03.15.11: dinner (kitchen-sink chicken and beward the Ides of March!)

Kitchen-Sink Chicken over Cheesy Brown Rice

This week I have all about completely purposing whatever I have on hand after a slew of over-blown saucy outings that I have yet to even write about, let alone commend the leftovers to the deep as they are now weeks beyond prime.

So today, I’m going to do something different. This was a mid-week meal I came up with off the top of my head, made entirely out of nothing more than a fresh protein, a piece of fruit, a root and some stuff out of the pantry. So, a brief bit of free-styling…

Begin with browning some chicken thighs [Ed.--M did 8 because we liked leftovers] in olive oil over medium-high (~5 min per side). I halved a bulb of garlic and added each half face down to the pan. Next, add a splash (2 tbsp each) of both balsamic and sherry vinegar and bubble until reduced. Next, add a thinly sliced lemon (slivers on top of the chicken) and additional splashes of Worcestershire and fish sauce and again bubble for 5 minutes. After that, add enough red vermouth to completely deglaze the pan and leave a thin layer of liquid all around. Lower the heat and add a probe thermometer and make sure your meats are at 170 F before lifting the birdie bits out.  You should probably flip the chicken again in there somewhere, maybe during or after you add the lemon and sauces. Towards the end, squeeze the garlic halves with tongs to liberate the soft lovely cloves within into the pan. This is not a saucy finished dish, so serve atop cheesy brown rice. [Ed.--We used sharp white cheddar because we had it and it worked quite well given this cacophony of ingredients]

And that’s that. Dear readers: waste not, want not. Experiment on your friends and family to use up those surplus foodstuffs. The worst thing that will happen is that you’ll have to order a pizza for dinner. And is that so bad? Until next time, cook on!