Janis's mind: Really? How many times can you call a chicken recipe "the best"?
Janis: I am entitled to change my mind.
Janis's mind: Pardon?
Janis: Nevermind...
So, I found a chicken recipe that I am crazy about. Before I share chicken stuff I want to share something better than chicken.
Ok. So this recipe is from the blog Feasting at Home What a beautiful blog. I bet she doesn't have to argue with her own brain. I bet she is MASTER over her own brain. I bet that people don't roll their eyes at her as if to say "just ignore her, she is harmless, just annoying". I bet her house is clean and everything matches. I bet she has cute things in her house like repurposed windows for decorations, and old farm ladders. I bet all her shit is perfect. I bet she isn't crass enough to say (let alone blog) the word shit...
Her chicken looks like THIS
Mine looks like...
I digress...
Before you get the recipe here are some pictures of what I have been doing the last couple of months. New Orleans (we love you Nik, thanks for being the best tour guide ever), L.A. Oakland. Babies. Yay!
Portuguese Chicken and Potatoes
by Sylvia Fountaine
1 Whole Chicken ( 3-4 lbs)
1 ½ lbs potatoes ( yukon or reds), thinly sliced
Marinade:
2 Dried Ancho Chilies-re hydrated
2 T smoked paprika
6 cloves garlic
1 T kosher salt
1 tsp coriander
1/4 C plus 1 T sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1/4 C plus 1 T Olive Oil
1/2 tsp pepper
Cilantro Sauce:
1 C plain yogurt
1 bunch Cilantro- finely chopped
1/2 tsp kosher Salt
½ tsp coriander
Cracked pepper
1 T lemon juice
1 T olive oil
Preheat oven to 425F
Rehydrate dried chile's in small pot of boiling water on the stove for 20 minutes.
Butterfly chicken: Rinse inside and out, removing innards. Pat dry. Place on a cutting board, breast down. Using sharp kitchen scissors, cut along both sides of the spine, remove and discard. Turn the chicken over, and placing your hand on the breast bone, press down hard with the palm of your hand, to flatten.
Make the marinade by blending the marinate ingredients into a paste with a blender or food processor. Brush a layer of marinade on the bottom of your baking pan. Place the thinly sliced potatoes on top of the marinade and sprinkle with a generous pinch of kosher salt. Brush all sides and crevasses of the chicken with the marinade, coating fairly heavily. ( You will add more marinade during cooking, so be sure to save the remaining.)
Place chicken, skin side down on the potatoes and place in the oven. Turn chicken over after 15 minutes, and place back in the oven. After 10-15 minutes, brush more marinade all over the chicken on the skin side, really lathering it up. Return to the oven and bake until cooked through another 15-20 minutes, or until leg/ thigh reaches internal temperature of 180 F. To crisp the skin and get it deeply brown, broil for a few minutes. Remove chicken when done and let rest 5-10 minutes before serving.
While chicken is roasting, combine Cilantro Sauce ingredients together, either in a bowl- mixing by hand, or in a food processor.
