Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Best...Chicken....EVER

One of the many reasons I love love love to cook is having the ability to take a recipe and "tweek" it to my liking. Last night while sitting at the dinner table with my glass of cold pinot grigio and my last issue of Gourmet magazine (I read magazines while I eat), I ate the best chicken I've ever had. Not from a restaurant, but from MY kitchen. This chicken had such simple ingredients with an abundance of FLAVOR! What intrigued me most about this recipe is that I found it on foodnetwork.com, and it was meant for one person. Yay! That's me! I usually don't pay much attention to Tyler Florence, but I most certainly will from now on. Go to the store, buy the ingredients, and make it TONIGHT. I promise, if you make this, the next time you see me you'll want to kiss me...that's how good it is. Enjoy. Ingredients 1 chicken breast bone-in, with skin (bone and skin = flavor!) Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 Baby Bella Mushrooms 1/4 Red Onion chunked (see pic) Handful of baby carrots 3 Fingerling Potatoes (you could use new potatoes, yukon, etc) A few florets of Cauliflower 3 Garlic cloves whole, peeled 1 sprig fresh rosemary 4 sprig fresh thyme 1/4 cup white wine 1/4 cup organic chicken broth 1/2 lemon, juiced and zested Directions Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Season the chicken on both sides with a generous amount of kosher salt and pepper. Place a cast-iron or regular ovenproof skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Drizzle the pan with the oil and lay the chicken in the hot oil, skin-side down. Cook for about 5 minutes until the skin begins to set and get yummy crispy. Immediately put into hot oven and bake for ten minutes. Take the chicken breast out of the pan and throw in the mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, onions, cauliflower, garlic, thyme, rosemary and lemon zest. Stir well to get all the veggies/herbs coated, then put the chicken breast back in the pan. Stick the whole thing in the hot oven and roast for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked, and the veggies are soft and roasted. The last thing to make is a quick sauce using the flavors left in the bottom of the skillet. Take all the stuff out of the pan and arrange on a dinner plate, and cover with a piece of foil to keep warm while preparing the pan sauce. Return to stovetop and stir in the wine, chicken broth and lemon juice and cook over high heat, scraping up the flavors with a wooden spoon. Cook the liquid down to a syrup, about 5 minutes. Drizzle the pan sauce over the dish, season with salt and pepper. Serve with warm toasty bread.
2/17/2010 UPDATE:
I think I've made this about ten times since I posted this recipe. I've found it works with just about any veggie, pretty much whatever you've got in the fridge. The other night I had some Brussels sprouts that needed cooked, quickly, or they were going to go bad. I cut them in half, threw them in a pot of boiling water for about two minutes (blanched), then roasted with the rest. Still the best chicken recipe I've found.