Thursday, February 25, 2010

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes & Carrots


FD is a HUGE fan of chicken thighs.

And who can blame him? So juicy, so tender, so succulent. We should all be fans of chicken thighs.

Let me rephrase: we should all be fans of organic, free range chicken thighs.

9 times out of 10 I buy a whole chicken from Luginbill Family Farm, but in those in-between months when I'm out of Luginbill chicken and can't get to Pandora and we're craving a little farmyard friend, I turn to the organic, free range chicken from the grocery store.

Please know I'm not a fan of buying meat from the grocery store unless it's from Mustard Seed or Nature's Bin (oh, to live in the Cleveland area again...) because I feel the meat is already over-priced at Meijer and especially Kroger. However, I'm hawk when it comes to the sale meats, specifically organic, free range meats.

I found a package of chicken thighs on sale two weeks ago at Kroger. I bought them for FD. And after such a busy week for both of us, I thought I'd surprise him with one of his favorite meats.

For the recipe I turned to Epicurious but the actual recipe I used was in my archive of Bon Appetit magazines. The thighs were delicious. I'm sad to report, though, that my carrots overcooked and my purple fingerling potatoes also were a little over roasted. (Yes, I will use Yukon Gold and whole carrots next time.) It doesn't mean we didn't enjoy every single bite. I will make this recipe again. Especially after I have a kitchen with an exceptional hood. (I think I need to clean my oven; everything I roast smokes now...Ugh. How can I win a kitchen remodel?)

The herb and spice mixture of salt, pepper, thyme, and nutmeg was perfectly earthy with the root veggies. (Oh, I tried for parsnips instead of carrots, but the ones I bought a few days ago had already rotted. My detest of out-of-season veggies is only growing stronger. But it's in constant battle with my love of veggies all year round. What am I to do? *Sigh* I'm buying organic as much as I can...)

But those thighs.

Those thighs.


Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 6 large chicken thighs with skin and bones (preferably organic; about 2 1/4 pounds total)
  • 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
  • 2 pounds unpeeled medium Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 2-inch-long, 1/2-inch-thick spears
  • 2 pounds medium carrots, peeled, cut into 2-inch-long, 1/2-inch-thick spears
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

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