Howie Hart wrote:Gary B's post on Eggplant Parmesan has me thinking in generalities.
Oh, Howie, I hope I didn't cause you a crisis of conscience. I'd never be able to forgive myself!
In my limited sphere of experience I can relate to the Chef's mushrooms, especially when I think of "Jägerschnitzel" where "Jäger" is the German equivalent of "cacciatore." It's just that the sauce in the German dishes is brown and not red. And Jenise has hit the nail on the head with the distinction between the two styles of preparation. They are indeed two completely different animals.
I also agree with you wholeheartedly (no pun intended) about the "chunky" stuff. When I think chicken cacciatore, I think whole mushrooms, cubed tomatoes, slivers of carrots, hunks of celery, nice big bits of bell pepper. It might not be genuine, but, heck, it tastes good. By the way, this is the one time I put onions into the mix when it comes to red sauce. You should try throwing in some hot Italian sausage along with the chicken, too!
I can see Paul B's rabbit, too, but when I lived in Italy my family fried rabbit pieces with whole cloves of garlic and chopped prosciutto in a scant bit of olive oil. Everything got nice and crispy and crusty. My mother didn't care to eat long-eared rats, so she used to make the same dish with chicken parts.