Chicken Again!

I think I should write a chicken compilation cookbook I post so many chicken recipes. We do love chicken and eat it once or twice a week. I'm always looking for new recipes. This is my latest find: Cider Vinegar–Braised Chicken Thighs
Recipe by James Boyce from Food & Wine magazine. I cut the original recipe down for Mike & I and served it with roasted brussel sprouts. The original suggests serving with rice or noodles to soak up the sauce. The sauce is delicious and Mike threatened to lick his plate.

Apple Cider Vinegar–Braised Chicken Thighs my way

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 chicken thighs, skin removed and fat trimmed
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 carrots, sliced 1/3 inch thick
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 leek, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a oven-stove safe pan, heat the olive oil. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and add them to the casserole. Cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter.

Spoon off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat in the casserole. Add the carrots, garlic and leek and cook over low heat until crisp-tender, 5 minutes. Add the flour and stir for 1 minute. Add the vinegar and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook until thickened, 3 minutes.

Add the broth, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Nestle the chicken in the sauce. Transfer the pan to the oven and braise the chicken for about 50 minutes, until cooked through.

If roasting vegetables add them to the oven when chicken is about 1/2 done. Transfer the chicken to the same baking sheet. Roast on the middle rack of the oven until the chicken is golden, about 4 minutes.

Simmer the sauce over moderate heat until reduced and thickened, 10 minutes. Stir in the butter until melted. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

Spoon the sauce over the chicken and vegetables.

Mike couldn't stop raving about this dish. If we had had bread we would have sopped up any remaining sauce with it. Enjoy!