I love having people over for dinner, but it can sometimes be stressful if you over-commit! In the bible, there's a story about 2 sisters, Mary and Martha. Martha is frantically trying to get a meal ready and Mary just wants to sit and listen to Jesus.  Martha is so stressed and complains to Jesus that Mary is not helping her.  I've been a Martha and it makes for a very long evening!  The key is to make a dish that is not active preparation before the guests arrive but tastes like you've spent all day in the kitchen.  This Marbella inspired "Michella" chicken is just that!

This chicken is my take on the Marbella chicken that is usually made with a whole skin-on chicken, red wine vinegar, green olives and prunes.  The prunes bring a sweet flavor to the dish.  My Marbella inspired "Michella" chicken substitutes dried apricots for the prunes.  In my opinion, the prunes turn out mushy and pasty, but the apricots absorb all the delicious marinade, plump up  and look like orange orbs of deliciousness! I also use skinless, bone-in thighs and add marinated artichoke hearts, capers and mushrooms during baking.  Serve this dish with pasta or baked spaghtetti squash and a side salad and it's a memorable evening!

Tips for making Marbella inspired "Michella" chicken.

Marinade

This tasty marinade combines juices from capers, marinated artichoke hearts, dried oregano, wine, mushroom seasoning, pepper, brown sugar, white wine and tons of garlic!

Chicken

Thighs are the best for this dish as they end up being juicy and succulent after baking. It is much healthier to use skinless bone-in thighs to avoid having a thick layer of fat which is the delicious juice or gravy.  I separate the skins and and save them for Crispy chicken skins.  Depending on the size of your chicken thighs, the bake time could take anywhere from 40 minutes to 50 minutes.

Marinated Artichoke hearts.

The marinade of the artichokes will be used in the chicken marinade.  The ingredient list of the artichokes should include herbs, spices, oil, vinegar and water. Check the recipe for the amount needed. Avoid the artichoke hearts that are NOT marinated.  

Capers.

Both the capers and the caper juice are used.  Capers do come in different sizes.  The smaller capers are better because they are salty and the larger capers may be overwhelmingly salty!

Olives.

Green, pitted olives are used.  For aesthetic reasons, cut the olives lengthwise. Using olive halves are better because they are easier to eat than whole olives, since they don't roll around the plate. The olive halves also appear more abundant in the dish.

Mushrooms.

Most firm mushrooms like button, baby portabello and cremini can be used.  Cut the mushrooms into thick 1/4 - 1/2 inch (~1/2 - 1 cm) slices so they can absorb the delicious marinade.

Marbella inspired "Michella" chicken accompaniments.

The sauce of the chicken is SO delicious, there needs to be a side that will soak up all the tasty juices.  Pasta, mashed potato, sourdough bread are great options.  My favorite is spaghetti squash that's baked when the oven is preheated and while the chicken is cooking!  See my tips on how to bake spaghetti squash so that it looks like spaghetti! Enjoy and let me know how your dinner went in the comment section!