Hmmmmmmmm.
My favorite meal on the planet is the “Trust Me” menu at Sugarfish, a sushi place with a couple of locations around the Southern California area. The menu has some a la carte options, but really you have three choices: the “Trust Me,” the “Trust Me Lite,” and the “Nozawa” (a.k.a. “Trust Me Mega”). You tell your server how hungry you are, and then you sit back, trust, and allow the joy to happen.
That is what I need you to do here. Trust, and allow the joy to happen.
Because as much as I would like to throw some stunning, Pinterest-y shots up here, there is no way to make this a visually appealing dish, because chicken thighs are not visually appealing. There is especially no way to make this a visually appealing dish when you are trying to photograph it the morning after you made it, and after your husband ate 90% of the artichoke hearts in it before you could alert him to the fact that he needed to not eat them because artichoke hearts are (marginally) less unattractive than chicken thighs, and you will need plenty of them in the picture to convince your readers to try this recipe because it is so good.
Luckily I accidentally grew some parsley (it really was an accident; I had a little pot of parsley in my backyard that died, and then it rained for two weeks straight and all of a sudden I have parsley again), and parsley makes everything pretty. OK, prettier.
P.S. In my experience, there is a direct relationship between unphotogenicness and deliciousness. I really do insist that you try making this. Just maybe don’t make it for company unless you too happen to have some attractive parsley sprigs on hand.
P.P.S. This recipe is sort of an evolution of a Blue Apron recipe I tried a few weeks ago, and is a perfect example of why I’m so obsessed with the company (and yes, I’m aware I’m a walking, talking advertisement for them, and no they’re not paying me or affiliated with RG in any way). The meals are great and fun to make, but more exciting to me is the fact that I’m constantly learning about new techniques and ingredients that I end up incorporating into my own recipes (in this case, I learned that I adore the addition of capers to a chicken dish, and also discovered the sauce-thickening powers of vinegar).
Chicken Thighs with Capers & Artichoke Hearts
What You Need:
- 12-14 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (and drumsticks, if you want)
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp capers, chopped
- 1 bag frozen artichoke hearts
- 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice
What You Do:
- In a medium-sized saucepan, heat two tbsp olive oil. Add the garlic and stir constantly for about a minute, then pour in the jasmine rice and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then cover, turn down the heat, and let simmer 12-14 minutes. Fluff rice gently and set aside.
- In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat two tsp olive oil. Season the chicken with salt (and pepper, if desired – I personally do not desire pepper, ever) and cook in batches, about 4 minutes per side (or until browned).
- Return all batches of browned chicken to the saucepan and add capers, 2 tbsp of the butter, and the remaining minced garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, about a minute, and then add 1/2 cup water and cook 2 more minutes, occasionally turning the chicken, or until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid has reduced by half. Add the vinegar and cook another 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
- Remove the chicken from the pan of sauce and set on a large serving platter with raised sides (so the sauce won’t spill out once you add it). Add the remaining tbsp of butter and the frozen artichokes to the pan of sauce, cover, and simmer about 4 minutes, or until the artichokes are warmed through. Pour artichokes and sauce over chicken, and serve alongside the garlic rice.
(Don’t forget the parsley.)
