The book is a treasure, filled with frame-worthy pictures and recipes thatare clear and easy to follow. I’d actually go so far as to say that it is a book of carefully curated comfort food recipes that are beautiful without being fussy.
I read the blog regularly and between it and the cookbook,
there’s no telling how many of her dishes I’ve prepared over the years. And best of all? Every single one of them was a success and turned out exactly the way it was supposed to. What more can you say? She has practiced and fine-tuned the recipes to the extent that I know without any doubt that when I make one other recipes, we’re going to have a scrumptious and delicious meal that would even be suitable for company, although we don’t actually entertain.
When she recently wrote about a recipe in which the original creator was on a mission to find a sheet pan chicken recipe that actually had crispy skin, I was intrigued. She tweaked it a bit to meet her needs and desires and prepared it in a baking dish instead of a sheet pan. The components of the dish also intrigued me – crispy-skin chicken thighs, lemons, onions, potatoes and chickpeas. And when she said she’d made the dish four times in the last month, that sold me.
And now that we’re “empty-nesters” it seemed the perfect time to try the dish. If you’re a regular reader then you already know that Daughter thinks I make too many chicken dishes. After she expressed that opinion more than once, I made a point of not cooking chicken for a while. However, now that she is happily ensconced in her residence hall at college and receiving her meals in the dining hall of said residence hall, I’ve started looking at chicken recipes again.
I made this on a weekday and was very pleased with how quickly and easily it came together. Hubby and I both loved it and were amazed at how much flavor it packs. And yes, the skin on those chicken thighs was gloriously crispy. Give it a shot. I think you, too, will consider it a winner.
From smittenkitchen.com
Prepare the chicken thighs: In a large bowl, juice half of one lemon and whisk in 1/2 tea- spoon dried oregano and I use 1 teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond brand; use less of others) per pound of chicken. Add chicken thighs and turn them over in the lemon juice mixture so they’re coated. You can either finish the dish right away, or if you’re getting ahead for later, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill until needed.
Heat oven: To 450°F (yes, really!)
Assemble dish: Halve and very thinly slice second half of first lemon, fishing out any lemon seeds. In a 9×13-inch baking dish (or lasagna pan), combine lemon slices, 3 tablespoons olive oil, onion, garlic, remaining 1⁄2 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and many grinds of black pepper. Add potato wedges and chickpeas and stir until everything is evenly mixed and coated. Remove chicken thighs from bowl and place them atop the potato-chickpea mixture, skin side-up. Pour any juices left in the bowl over the potatoes and chickpeas. Pat the chicken skin dry and drizzle it lightly with more olive oil.
Cook: Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 45 minutes, or until the chicken thighs are cooked through. The chicken skin should be crisp. Carefully transfer the chicken thighs to a plate. Stir the potato-chickpea mixture just to remix it and distribute it evenly in the pan, and return the pan to the oven for another 10-15 minutes, to ensure the potatoes finish cooking and everything gets a little brown.
Return chicken thighs (and any juices that have collected on the plate) to the potato-chickpea pan. I don’t generally find that the thighs have cooled enough in 10 minutes that they need to rewarm, but if yours have, pop the whole thing back in the oven for a couple minutes. Cut remaining lemon into wedges.
To serve: Sprinkle with parsley, serve with additional lemon wedges for squeezing over the pan, and eat right away.
