Thursday, August 19, 2010

It's a two'fer Jamie Oliver week at our house.

Have I mentioned how much I love my Jamie At Home cookbook? Or how much I love Jamie Oliver? He's awesome, right? I fell in love with him back when he had the show on Food Network by the same name. I would even get up at 7:30 a.m. on Saturdays to watch it. Now that's sayin' somethin.

Anyway, the cookbook is organized by season and by featured ingredient. Any cookbook organized by season gets a gold star in my book.

I revisited the "Tomatoes" section last night with Crispy and Sticky Chicken Thighs. I made these last year, too, and I've found them to not be crispy or sticky, but just really good.



I did it a little different this time around, and I think I got better results. Here's how I made it.

Crispy and Sticky Chicken Thighs adapted from Jamie At Home

1 3/4 lbs new potatoes, scrubbed
2 free-range chicken thighs
2 free-range chicken legs
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and pepper
8 oz. cherry tomatoes
balsalmic vinegar
red wine
pinch of dried oregano

Put potatoes in a pot and boil until tender. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. In a dutch oven, heat about 3 Tbs olive oil on medium heat. Rinse chicken, pat it dry with paper towels (this ensures the skin gets a little crunch to it) and season with salt and pepper. Place chicken in the dutch oven skin-side down and let sear for a few minutes. Turn pieces with tongs until pieces are golden brown on all sides (about 12 mintues).

After potatoes are done, remove from pot with a slotted spoon and let cool. Prick tomatoes with a sharp knife and drop them into the boiling water for about 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl with ice water for a minute or two. When cool, remove skins from tomatoes.

Add potatoes to the dutch oven and smash slightly (I used a meat tenderizer). Add tomatoes. Pour a little more olive oil into the dutch oven (about 1 turn of the pot with the bottle), pour about 1/4 cup of red wine and a good splash of the balsalmic vinegar into the dutch oven. Add salt and pepper (as desired) and a few shakes of dried oregano. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes.

When finished baking, allow chicken/tomato/potato pieces to cool for a few minutes and transfer to a platter or serving dish. Add about 1/4 cup more red wine to the dutch oven to deglaze on the stove top. Turn heat to high and stir constantly until juices are a bit darker brown and begin to thicken (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 mintues. Pour over chicken/tomato/potato pieces.

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