Lately my affair with food has gotten slightly uncomfortable. My first thoughts upon waking is what I'm going to eat, whether I eat out or I stay in and make something. I promised myself that today's day off would be spent indoors cleaning as opposed to heading back out and end up spending money on books, dinner out and whatever else I find that I don't need but suddenly decide I want.
Today, I wanted chicken (again). I didn't want to make the same old cutlets and I wanted to chew on tasty, crispy chicken skin so I hopped off of bed and headed out to the grocery store across the street and got myself a pack of four skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts and potatoes.
The mission was oven roasted chicken breasts, potato au gratin and garlic mushroom snow peas. I found the gratin recipe on allrecipes.com and I've been meaning to try them out. I called Louiie up to ask what spice rub to use on my chicken. She suggested a few spices, most of which I did not have so in the end, I ended up with good old salt and pepper and rub the skin and underside with a good dose of paprika. I let the chicken sit while I made my gratin. When both were in the oven, I prepared snow peas and mushrooms then waited until my timer went off.
Gracey, this is something you have to try. It's easy as long as you have time to make them. The potatoes take an hour in the oven and total prep and cook time should take no more than 90 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400F.
The chicken (serves 2)
2 chicken breasts, skin-on bone-in
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
freshly cracked black pepper to taste
enough paprika to rub on both chicken
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Generously salt your breasts with 1.5-2 tablespoons kosher salt. Add pepper to your liking then rub them down with paprika. Don't be shy, coat them well. Let them sit while you prepare the rest of your meal. This will help the spices settle and will bring your chicken to room temperature. Cold chicken from the fridge/freezer will take longer to cook and you might end up with over cooked chicken on the outside and undercooked insides.
The potatoes: serves 4
4-5 russet baking potatoes, peeled and sliced into quarter inch thick discsone medium onion sliced to rings
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons flour
1.5 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or you can also do half-half cheddar and monterey jack)
Grease a casserole dish with a bit of butter then line the bottom with a layer of potatoes then a layer of onions. Salt and pepper to taste. Then layer again with the rest of potatoes and onions. In a small saucepan, melt 1 tbsp butter then add flour, whisking them together. Add a teaspoon of salt then the milk, whisking until thick. Add all the cheese at once until melted, about a minute. Pour over the potatoes. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the preheated oven. Set your timer to 60 minutes.
Meanwhile, in an oven safe skillet (I used Caitlin's cast iron), melt a tablespoon of butter and a table spoon of olive oil. Place the chicken breasts skin down and leave undisturbed for a few minutes. Then flip them over, cut in an extra teaspoon butter in the skillet and chuck them in the oven uncovered beside the potatoes. Chicken should be ready in about 20-30 minutes depending on the size. I placed the chicken in the oven when my timer hit the 30 minute mark so both dished finish at the same time.
Remove the aluminum foil from the potato casserole 15 minutes before it's done to allow the top to get nice and brown.
The veggies are easy. Saute onion and garlic in butter until fragrant, salt and pepper to taste. Add mushrooms and snow peas and toss. Cover to steam for about 3 minutes and you're done.
Optional: when the chicken is done, transfer to plates then put the skillet back on the stovetop and add another tablespoon butter and a tablespoon of flour. Get a wooden spoon and scrape all the good chicken bits and fat off the bottom. You can keep the gravy on the side or pour over your chicken. YUM!
I started eating this with a knife and fork, I finished it with my fingers.
