Simple Baked Drumsticks

If it looks beautiful before it goes into the oven, chances are
it will taste even better than it looks when removed from the oven.

Drumsticks are a staple in my life. They are meaty, inexpensive and easily lend themselves to interpretive creativity when it comes to ingredients. Here I've done just the basics. Easy-peasy, a complete meal in one pan. Feel free to add your own ingredients, such as fresh mushrooms. With so many fresh, clean herbs, I wanted a bit "salty," for background contrast, so I settled on a handful of pitted Kalamata olives which melded beautifully with the tomatoes and potatoes. Add the grape tomatoes and olives during the last half of the baking process so they don't overcook.

This is more of a "process" than a recipe and it is similar to my recipe for Chicken Provencal (which I highly recommend), but without the onions and fennel seed ...

5-6 meaty drumsticks, washed and patted dry
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 tablespoons melted butter
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
6-8 fresh sprigs thyme (be generous)
5-6 garlic cloves, unpeeled, slightly crushed (one clove per chicken leg)
Onion powder
Pepper, fresh-grated
Kosher salt
Old Bay's seasoning
10 - 12 grape tomatoes
2-3 red, new potatoes (or golden), about 2-3 inches in circumference, cut into large chunks
1/4 - 1/2 cup liquid ... white wine ... chicken stock (combination is BEST!) Maybe a bit more butter .... or you can just use water ...

In a 9x9 or 12 x 9 pan, mix the melted butter and olive oil. Roll drumsticks and potatoes in oil/butter mixture and then generously season with onion powder, pepper, salt, Old Bay's. Pull fronds from rosemary and tuck in around the drumsticks along with the fresh thyme sprigs.

Place pan in a pre-heated 400-425 F- degree oven and bake/roast for about 20-25 minutes. Remove. Turn chicken over. Add tomatoes and olives. Pour in liquid (and a bit more butter, if desired) and return to oven for another 20-25 minutes.

Remove and allow to rest a good 15 minutes. Be sure to allow one garlic clove per drumstick. I like to squeeze it out to smear over the chicken. Sprinkle with a bit more Kosher salt if needed (potatoes take a lot of salt).

Notes: If you'd like a spicier chicken, add a bit of red-pepper flakes.

Easy Beef and Mushroom Rice

Somewhere in my childhood, most likely on a holiday, this dish appeared in the dining room to rave reviews. And then it disappeared to be resurrected every few years or so. I thought it time to actually write it down with instructions before it is lost.

It is, as the title says, "easy." Nowadays, the dried soup mix has been replaced with canned French onion soup. I made it that way but found it too sweet. Stick with the dried stuff. The mushrooms and thyme are optional, but I highly recommend using both. Don't bother adding salt, the ingredients already have plenty. Do give several grinds of fresh pepper. Sometimes I'll take a tiny clove of garlic, smash it a bit, and place in the center of the dish before cooking. Before serving, I remove it. It just adds a lovely garlicky hint.

This is great alternative to potatoes and a great side for a grilled steak or any cut of beef. Simple to prepare a day ahead and then just re-heat. Sometimes this recipe is called "Stick of Butter Rice."

• 1 heaping cup uncooked white rice, (not instant), about 1 1/4 cups
• 1 package dried onion soup mix (I use Lipton)
• Dried thyme flakes -- about two pinches
• 1, 10.5 can beef broth
• 1, 4 oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained, liquid reserved
• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup) not margarine
• Pepper to taste
• Water

In a 9 x 9 baking dish (or similar) combine the raw rice, dried onion soup mix, thyme flakes and several grinds of black pepper. Mix in the mushrooms. Slice the butter into pieces and randomly place on top of rice mixture. Add the beef broth. Add the mushroom juice to the now-empty can and then finish filling to the top with water. Add to rice/broth mixture. Cover (tin foil is fine, just make sure it's secure) and bake in 350 F-degree oven for about 40-50 minutes. The last 15 minutes or so, uncover, stir, and  allow some of the liquid to cook away.  Allow to rest 10-15 minutes before serving. If desired, give a sprinkle of fresh-grated Parmesan.

There will be no leftovers. Trust me.

Chicken with Cheese--"Chicken Rarebit"

Ridiculously easy. Great tasting. And a stunning presentation. As the English would say, "Scrummy!"

The word "rarebit" has everything to do with Brits and melted cheese ... A Welsh Rarebit  (often called Welsh Rabbit even tho there is no rabbit) is a combination of cheese, beer and spices and served over toast.

In this recipe, it is simply cheese grated over thin chicken breasts and topped with cherry tomatoes still on the vine. Also, this is one of those recipes open to a zillion interpretations. Don't stop at sharp cheddar. What about smoky-bacon cheddar? Or basil-tomato cheddar. For this particular write-up, I used razor-thin ribbons of Prosciutto. Lovely! I also scattered thinly-sliced onions on the bottom of the dish and tucked in a few nibs of garlic. 

