President Obama Stew (Chicken Casserole) From 'My Irish Table'

As the story goes,Cathal Armstrongwas 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. Since that night, he has renamed this simple chicken and vegetable stew "President Obama Stew," and it appears as such in Armstrong's new cookbook,我的爱尔兰表.

Why I picked this recipe:With such a history, how could I skip this chicken stew?

What worked:It's hard not to like a gently simmered stew of bone-in chicken, tomatoes, carrots, and garlic (so much garlic).

What didn't:I wasn't sure why Armstrong suggested cutting the breast meat into such small pieces since it cooks faster than the dark meat. I cut the breasts in half instead. I also found that the stew didn't need to cook any longer than 40-45 minutes. Keep an eye on the white meat and remove it if it is finished before the thighs and legs.

Suggested tweaks:If you don't want to dirty a skillet and a casserole/Dutch oven, you can brown the chicken in the casserole and then remove it before browning the vegetables. If you are using a skillet and it is too small to fit all of the liquid, skip adding the chicken stock until you've transferred the vegetable mixture to the casserole.

Reprinted with permission from我的爱尔兰表: Recipes from the Homeland and Restaurant Eveby Cathal Armstrong and David Hagedom. Copyright 2014. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House. All rights reserved. Available wherever books are sold.