Designer: Costa & Rôla

Developer: David Santos-Mendes

Artist: Marina Costa

Publishers:  Pythagoras | Boardgame Mall | Djama Games | Funbox Editora | GaGa Games | HOT Games | HUCH! | Maldito Games | Rawstone | Reflex Shop | Sylex

1-4 players  30-45 min  ages 10+   MSRP $25

Time to teach/learn:  5-10 minutes

BoardGameGeek Entry

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The Meal

President Obama Chicken Stew

Recipe posted on seriouseats.com and comes from My Irish Table: Recipes from the Homeland and Restaurant Eve by Cathal Armstrong

The story goes, Cathal Armstrong was cooking a variation of his mother's chicken casserole at home on his day off from working at his flagship Restaurant Eve when he got a phone call: President Obama was on his way to dine at Armstrong's restaurant. Armstrong dropped what he was doing and headed over to work for a very memorable evening.

Ingredients

1 (3 1/2-pound) chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large yellow onion, very coarsely chopped
6 carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch coins
6 celery stalks, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-inch dice
20 cloves garlic, crushed and coarsely chopped
1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano), coarsely chopped, and their juices
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 large fresh bay leaves
1 serrano chile, coarsely chopped, with seeds
4 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
Leaves from 1 large bunch fresh basil (1 cup loosely packed), coarsely chopped

Directions

Cut up the chicken: Cut the chicken into 14 pieces, making 6 breast pieces, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, and 4 wing joints. Season them well with salt.

Brown the chicken: In a large slope-sided sauté pan over high heat, heat the canola oil until it shimmers. Arrange all of the chicken evenly in the pan skin-side down and cook for 5 minutes, until golden brown. The pieces should release easily from the bottom of the pan; if they don’t, let them brown longer until they do. Transfer the pieces to a flameproof casserole, arranging them skin-side up.

Sweat the vegetables: Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the sauté pan, stirring to combine them. Sweat the vegetables for 4 to 5 minutes, until they are translucent but still a bit firm. As they cook and water releases from them, use a flat-edged wooden spatula to deglaze the pan by scraping up the brown bits from the bottom. Stir in the garlic and then the tomatoes and flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add the bay leaves, serrano chile, chicken stock, thyme, and rosemary.

Cook the stew: Transfer the vegetable mixture to the casserole. Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to low, cover the pot, and let it simmer slowly for 45 to 60 minutes, until the chicken and vegetables are very tender. Remove the stew from the heat. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper if you like. Stir in the basil leaves at the last second before serving. The stew can be made a day before and gently reheated on the stove or in a 300°F oven for 30 to 40 minutes.

Tammany Hall

Designer: Doug Eckhart

Publishers: Stratamax Games, Pandasaurus Games 

3-5 pl.| 90 min. | Ages 12+

Reviewed on Episode 114 | BoardGameGeek Entry

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TARDIS Games  

Oh My Goods

Designer: Alexander Pfister

Publishers: Lookout Games, Mayfair Games

3-5 pl.| 90 min. | Ages 12+

Reviewed on Episode 240 | BoardGameGeek Entry | Buy

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Music credits include:

The Coffee Song | Sam Cooke | the song

Black Coffee | Ella Fitzgerald | the song

Doctor Who Theme - Trombone Cover | Jim Lutz | the song

Black Coffee | Ann Savoy | the song

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