Hunter’s Chicken aka Poulet au Chasseur in French or Chicken Cacciatore in Italian is a simple chicken fricassee made with savory mushrooms in a garlicky tomato base. It’s simple, straightforward, and very satisfying.

You may ask why it is called Hunter’s Chicken when it contains no game. The dish can be made of rabbit and speaks to a time when game birds and mushrooms were a typical foraged combination in the fall. (Or, a hapless hunter returns home from his walk in the woods with no game, but a sack full of mushrooms he foraged along the way.) Either works for me.

With so much stress and upheaval of late, it’s wonderful to have a go-to easy comfort food dish – no hunting required. Working more mushrooms into your menu plan is Good and Good for You, too. Dr. Annie Fenn, from Brain Health Kitchen, advocates eating mushrooms twice a week!

(For more info on brain food, check out my piece in the AJC Dishes to boost your brainpower.)

This issue also shares

• The Best Life Living Tip: Stress-Crafting for Mental Health
• The Self-Care Technique: Health Gain > Weight Loss and Cholesterol 101
• Ideas and Inspiration: Leadership in Chaos

Read on for more — including this fantastic weeknight recipe for Hunter’s Chicken.

Best Life Living Tip

Mama was up last week, evacuated from her home near Augusta due to power outages and damage from Hurricane Helene. I had a busy work week and instead of her spending all day on her phone or watching TV we pulled out the potholder loom. Do you remember those from when you were a kid? 

We know about soothing with stress-eating. Let’s flip with the switch and stress craft. Crafting can have many positive effects on mental health, including: 

Self-Care Technique

When times are stressful, it’s easy to stress eat, consuming things that might make us feel good, but are not good for our health.  I have lost 65# and kept it off for 4 years, but the numbers that truly matter have to do with health gain, not weight loss.

One of these important numbers concerns cholesterol.

Cholesterol 101

Understanding cholesterol can be confusing. What is cholesterol? Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that is essential for good health –  in the right amounts. According to the American Heart Association, cholesterol comes from two sources.

1. Blood cholesterol comes from the liver.
2. Dietary cholesterol comes from the foods you eat from animals. For example, meat, poultry, and dairy products all contain dietary cholesterol.

Your body produces cholesterol to make hormones, digest food, and perform other important functions. However, too much cholesterol in the blood can lead to serious health problems like coronary artery disease, heart attack, or stroke. 

How often to Test for Cholesterol

The AHA recommends cholesterol testing at least every 4 to 6 years starting at age 20. However, cholesterol levels tend to increase with age as the body’s metabolism changes and the liver is less effective at removing LDL cholesterol. With women, changes often occur in perimenopause or menopause.

•  Your HDL (“good” cholesterol) is the one number you want to be high – ideally above 60.
• Your LDL (“bad” cholesterol) should be below 100.
• Your total should be below 200.

Need more info? Here are Five Ways to Improve Your Cholesterol from the Mayo Clinic.

 Ideas and Inspiration

I want to share more information on Asheville from my friend Chef William S. Dissen. He recently wrote an incredible cookbook called Thoughtful Cooking that celebrates the New Southern cooking of his homeland, Appalachia.

Asheville, NC Update

(As of 10/11 at the time of this writing.) It’s been a little over 2 weeks at present and most of Asheville still does not have running water, power, or internet. People are still missing.  Cell service is spotty. Without the Internet, people cannot apply online for assistance available to them.

Another friend tells me about someone she knows who is bunking up with 14 people in two half-houses covered in tarps– the only ones left in the neighborhood. All the others were washed away. Yesterday on NPR I heard reports that schools are digging wells so that they can open back up and give the children much-needed stability and normalcy.

It’s absolutely dire and William says it’s worse than you can imagine.

“It’s so bad here. Even as we dig out and search for our neighbors who are missing, it’s our Appalachian community coming together that brings me hope. Please spread the word about the despair and destruction. It’s going to take years to rebuild. Reach out to your political connections and pray that the government provides PPP style grants to help us.”

William says without assistance, this could set back the Western North Carolina economy for 200 years. Make sure to keep up with him on Instagram at @chefbillyd for authentic Asheville updates.

Having lived through both Hurricane Hugo and being in NYC on 9/11 I am afraid I know my share of dealing with disaster. Due to our relentless news cycle, the media and the viewing public tend to move on to the next shiny object pretty quickly.

The misinformation, disinformation, and downright bald-faced lies promoted by some politicians are not helpful. It’s a time to come together and give our neighbor a helping hand. Please contact your elected official and advocate for more government aid for the region. To find out who your  federal, state, and local officials are, please check out USA.gov

Point it Out

I’m thrilled that Bon Appetit, Y’all is featured in Garden & Gun and there’s a lot of news to come. It’s exciting that my message of “a Mediterranean Diet with a Southern accent” is resonating with people.

We have more events coming up including the launch at the Atlanta History Center on 10/15 and the Decatur Public Library on 10/21.  You can keep up on my events page or sign up for the free newsletter if this has been forwarded to you or you’ve found a link online.

This homey Hunter’s Chicken supper comes in at under 400 calories per serving. Removing the skin of the thighs is the secret to reducing the fat and calories. Hunter’s Chicken is great with rice and on a busy weeknight, it’s A-OK to reach for a pre-made pouch of Seeds of Change grains. (I am a big fan of the brown basmati.)

Thanks so much for reading. Please let me know what you think. I hope to see you soon at an event!

Bon Appétit Y’all!

Virginia Willis

PS Here’s a link in the Charlotte Observer to some local businesses that could use your help in the form of a gift card or holiday purchase — add a note that says “Ship when Able.”

Print Recipe

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Hunter’s Chicken with Mushrooms

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Servings: 8

Calories: 385kcal

Author: Virginia Willis

Ingredients

• 2 ounces dried porcini
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon pure olive oil
• 8 bone-in chicken thighs skin removed
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 pound small mushrooms such as white button and cremini, stem ends trimmed and halved
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 28- ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf preferably fresh
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary more for garnish
• Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Place the porcini in a bowl. Pour over the hot water and set aside to rehydrate. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large enameled cast-iron casserole over medium high heat until shimmering. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken without crowding to the casserole. Cook over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until browned all over, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Reduce the heat slightly. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until clear and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer squeaky when stirred, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 45 to 60 seconds then add the wine and cook until almost dry, about 3 minutes. (Add the garlic after the mushrooms are cooked so it’s less likely to burn.)
• Remove the rehydrated porcini with a slotted spoon and decant the liquid as described above. Add the porcini, strained porcini broth, crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, and rosemary. Nestle the chicken in the sauce, cover and simmer over moderately low heat until nearly cooked, about 20 minutes. Remove the bay leave and rosemary. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 385kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 142mg | Sodium: 133mg | Potassium: 701mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg