President's Chicken

I am a fan of Thomas Jefferson - the diplomat, bon-vivant and great connoisseur of food! It was Jefferson who brought a baked cheese and pasta dish to the US, we now know as macaroni and cheese, from France. I was trying to think of something Presidential to post - Presidents have proclaimed - "A chicken in every pot" - so today, here is what I'll call President's Chicken. I reckoned back to why this dish seemed familiar to me, and remembered that influences from The Silver Palate Cookbook must have broken through. After I put in the vinegar and brown sugar, I knew I was bordering on greatness! This is not far from Silver Palate's Chicken Marbella, and has that same unctuous angle. Experiment and enjoy.

6 chicken thighs
1 leek, cleaned and chopped
1 red pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 zucchini, cut into 1-inch lengths
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup pale dry sherry, or white wine
2 Tbsp brown sugar
10 oz mushrooms, coarsely sliced

Preheat the oven to 375F. Heat about of olive oil in a large oven-going skillet and brown the chicken on both sides for about 10 minutes. Set chicken aside. In same skillet, sauté the leek and pepper for about 5-6 minutes. Add the zucchini, garlic and pepper and cook another 5 minutes. Nestle the chicken pieces amongst the veggies and pour any remaining juices from the chicken into the skillet. Pour the vinegars and wine into the skillet and sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the dish. Salt and pepper the dish to taste. Bake for 30 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, sauté the mushrooms in a dry skillet over high heat, stirring and shaking often. Allow the mushrooms to release their water and continue cooking just to dry them off a bit. Tip the mushrooms onto the cooking chicken with 15 minutes still left to bake. Continue baking until the chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.