Chicken for Dinner

First, I want to remind you all about this recipe for oven-baked chicken that does a great job of mimicking fried chicken. I made it again last week, and all three kids declared that it "tastes like bacon." If there's higher praise than that, I'd like to know about it.

Second, I made the following chicken stew the other night (just for me and Andy, as the kids had to eat early and separately due to weird activity schedules). There was not a molecule of food left when we got done with it.

Skillet Chicken Stew

3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika, plus more for seasoning (I suppose you could use regular old paprika, but the smoked stuff is amazing! I got mine from Penzeys. Next time I make this recipe, I think I'll use a little more than 1 tsp.)
4 chicken leg quarters, split at the joint to separate legs and thighs (I used two drums, two thighs, and two split breast halves.)
1 Tbsp butter
8 oz. cremini or button mushrooms, halved
1 bunch scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced separately
1 cup chicken broth
½ cup plain whole-milk yogurt (I had only nonfat on hand—when I first added it to the pan, I thought it was separating or curdling or something, but it turned out fine. I was worried it would add an unpleasant tang to the sauce, but it just made it thick and delicious. I bet you could use sour cream too.)

In a large bowl, combine the flour, paprika, and some salt and pepper. Coat the chicken pieces with the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess.

In a large, deep skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chicken to the pan, skin side down. Cook, turning occasionally with tongs, until the skin is golden, 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add the mushrooms and scallion whites to the skillet and cook, stirring often, until tender, 3–4 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and bring to a boil. Return the chicken pieces to the skillet, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat until the juices run clear, 20–25 minutes. It doesn't say to turn the chicken, but I did a few times.

Stir the yogurt and scallion greens into the pan sauce; season with salt, pepper, and more sweet smoked paprika. Stir to coat the chicken with the sauce.

Serve over rice.

Comments

[steve]

That sounds fantastic. And as a Jew - "tastes like bacon" is kind of funny to me. Because I totally get it. And it means "yum."

p.s.
My mother's super-secret-best-ingredient in all of her favored dishes? Jimmy-Dean Spicy Sausage, and scallions.

[Karen]

I could never be kosher. I could live without the shellfish, but not the bacon. Or the meat + cheese combo, for that matter.

[James]

Chicken has enough fat in the skin that you can even make just-as-good buffalo wings at home so long as you use high enough heat. It's just like frying!