congratulations on the move.

[david]

Sounds to me like a housewarming party is in order. And put an ice cream-maker on that registry girlfriend!

It's just not home without one.

[gemma]

sounds like someone went shopping at Natural last night.

[Jessika]

So happy for you :)!
I lived in a tiny place before moving and i went around like that too. The space!!! Not having to cram things into... well whatever was not crammed to begin with.
In the end it was worth all the agony leading up to the actual moving. HOpe you have many nice days after this.

[radish]

Congrats on completing the move - it must be different when you have to combine your possessions in a new space for the both of you. I had to move stuff over from my old place into the boyfriend's existing place, but lucky for me, he has nice furniture and art already on walls, so it was somewhat painless. Of course, living out of 1 closet is a newfound challenge I deal with every day :-)

It seems like a beautiful home and space - with many a lovely meal to come!

[RA]

You sound so happy - I love it. Yay for linen closets!

[Lia]

Congrats Luisa on the move and your new place! It reminds me of how happy I was a few months ago when we moved into our new apartment. I'm still in love, even with the pesky security issues I now must deal with.

Looking forward to coming and seeing your piece of heaven some day! Maybe it'll make me see that I don't have to give up on NY just yet.

[amy]

oh welcome to your new home!
It sounds lovely, please share pictures!!

[ann]

What a lovely view you have! And from a balcony no less *sigh*
I'm so happy for you guys. May you have many more happy dinners in your awesome new home.
Congrats!

[Leah]

Congratulations and welcome home, lady! Very happy for you.

[aileen]

Big, light-filled, gorgeous...and a balcony! Oh, it sounds wonderful! I too plead for pictures - especially of that stove! Congratulations on the move!

[deb]

Wait, they have linen closets and patios in Queens? Luisa, you are just not helping my cause. But I couldn't be happier for you; this post put a smile on my face.

[Julie]

Your new apartment and neighborhood sound lovely. Is that the view from your balcony? It's wonderful, and how great to have a balcony where you can have meals.

Also, laughing at the bit about the Rothko poster. It's hard to combine households!

Congratulations on completing your move and much happiness in your new apartment to both you and Ben.

[Jennifer Hess]

The first meal you cook in your new home is always really satisfying, isn't it? Congratulations!

[Melissa]

Congratulations, Luisa, on your balcony, your light-filled apartment, your new stove and your happiness at having made the right decision! Doesn't it feel great that it's all BEHIND you now?

And yes, please, more photos!

[Lydia]

Hooray, the move is over and now you are home! I hope you have a wonderful time discovering and exploring your new neighborhood, and enjoying many more wonderful moments on your balcony with that amazing view.

[Anne]

Oooh! I wanna see the stove!

Congrats on a seamless move. What a lovely view you have. Can't wait to hear about your Forest Hills adventures.

[Mercedes]

Oooo, grande congratulations! The beautiful view, the space, I'm so excited for you! And what do I hear about no ice cream maker, I've almost got a mind to buy you one and bring it over! Just to see what fantastic recipes you'd churn up :-)

[Tea]

Yay! The painful part is over (well, except for the unpacking) and you sound so happy! I am delighted for you, my dear. Reading this reminded me of my first morning here in Seattle. I arrived at night and when I woke up was amazed by just how much sunshine and light came through the windows. I hadn't realized how dark my SF house was.

Welcome home! I hope you two will be very happy there.

[Luisa]

Thank you thank you thank you, everyone! We are so happy to finally be home. Pictures to follow once the boxes are unpacked and the bubble wrap is put away and the pictures are hung and some semblance of order has been achieved. Enjoying our new place has been made that much sweeter by all of your good wishes!

[Andrea]

And here I was filled with dread about my impending move to Queens (the actual packing/moving part; not the Queens part). Now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you!
P.S. So jealous of the balcony.

[Lynn]

I am a big fan of yours from Beacon, up the road a bit in the Hudson River Valley. I am so happy to hear that you are so happy in your new place. And you are truly amazing, posting this blog right on time, what with all you've had to do this week.

[Homesick Texan]

I'm so happy y'all love your new home! A balcony, gracious light and free peaches? What a welcome! To echo Deb, you just put a smile on my face!

[Vanessa]

Glad you are all settled in and enjoying Forest Hills! It is so awesome. Natural Market on Austin Street is where they gave you the peaches, I bet. Definitely try and have dinner one night on Metropolitan Ave (walk down Continental Ave all the way to Metropolitan) at Danny Brown's (db) Wine Bar & Kitchen, 104-02 Metropolitan Ave., 718-261-2144. It's good enough for that other db in Manhattan to notice :-) Enjoy Enjoy!

[Hillary]

Food looks delicious, what a great way to, for lack of a better word, christen the new kitchen! What exactly are oyster mushrooms? Are they just shaped like oysters?

Congrats on the move going smoothly (minus the exhaustion)!

[montereyham]

I'm curious about the 10-ounce can of San Marcanzo tomatoes. I found that brand, but in a 28-oz can. And I don't think I've ever seen a 10-ounce can of tomatoes. Is that possibly a typo?

[Luisa]

Andrea - where in Queens are you moving to? It's nice over here! I love it.

Lynn - the feeling's mutual :) thanks for all your help!

Lisa - thank you!

Vanessa - I have heard so much about db and cannot wait to try it. I haven't yet gotten to Metropolitan and I'm simply dying to. Eddie's, antiques, anything else I'm missing?

Hillary - oyster mushrooms are these gorgeous, pale-gray specimens that are narrow at the root and then sort of fan out into "oyster"-shaped fans, for lack of a better word. They're quite meaty. Not sure they're my favorite - they've got an interesting flavor that I find difficult to place.

Monterey Ham - I knew I forgot something in this post! Yes, a 10-ounce can, at least as far as I can tell, doesn't exist. I halved a 28-oz can of tomatoes and used that instead.

[montereyham]

Aha. Thanks. I ended up using the entire 28-oz can because the "tomato sauce" didn't seem to be all that tomato-y. Very tasty. Many thanks for the explanation.