Comfort at its finest

It's been a long week so far. My back is still bothering me a lot, enough that I picked up a bigger, more restrictive, has-metal-stays lumbar brace. Something feels weird at work. Maybe I am just paranoid; I don't know. We'll see if my paranoia is founded.

I didn't much feel like cooking over the past two days. I had a dream last night about food and these two dishes were the stars. I guess your body lets you know when it wants real food, doesn't it? Instead of potato chips and "poor man's dip" (what we grew up calling ketchup), my dinner from Monday, or a kosher hot dog and a Grandma Ferdon's hot dog bun (not bad, by the way), last night's dinner, my body wanted real food. Good food. Comfort food.

I haven't made this chicken in years. I made up the marinade one day when The Stepson didn't think he liked chicken. We used this marinade nearly every weekend we had him for 3 years.

Scalloped Potatoes and Marinated Baked Chicken
Potatoes based on a recipe from The New Best Recipe




For the chicken:

1 pound chicken thighs (I used boneless skinless)
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp dried minced onion
A pinch of sea salt
1 tsp dried parsley
2 dashes Liquid Smoke

Combine all of the ingredients (except for the chicken) in a large bowl with a cover or a zip-style plastic bag. Mix well, then add the chicken. Cover/close and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

When ready to cook the chicken, remove the thighs from the marinade (discard the marinade) and place them (I had 6 of them in the package) in a baking dish. Bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken.


For the potatoes:




2 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, minced
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
5-6 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced fairly thin
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup whole milk
1 cup grated mild white cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Melt the butter in a large skillet; add the onion and garlic, sauteeing until the onion is translucent (a couple of minutes max if you minced well). Add in the salt, pepper, and thyme; saute a minute more. Add the potatoes, bay leaves, broth and milk. Stir well to coat the potatoes and then allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are nearly cooked through.

Remove from the heat; spoon a third of the potatoes into the bottom of a casserole dish, then sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese. Lay another third of potatoes; sprinkle with cheese. Place the last third of potatoes, then sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, or until the top is browned.



Thumb's up from The Man. And from me? Here's my thumb:



Look out for the mandolin blade, moron!