Usually when I get a new cookbook, I browse through it, bookmark some pages, and then narrow things down to few recipes to see if I have the ingredients on hand or whether I need to go shopping.When I got The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook
by Mary Younkin the book opened itself up to a page that had a recipe for baked chicken thighs ... and I stopped right there.Whoa. No need to look further. I didn't happen to have chicken thighs on hand, but I had the required spices (and seriously, most people would) so I didn't need to do any intense shopping. Just cruise through the meat section and grab some thighs - and that was it.
For a weeknight dinner cookbook, that's exactly what you need, right? A recipe that you can shop for without much thought, and one that you can cobble together quickly.
I didn't use an many chicken thighs as the recipe called for because I'm cooking for one, but that didn't really matter for this recipe. There's a spice mix that you put on the thighs, but it's pretty easy to sprinkle it on to taste.
Speaking of the spice mix - it's salt, paprika, garlic powder, and black pepper. While the recipe suggests mixing them, then sprinkling, you could sprinkle them on one at a time, or you could mix up a large batch of the seasoning and just sprinkle it on everything, everywhere.
Well, probably not on apple pie. But it would be just as good on pork, beef, or seafood as it is on chicken. Just call it your house-made seasoned salt.
Oh, and if you're wondering about the author, she blogs at Barefeet in the Kitchen, which is a pretty awesome blog. Check it out!
Crispy Garlic Paprika Chicken
Adapted from The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook
by Mary Younkin
8-10 small bone-in chicken thighs (I had four)1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
Heat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment, foil, or a silicone mat for easly cleanup. Put a rack on the sheet.
Sprinkle the seasoning on the underside of the thighs, then drizzle the skin with the olive oil and sprinkle the skin side with the seasoning.
Place the thighs on the rack and roast for about 50 minutes or until the skin is crisp and the chicken is cooked through. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving.
More about the book:
I may have chosen the simplest recipe in the book, but it was darned good and well worth making. It's also a good representation of what you'll find in the book. Homey, tasty recipes that you can make with very normal ingredients that are probably in your pantry - spices, mustard, vinegars, oils - and other things that are probably hanging around, too like lemons, garlic, and potatoes.But the book isn't ALL dinners, because dessert can be important, too. The peanut butter mousse is on my must-try list, for sure. I've made plenty of chocolate mousses, but I've never made one with peanut butter.
Honestly, there aren't a lot of recipes here I don't want to make. Some of them are similar to things I already make and some sound like recipes I could have thought of. But it's darned nice that someone has already made them so I don't have to think to hard about it.
I have to make one comment about the book itself. This has a binding that allows the book to lie flat on the counter which is pretty awesome for a cookbook.
Overall, I like this book a lot. Definitely recommended.
I received this book at no cost.
