Received Wed. March 23 6:15 p.m.
From: Chuck: O.K. That was absurd. Though I fear I feel a stroke coming on….
Received: Wed. March 23 8:13 p.m.
To: Chuck: Like absurd good or absurd you hated it?
Sent: Wed. March 23 8:15 p.m.
From: Chuck: Good of course. How could you not like that?
Received: Wed. March 23 8:16 p.m.
To: Chuck: It’s probably not any worse than a ribeye.
Sent: Wed. March 23 8:16 p.m.
From: Chuck: I did not have the breast but will tomoro. I cannot imagine it will be as good as the dark meat though. I think next time I would just do thighs.
Received: Wed. March 23 8:17 p.m.
To: Chuck: Me too. No reason to do anything but thighs. Was the bread crispy on the bottom?
Sent: Wed. March 23 8:17 p.m.
From: Chuck: Totally. And this is waaaaay worse than a ribeye. With steak you don’t cook with a sponge to cook up all the rendered fat.
Received: Wed. March 23 8:27 p.m.
To: Chuck: LOL. Seriously, it’s the best thing I’ve eaten all week. My blog post will be all about fat!
Sent: Wed. March 23 8:27 p.m.
From: Chuck: We just realized: What this is, is a recipe for deep fat frying bread in chicken fat. I’ll let you ponder that for a minute.
Received: Wed. March 23 8:30 p.m
To: Chuck: Yeah....So? How is this any different than spreading schmaltz on bread….or Italian lardo? I know. It’s pretty decadent but you have to admit it’s really good.
Sent: Wed. March 23 8:31 p.m.
From: Chuck: I admit it. Totally. But certainly not a weekly dinner.
Received: Wed. March 23 8:31 p.m.
O.K. So I’ve managed to turn chicken into a guilty pleasure thanks to this recipe from Melissa Clark. So sue me. But I dare you to say this isn't the best thing you've eaten all week.
MY MOTHER'S GARLIC AND THYME-ROASTED CHICKEN PARTS
WITH MUSTARD CROUTONS
By Melissa Clark from In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite
Recipe adapted slightly.
You must use a shiny heavy metal roasting pan for this recipe, hopefully not too dark in color. I used a very heavy duty aluminum one and it worked great. Clark advises that the bread can burn if the pan is too dark.
Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Serves 4
One Loaf of Italian country bread, ciabatta, or other study bread, preferably stale and sliced ½ inch to ¾ inch thick. If the bread isn’t stale, bake the slices in a low oven (about 275) for about 15 minutes, flipping once, until it’s a bit dried out.
Dijon Mustard, as needed
Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more as needed
Fresh cracked black pepper.
6 skin on, bone in chicken thighs
2 skin on, bone in chicken breasts
1 head garlic, separated into cloves
1 bay leaf, torn into pieces
1/2 bunch thyme sprigs
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lay the bread slices in the bottom of a heavy-duty roasting pan in one layer. Brush with mustard, drizzle liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper and place the pieces on the bread, arranging the white meat in the center and the thighs around the sides. Scatter the garlic cloves, bay leaf, and thyme over the chicken and drizzle everything with more oil (take care to drizzle the garlic cloves with lots of oil).
3. Roast the chicken until it's lightly browned and the thigh juices run clear when pricked with a knife, about 50 minutes. If you like, you can crisp the skin by running the pan under the broiler for a minute, though you might want to rescue the garlic cloves before you do so they don't burn (if you don't plan to eat them, it doesn't matter so much). Serve the chicken with pieces of bread from the pan.
To serve, squeeze a garlic clove out on to a bread slice, spreading it over the crouton. Top the crouton with a chicken piece. Enjoy.
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