Serve with a side of pasta, rice or potatoes to mop up the cheesy/tomato mixture. I used thin-cut, skinless/boneless breasts, but you could simply slice a regular breast yourself.

• 3 thin-cut skinless/boneless chicken breasts
• 3-4 ounces extra sharp cheddar (white or yellow) coarsely-grated (figure about 2 tablespoons or so per chicken breast
• 1 tablespoon cream
• Cherry tomatoes on the vine

The following is optional:

• Prosciutto
• Onion
• Garlic
• Fresh thyme
• Smoked paprika

Lightly season the chicken with a bit of salt, pepper, onion powder and, if not adding fresh garlic, a bit of garlic powder. I also use a bit of Old Bay's for a bit of "heat."

Lightly spray grease a baking dish large enough to hold the chicken. If using onion sprinkle razor-thin slices on the bottom. This does not bake for long, so you don't want onion that is cut too thick. Place chicken in the dish. If using Prosciutto, layer a few slices on top of chicken.

In a small bowl, add the grated cheese and cream and stir well. I just use my fingers. Evenly distribute cheese over each breast. If desired, grate a bit more (I usually do). Tuck in some nibs of garlic. Sprinkle with a bit of smoked paprika. 

Place tomatoes on top. Sprinkle with a few stems of fresh thyme. I give them just a sprinkle of  olive oil.

Bake in a 400 F degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until the top is golden. Allow to rest 10-15 minutes before digging in. This is even better served cold the next day!

You really need to make this!

Smoked Sausage with New Potatoes and Thyme

When you have a food blog, most people assume everything you eat is gourmet. Nothing could be further from the truth . . . at least, in my case. I eat at Mickey D's often--but selectively. And, here in the South, I love Bojangles, a fried-chicken chain which often puts KFC out of business if it is near-by.

When I began teaching in the late 1970s, I lived on Swanson's Frozen TV Dinners. They were prepared in tin-foil trays for easy oven baking and clean up. The main compartment contained the meat, and the two smaller ones a vegetable and a dessert. Fried chicken was my favorite.

Microwaves were then still new. And expensive. That's when I began to learn to cook on my own ....

Today, with microwaves in every kitchen, it is easier than ever to find a decent-tasting frozen entree. Since my mother died, my father has discovered the frozen food section of the grocery store. For anyone in their 80s, how convenient to have a good, hot meal that actually tastes good in a matter of minutes! He loves Stouffer's. And so do I.

But, I digress ....

One can only live on "fast" food for a limited time. And then I want "real" food. LOL.

Last week I worked a 40-hour week in my "part-time job." By week's end, I wanted a "real meal." For me, a "real meal" is more about what you don't do than you do ... no microwaving. No take out. And a real veggie. Comfort food.

Since I work in a grocery store, I get first access to items marked down or I'm privy to what will eventually go on sale. This week it was sausages. I grabbed a package of all-beef Kielbasa. A can of sliced, new potatoes. And a can of sliced beets. From those ingredients, I put together a meal I savored. Along with a good, cold Stella Artois (well, actually two --- it gets hot here in the South!).

This is basically an "open-and-dump" recipe. But it's packed full of flavor. Warm. Filling. 

(One odd thing I noticed right away: the size of the sausage. I checked the packaging and it's no longer a 16-oz. package. It has diminished to 13 oz. but for the same price. Some brands have gone quite savvy. Instead of offering one single link, they package two to make it look like more.)

I've also made this with smoked turkey sausage and it's just as good. (Smoked sausages are already cooked. Don't use raw sausages.)

• 1, 13-oz. package smoked sausage, (kielbasa, turkey, etc.)
• 1, 14.5 oz. can sliced new potatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup sliced yellow onion
• 2 small-medium cloves sliced garlic
• Fresh thyme stems, 2-3
• Pepper
• Olive oil
• Smoked paprika (optional)
• Sour cream (optional)
• 1, 14.5 oz. can sliced beets
• 1 orange, washed

Slice the sausage on the diagonal. To a frying pan, add a drizzle or two of olive oil. When hot, add your onions and sautee just until they begin to brown. Add the sliced garlic and the sausage. Cook several minutes over med-low heat until warmed through. Add the undrained can of sliced new potatoes. Mix through. Pepper to taste.

Simmer on low until liquid begins to thicken and coat the sausage mixture. OR you can dust with a bit of Wondra flour or cake flour to hasten the process OR smash a few of the sliced potatoes to thicken thte sauce. A few minutes before pulling from the heat, add the whole sprigs of thyme and mix through. Allow to rest five minutes or so to allow the thyme to just fragrance the dish.

In the meantime, drain your sliced beets. Arrange on each plate and, if desired, give a grate or two of fresh orange zest.

Plate. If desired, give a slight dusting of smoked paprika and a dollop of sour cream on the side.

Notes: While I have not done it, I reckon one could sub a can of white beans for the potatoes.

I use Del Monte-brand sliced new potatoes.