Sometimes I find myself home alone. When this happens I mostly occupy myself by doing purposeful projects like cleaning out the closet, rearranging the kitchen drawers, and stalking my children on Facebook. You know — the boring stuff. The one thing I absolutely cannot bring myself to do is eat cold cereal for dinner. I have friends that do this. Rather than nuke something or throw something into a pan they eat cold cereal from a bowl. I tried this once and then made my way directly to the stove and cooked a full meal. I guess I’m just addicted to good food.
Alone last night, I defrosted some chicken thighs and braised them with some chopped veggies, wine, beef broth and added some frozen okra and fresh thyme. Yes… it was yummy; and while the chicken cooked I rearranged my knife drawer, it’s in stellar condition.
I have a recipe in Sunday Best Dishes for “Braised Chicken Thighs with Sweet Peas and Bacon” on which this dish is based. Here is my home alone adaptation.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 large (5 to 6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 6 smaller thighs
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
- 1 large white onion, peeled and diced, about 1 cup
- 4 stalks celery, chopped, about ½ cup
- 2 large carrots, diced, about ½ cup
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozen okra, thawed
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken in the pan until browned on one side, about 5 minutes. Turn and brown on the remaining side, about 5 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Carefully pour out the fat from the pan, reserving about 2 tablespoons. Place the onion, celery and carrots in the skillet. Cook until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the wine, beef broth and tomato paste. Return the chicken to the pan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in the okra and thyme and cook for 3 to 5 minutes more. Serve with rice or pasta or just on its own – single.
What is your favorite chick’s night in dish?
