Good morning all!
That banner image caught your attention didn’t it?
I hoped it would.
After writing, cooking, researching and documenting these here posts for over ten years now it was inevitable that some of the components would evolve by sheer repetition alone.
In some cases the improvements were definitely intentional. The lighting, staging and sheer volume of pictures per episode for example.
Others are less obvious, like the use of new spices and preparation techniques.
This season had a very specific focus.
Slowly and steadily my food photography is improving.
Check this shit out.
That’s cool as fuck.
Now compare that to my very first food photo for this Sunday Gravy thing. This is from the Mother Sauce episode – June 4th 2015 – my second post ever. The very first episode of Sunday Gravy didn’t even have a photo that I took.
Not terrible but yeah I can do better than that.
Also compare that with my first effort at plating.
The goulash episode from June 28 2015.
Yeah. Boy howdy. There’s a lot of shit going down in that photo. Don’t get me wrong that is still a dynamite recipe but DAMN.
Now I think you see the point I’m trying to make over here.
Sunday Gravy isn’t just research, and cooking and writing, the photos have become a big part of this motherfucker and the very least I could do is get better at them.
I think I’m making progress in that regard.
Now I bet your next question is going to be about those potatoes.
Call it a hunch.
Yes, those are fondant or “melting” potatoes and not scallops. I just discovered them myself and felt like giving it the old test kitchen try.
That’s yet another element. The food artistry itself. It’s one thing to make the pictures pretty, it’s a whole nother damn thing making the subject of the photo worth taking a picture of in the first fucking place.
The potatoes looked photo worthy and the description sounded incredible so I was all in.
All we needed was a tasty protein selection and we were all set.
Let’s start with the chicken first.
Garlic and balsamic glaze chicken!
recipe inspiration from themediterraneandish.com again.
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoon balsamic glaze, store-bought is fine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon honey
1 lemon, juice of – or do what I did and add 1/4 cup of orange juice having forgot the lemon at the store
4 to 5 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
For The Chicken
5-8 boneless and skinless chicken thighs, (about 1 ½ pounds)
Kosher salt and black pepper
Go ahead and grab hold of your chicken.
Thighs of course.
Let’s get that marinade going. Oh yeah. This rested overnight in the fridge. Should probably mention that.
Ever mess around with this stuff? Balsamic glaze? Me neither. First time.
Guess that’s why I used store bought. Shame on my ass for that since it turns out making balsamic glaze is as easy as adding some brown sugar to balsamic vinegar, bring to a boil and cook down for 20 minutes.
You can probably guess that you’ll see that shit done in the future.
A little honey and tomato paste then mince up the garlic.
Do the same with the thyme.
Don’t forget to salt and pepper up that chicken.
Then bag that shit up with the marinade for an overnight nap.
The next day, remove the bag from the fridge and let rest at room temperature for an hour or two.
Preheat the oven to 385-390 degrees.
Dump that chicken into a disposable roasting pan.
And bake for 30-35 minutes.
First attempt at cooking this dish and my brain calculated “honey, glaze, citrus etc” and the choice for disposable pan became obvious.
If it’s the first try, don’t fuck with your long time kitchen gear. Ain’t worth it.
Thought we could get the chicken out of the way before we start talking about those potatoes.
They may look like a lot of work but they’re really not. It’s basically an extra step or two.
Ready for this shit?
Fondant potatoes!
recipe courtesy of RecipeTinEats.com
2-4 large floury potatoes, peeled. Russet potatoes are perfect for this
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil – divided
3 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
6 thyme sprigs (sub 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
1 cup chicken stock / broth, low sodium (or vegetable)
We begin by cutting out the potatoes.
That’s a small gauge biscuit cutter there in the upper right.
You know, you don’t even have to do the shaping thing. You could just cut these into inch and a half thick wedges and they would still taste incredible. For me though? The visual was what I was after.
Toss the potatoes with one half of the olive oil and the salt and pepper.
For cooking you will need butter and stock. I used homemade veggie stock but chicken stock would rock the shit too.
Add the remaining olive oil to your cast iron skillet and heat that fucker up.
The potatoes will sear in the olive oil for 5-6 minutes per side.
You want to use some care here. The trick is to keep that golden brown crust right there because that’s the deliciousness, so if you have to use a non-stick pan I totally understand. I just like the fact that my skillet can go directly from the top burner to inside the oven. It sure doesn’t hurt that this skillet is in its goddamn prime and seasoned perfectly. No sticking issues for me.
After searing the second side toss in the butter and thyme.
Then we add the stock.
The general concept here is the potatoes will absorb the stock as they cook and will continue to cook in the butter.
At this point you just want to bring this to a steady simmer before putting the skillet in the oven for 30 minutes. Hey! It cooks at the same temp as the chicken!
How very fucking handy!
How about one more close up before dropping this in the oven?
Oh shit yeah.
After the 30 minutes have elapsed we are ready for dinner dammit!
To the plate!
One final close up of the entire dish.
You really want this. Really, really!
Absolutely excellent. That chicken has the sweet balsamic glaze going but those notes of citrus are right there and we have enough garlic to punch right through to your goddamn taste buds. This is easy as shit to make and can easily become part of your regular rotation. It’s damn good.
Now.
Those potatoes?
That might be the best potato I’ve ever fucking eaten. That shit really does melt. They’re fucking AMAZING. That outside crunch from the fond also brings a lot of flavor but good lord these are killer.
Think about it. There’s another way to make potatoes! And it’s pretty simple to do!
You know what would be fucking insane? Serve these potatoes with a steak or pork chops then drizzle a pan sauce from the meat juices on top.
Holy shit I just blew my own fucking mind!
The recipes that I read frequently mentioned these as “Special Occasion” potatoes and I can understand why but you can make them any time. One of the food writers cracked me when she said she just makes a big batch of potatoes and the whole family makes a goddamn meal out of nothing but these potatoes.
Yes. They really are all of fucking that.
Once again this is one of the perks I’ve discovered in my 10 seasons of writing Sunday Gravy. Once in awhile you’ll find something brand new that just twists your brain and makes you say “Glory fucking Hallelujah!”
Another way to prepare a potato?
Get the fuck out of here.
Glad you all stopped by today and I sincerely hope you give this shit a try. I can officially put my gold fucking stamp of approval on this motherfucker right here.
Be well everyone and enjoy the Euros and Copa action today.
See you again next Sunday.
PEACE!
