winner winner chicken dinner

I'm unsure as to why the chicken looks like a turtle in this picture. It is not a turtle. It is a chicken thigh. If you want to cook turtle you should reference epic meal time, because I, unfortunately, don't know anything about cooking turtles. 

So my dinner was braised rosemary thyme chicken sauteed kale and a panko roasted heirloom tomato. 

I found really delicious smelling tomatoes and herbs at the store, so I had to buy them. When you have ingredients this beautiful, you really don't need much else to make delicious food.

What You'll Need (yields 2 servings):

for the chicken:

2 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, bone in, skin on ensures a juicy, moist end product. 

6 whole fresh sage leaves

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, minced

3 sprigs of fresh thyme or lemon thyme, minced

4 sage leaves, minced

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1-3 T olive oil and/or butter

1/4 c-1 c no sodium chicken stock depending on the size of your chicken thighs

salt, pepper

for the kale bell pepper saute:

1 bunch of kale, chopped into bite size pieces

1 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper

1 garlic clove, smashed

1 T olive oil

crushed red pepper

salt

1/8 c chicken stock

for the panko roasted tomato:

at least 1 medium-large tomato, I used 3

1 cup of panko bread crumbs

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 T fresh basil, chopped

2 T parmesan cheese, grated 

1 T olive oil

salt and pepper

So, let us charge onward to the turtle chicken. 

Mince up the sage, rosemary and thyme. 

smash 2 garlic cloves with the back of your knife or the bottom of wine bottle or olive oil bottle.

Take out the chicken thighs and lightly rub oil or melted butter on them, not a lot, just enough so that the seasonings will stick. now, SALT AND PEPPER them. seasoning the meat before you cook it is crucial.  do not be afraid of salt. use about 4 pinches this size per chicken thigh. 

I know, it seems like a lot of salt. Let me tell you a secret. The reason that food tastes so delicious in restaurants is because these people are good buddies with salt. (and butter, but that's a tale for another day). Sorry to burst your bubble, but it was time for you to hear the terrible, salty truth. 

Once you've salt and peppered the chicken, lift up the skin on each and put 3 whole sage leaves under the skin (helloooo flavortown) then pat on the minced herbs to coat all sides of the thighs. 

Heat a wide pan with at least 1" sides over medium-high heat. Once hot, add olive oil, or a mixture of oil and butter and the 2 smashed garlic cloves. As soon as you can smell the garlic, use tongs to place the chicken thighs, skin side down into the pan. You should hear a really loud sizzle. Sizzle=brown and crispy skin=good time for your taste buds. Let the chicken brown, skin side down for 5-7 minutes, you want it to be really golden brown before flipping to brown the bottom side. 

Once the chicken is browned on both sides, pour in enough chicken broth to come up 1/3 of the way on the chicken thighs. The pan is going to make a loud noise, don't be scared, it's supposed to happen.

 Bring the heat to a lower temperature so that the stock is simmering (small bubbles hitting the surface, not a boil though) and cover for approx 10-20 minutes. Until your meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.

You can buy a digital meat thermometer at most grocery stores for around $10. It's worth it. 

So once your chicken registers at 165 degrees you are finished!!

So, let's back track. While the chicken is braising in the pan, you can make the kale and tomatoes.

For the tomatoes:

preheat the oven to 375

halve the tomato/es and drizzle with some olive oil, and some salt.

in a bowl combine the cup of panko bread crumbs, minced garlic, chopped basil, salt, pepper, parmesan.

pack the bread crumb mixture onto the tomato halves and pop in the oven until the tomatoes are softened and the topping is golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.

for the kale:

heat a medium size pot over medium heat and add 1 T of olive oil or butter, or both. Add in the smashed garlic clove.

add in the kale and bell pepper, stir to coat in the olive oil. cover with a lid and let steam for about 8-10 minutes until the kale is soft and the garlic has infused. season with salt and crushed red pepper, to taste. 

garnish with basil sage oil!! or don't if you just want to eat it and you are tired of cooking. Voila! Winner Winner Chicken Dinnaa

how to snag a date.

