crispy braised chicken

g was coming home from houston – a mark of his last travel stint until may! i wanted to cook something yummy for him so out came my friend, thomas keller, and his ad hoc at home book. i was hoping to find a relatively quick recipe as i only had around 2 hours to prep (and shop) before g came home. aha! introducing the crispy braised chicken thighs:

i’ve never worked with fennel before so had no idea what to do with it. i want to say the stems remind me of something highly inappropriate, but i’m immature like that. looks like an onion but doesn’t make me cry.

just a light seasoning on the chicken and then we’re ready to start the cooking process! seared the chicken skin first in an oven-proof pan then on the meat side. when just browned, took them out of the pan and set on a cooling rack while i sauteed the fennel, onions, garlic and thyme. once that’s done, you just set the thighs on top, and stick ‘em all in the oven for about 20 minutes to cook through!

ta-da!! it was yummy. garnished with parsley.

more photos here.