Dear Liza,
You know I’m feeling better when I start looking at new recipes. Our Portland weather is cold and is set to get colder, and cooking new things feels very homey and comforting.
An article on the Eating Well website promised Mediterranean One Pot meals, which had an element of poetic justice to it. The reason I cook in cast iron is that I inherited two wonderful pans from your Great-grandpa Lowell, and the reason I cook Mediterranean is that I inherited his faulty cardio-vascular system. So, thanks Dad.
Every recipe in the article called for the use of cast iron, of which I own two; a deep skillet and an even deeper Dutch oven. Cast iron holds heat well and can go in the oven as well as on the stove top.
For the recipe I needed chicken thighs, a lemon, a bunch of kale (I used baby spinach), chopped garlic, chicken broth, and baby red potatoes. It also called for tarragon, but I used oregano. The whole thing would take 45 minutes.
I did all the chopping and slicing, and had all the ingredients laid out in little bowls before I turned on the burner.. This “mise en place”method makes me feel more confident and less likely to be surprised as I go along. No one wants to be caught desperately chopping something as their chicken over-cooks.
I browned the chicken thighs and put them on a plate to wait. Then I browned the potatoes in all that yummy chicken-y olive oil. I then added the chicken broth, lemon, and garlic and the chicken to the pan and hefted then whole thing into a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.
After the 15 minutes in the oven, I hefted the pan out and stirred in 6 cups of kale, enjoying the wonderful garlic lemon steam wafting up at me. Four more minutes in the oven, and it was done!
The chicken, broth, and olive oil had become a wonderful sauce that coated everything. The lemon had blended with the kale to make a sunny-tasting greenery side dish right in the pan. The kale was a bit too wilty (maybe two minutes would be better), but all in all, a victory for Eating Well and ME.
With rain all this week and snow predicted for the weekend, it will be nice to feel fortified with some tasty dinners.
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 