Tuesday Cooking Post

On a Thursday. Because it's my blog and I'm still the boss of me. Anyway - from Fine Cooking Annual volume two or three we had Burnished Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes, Parsnips and Shallots. This makes the second time I've cooked parsnips and eaten them. And don't think it's because of the kids that parsnips might be a problem - they love them, I'm the fussy veggie eater in the house.

The recipe did explain the use of the word "burnished". I thought it meant polished somehow, but they meant cooked to a rich dark brown colour. And yes, the glaze was a bit shiny so I guess polished wasn't too far off the mark. I was a bit obsessive about the marinade, but The Boy (who is not a big fan of chicken) at every scrap and said the craziness with the marinade was worth it.

The marinade itself was pretty simple. The problem was it wasn't a liquid sauce that the thighs could float in all day, it was closer to the consistency of tapioca pudding. So...I brought it to work. Why not? We have a full sized fridge for 7 staff members so it's not like there wasn't any room. And it meant that I could turn the chicken every couple of hours.

Took it home and baked it. The chicken on one half of a foil lined baking sheet, the veggies tossed in oil, salt and pepper on the other. Next time I'll do the chopping and peeling of the vegetables in the morning have them in a container in the fridge ready to go. The prep work was the only delay. Not a lot of work, but still...when you're hungry every minute seems a lifetime.

Speaking of the vegetables - the shallots were peeled, and cut in half to the base, only the tops trimmed. That worked really well. They kept their shape and they not only tasted great on their own but tossing them with the parsnips and sweet potatoes added a nice flavour to them all. Part of the recipe - an unnecessary part to my mind, but both kids liked it - was cooking a few strips of nitrite free bacon to crispyness, crumbling it into chopped parsley and then tossing the mix with the veggies when they were out of the oven. I did like the splash of colour, and the added texture was nice, I just don't think the recipe would be bad or disappointing without it.