A SHY, Italian widow who was always busy tidying up her property and had for years taken care of her husband, who had Parkinson’s disease and dementia, lived across the street from us when we were growing up. Whenever there was a big snowstorm, my father or brother would go over to her house and clear her driveway with a snowblower.

A huge pot of chicken that she made herself would arrive the next day. It was a traditional Italian recipe for chicken stewed in many cloves of garlic. It was the essence of garlic and was delicious.

Here is one version of the dish. You don’t have to use exactly 40 cloves of garlic. I often use fewer to save time. Whenever I make this, I think of our neighbor, who had experienced great tragedy in her life. I think of her resilience and her shyness. And, I think of snow.

Snowblower Chicken

1 3- to 4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces, (or eight chicken thighs) at room temperature
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
About 40 garlic cloves, peeled
2 sprigs fresh thyme (if you have it)
3/4 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
1 1/3 cup chicken stock

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Dry chicken pieces with paper towel and season chicken generously with salt and pepper. Place a deep, nonreactive pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, and add oil and butter. When oil is very hot, add chicken pieces and sauté until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn pieces and brown on other side for an additional 5 minutes. Remove chicken from pot. When cool enough to handle, remove skin from thighs and breasts.

3. Reduce heat to medium. Add 1/3 cup stock to pan and scrape up any browned bits. Add garlic and cook, stirring a couple of times, for 5-10 minutes, until browned.  Add wine, remaining stock, and thyme scraping bottom of pan. Bring to a simmer.

4. Return chicken to the pot. Cover and place in oven, cooking until juices run clear when a thigh is pricked and garlic is soft, about an hour. Remove chicken from pot. Remove half of the garlic cloves and mash. Return garlic to pot and simmer sauce until reduced by about half. Serve chicken with garlic and pan juices.

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