This is a food blog, so why am I beginning by offering dating advice? Well. This mac and cheese is guaranteed to get you a date with whomever you make it for-after all, nothing says true love like a creamy, spicy, cheesy casserole.

a side note: I plan to take step by step pictures for the rest of my recipes but when I made this last night I didn't plan to start keeping a blog so all we have is a picture of the final product in my bowl. Don't panic though, its pretty hard to make cheese, butter, pasta and buffalo sauce taste bad.

What You'll Need:
1 lb of medium size pasta shells (medium is important, the small ones don't soak up enough of the saucy cheesy goodness)
2 1/2 cups of half and half
4 cups medium grated sharp cheddar (don't get reduced fat, this isn't the time to count your calories, trust me)
2 cups of medium grated jack cheese or mozzarella 
3 cups of shredded chicken (rotisserie, breasts, left over thighs-whatever you have on hand or is cheapest at the store is fine!)
1 T of flour
12 T or 1.5 sticks of unsalted butter
as much buffalo wing sauce as you desire, i use about 1/3-1/2 of a cup total 
1/3 cup sour cream (okay, here you can actually use the light version if you really care that much. and if you do decide to use light sour cream then congratulations, instead of making a 1,000,000 calorie dish you're now making a 999,980 calorie dish. Was that right? I can't do math which is why I cook.) oh also, if you don't have sour cream you can use 1/4 a cup of cream cheese instead.
1/2 of a small yellow or white onion, diced
2-4 garlic cloves, minced, depending on your relationship with garlic use more or less. i use 5-its a serious relationship.
1 cup of panko bread crumbs, you can use regular breadcrumbs but, true fact, panko are the breadcrumbs of Mt Olympus.

The Run Down:
preheat the oven to 350, oh and make sure you have some kind of casserole dish or cake pan that will work. There have been times that I've sent myself into a deep depression after making the whole recipe only to realize all i have in the house are cookie sheets. (for the record, I found a way-stainless steel bowls anyone?)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a handful of salt (yes, a handful-whenever you're making pasta).
Add the shells, stir once right away and then every couple minutes give it a stir until its just short of al dente, about 7-8 minutes.

While the pasta is cooking, add 2 T of butter to a saute pan over medium heat. Saute the onions until translucent, add the garlic and chicken, stir to incorporate and let them get to know each other for about a minute or two before adding some buffalo sauce magic. (about 1/4 of a cup...or more if you're feelin spicy). Let those flavors hang out for a few until thickened slightly and then take the pan off the heat and set to the side.

Your pasta is probably ready to be drained and you can let it sit in the collander for this next part, or you can choose to make the pasta once all of these steps are finished-whichever you prefer.

Melt 1 T of butter in a sauce pan (with talllll sides), once melted add the flour and mix with a whisk or spoon until there are no lumps in the roux mixture (culinary talk for flour+butter). Whisk in the half and half and let thicken slightly, about four minutes before adding about 1/4 of a cup more buffalo sauce. Whisk in 3 1/2 cups of the cheddar cheese and all of the jack cheese slowly so that no clumps form. Whisk frequently until all of the cheese has melted--you'll know when it looks right because you will think, "wow this looks like cheese sauce heaven". At this point you can add in the sour cream. Pour in the pasta and mix it all up!

Spray you're baking dish with some non stick spray and pour in half of the mac and cheese. Cover the top of this layer with the chicken and buffalo sauce mixture and then top with the second half of the mac and cheese.
Melt about 2 T of butter in the microwave, once melted combine the butter and the panko and cover the entire top of the dish. Then, if you like to party, add the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese on top.
Bake for 20-40 minutes (I bake it as long as I can stand to wait before eating it) and then devour.