I don’t rave enough about how much I love cooking. How could I not? The sizzle of meat over a hot oven is practically carnal in itself. There’s this easy joy in the monotony of prepping; in chopping, trimming, peeling and slicing. Thinking is the steady rapping of the knife against the cutting board.

I just reminisced and embarrassingly zoned out there. – Excuse me while I go slice some peppers for absolutely no reason.

Speaking of meat though, I created my, (totally tooting my own horn here), best to date chicken thigh recipe and I need to share it. Sam swooned for days over those luxurious thighs and I’m not a big enough person to admit to not basking in every moment of that praise. How does this sound? – Browned, juicy chicken thighs atop steaming, buttery spaghetti coloured with bright green peas and topped with a grainy mustard pan sauce? Wonderful? Duh.

Without further adieu, here is my succulent chicken recipe for you guys. Enjoy!

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  • 4 chicken thighs with bone-in and skin-on
  • salt and pepper
  • thyme (I used dry but fresh isn’t prohibited)
  • grainy mustard (although a good dijon will work as well)
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup of unsalted/low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 3/4 cup white wine (I used a pinot grigio)
  • 1 shallot, sliced or minced
  • chopped parsley
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat large skillet on medium-high burner, melting the butter and warming the olive oil. Pat dry your chicken thighs with paper towel and season both sides with salt and pepper. Add chicken, skin down, to the hot skillet and sear for 3-4 minutes before turning over. (If it’s stuck to the pan just give it another minute and try again – if the skin is crisped properly the chicken will just come right off the surface without an issue. So let the chicken tell you when it’s fine to flip it). Once both sides of the chicken have been seared, transfer the thighs to a baking sheet and roast in oven for 20-25 minutes, or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit when inserted into the thickest part of the meat. Once you’ve removed the thighs from the skillet, turn the heat down to medium-low and add the shallot, garlic and thyme. Saute until softened (1-2 minutes) and then add the mustard and flour, cooking until the rawness of the flour is gone – roughly another minute. Now add the wine, deglazing the bottom of the pan where all the browned chicken bits have hardened and turn up the heat to medium-high to reduce the wine to about half of what it was when you added it, stirring once or twice. Then add the chicken broth and simmer for about 8 minutes before turning the heat down to low. Take a taste, and add salt if needed, otherwise throw in some black pepper and prepare to plate, because this shit is gonna be delicious. Once your chicken is cooked through, remove from the stove and plate it atop your cooked spaghetti and peas, then drizzle the mustardy greatness over top and dig in! Enjoy!