Yes, folks, this is my post number 500! Five hundred times that I’ve hit the PUBLISH key, and sent my words and images into the blogosphere! I wanted this post to be special, but at the same time I had to go with life’s flow, which lately has not allowed me to indulge into fancy cooking. But one cannot go wrong with a recipe described as “The best thing I ever made”. If you are familiar with the FoodTV, you may know they have a show with that exact title, and it’s actually pretty interesting: chefs describe their favorite recipe in a particular category. This was Alton Brown’s best take on chicken. Chicken thighs are de-boned, and roasted with an olive stuffing under the skin, and a smoked paprika rub. They cook over thin slices of Yukon gold potatoes. I could have those potatoes on a daily basis. For breakfast. For lunch. For dinner. For a late night snack. Oh, yes, the chicken was awesome too! 😉
SMOKED PAPRIKA CHICKEN THIGHS WITH POTATO AND ONION
(from Alton Brown’s Best Thing I ever Made)
6 ounces pimento stuffed green olives, chopped
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 cloves garlic, grated
3 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 + 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, unpeeled
1 medium yellow onion, cut in small pieces
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine the olives, lemon zest and garlic in a small bowl, and set aside. Mix the smoked paprika, olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and pepper into a paste in a large bowl.
De-bone the chicken thighs using a pair of kitchen shears: make a cut down the length of the bone to expose it, then cut the meat away from the bone. Discard the bone. Add the boned chicken thighs to the paste and massage well to coat. Let it sit for half an hour or so.
Thinly slice the potatoes on a mandoline, about 1/4-inch thick. Arrange the potato slices and onion pieces in an even layer on a foil-lined half sheet pan and sprinkle with the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt.
Stuff about 2 tablespoons of the olive mixture under the skin of each chicken thigh. Arrange the chicken thighs, skin-side up, on a cooling rack and set the rack over the potatoes and onion in the half sheet pan. Bake until the skin is crispy and the potatoes are tender, 55 to 60 minutes. If you prefer the potatoes crispy, remove the rack with the chicken and return to the oven for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: The only tricky part of this recipe was de-boning the chicken thighs, but it’s not that hard. I normally cook chicken thighs on the bone, but there’s something special about cutting through those pieces of meat, all juicy with the stuffing, without having to work around the bone. It is a technique that could be applied to other types of stuffing. The liquid that drips during roasting infuses the potatoes with incredibly rich flavor.
In typical Sally fashion, onion and garlic were omitted, but I gave you the recipe the exact way Alton made it in the show. I never thought very highly about pimento-stuffed olives, but they are simply perfect in this dish. Alton Brown had a moment of inspiration when he conceived this recipe, everything works together extremely well. Since it’s a reasonably heavy dish, you won’t need anything else to round the meal.
Five hundred posts published and no special celebration? Well, stay tuned, my friends. A special milestone is waiting around the corner, and for that one I’ll have a little giveaway to my readers! 😉
ONE YEAR AGO: Back in Los Angeles
TWO YEARS AGO: White House Macaroni and Cheese
THREE YEARS AGO: Korean-Style Pork with Asian Slaw
Bewitching Kitchen 
Oh, Sally!! Wow.. congratulations!! Can it possibly be 500?? And I’ve just gotten to know you, lol:) You’ve got a lot of recipes for me to test out.. starting with this one! I was thinking.. hmmmm.. surely she’s got something more up her sleeve, 500 is a big one.. (kind of like 50 + 0). I can’t wait to see what you do to celebrate! Congrats again!! xx Smidge
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Posts fly when we are having fun! 😉
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Congrats Sally! Seems like just yesterday you were working on a name for you’re blog! This recipe looks luscious! Can’t wait to try it!
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Isn’t that amazing? I must say the toughest thing about starting the blog was picking a name. The rest was not too bad 😉
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Well, congratulations, Sally! 500 post is quite a milestone, one that will take me years to reach — if I ever do. And this is one great recipe to mark the occasion. I love that you use chicken thighs, skin on, for it, too. A number of years ago, I stopped cooking with boneless, skinless chicken breasts for lack of flavor and never looked back. And the best thing about this recipe? I have every single one of the ingredients. How often does that happen?
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I don’t quite understand how some bloggers post daily – to me it seems like an impossible feat! It took me 3 and a half years to reach 500, and I bet it will take longer to reach 1000!
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Congrats on the milestone! This dish looks amazing. Really mouthwatering.
Cheers,
Rosa
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Thank you! Always nice to “see” you here!
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Congratulations, Sally! A great milestone, and what a joy it’s been to read almost all of your posts from the beginning! Great recipe too – love the use of the olives! xxx
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Oh, my… you’ve found the bewitching that early? How cool!
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Congrats on the milestone. Love your blog and can’t wait to read the next 500 posts! The chicken looks so delicious.
Kindest regards,
Robyn.
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Thanks so much Robyn! Hope I can go on to 500 more!
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Congratulations! it is amazing what you can do with time! “tim-tim”, to your health!
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Tim-tim back to you! 🙂
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Congratulations, Sally. And thanks for this recipe — it looks delicious.
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Thank you! The dish is heavier than I normally go on a daily basis, but luscious enough for a celebration type post… 🙂
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Sally! Congratulations on post numero 500!! Wow, that is something… and yes, I was absolutely seduced by your title “the best thing I’ve ever made…” – and you did not disappoint! :). Your smoked paprika thighs look gorgeous and I just happen to adore olives too so this combination is very intriguing to me…very much looking forward to your special celebratory post and giveaway – yay!!
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Smoked paprika is a great ingredient. This recipe used up my reserves, which gives me good reason to place an order at Penzey’s or Spice House, my two favorite online stores….
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Congratulations, Sally. 500 posts is a landmark, and it does seem like yesterday when you started your blog. The recipe looks wonderful, and I will certainly use the onion and garlic. It also looks perfect for a celebration party!
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It does feel like yesterday…. you know what is amazing? Sometimes I read my old posts and I realize I totally forgot about them? I know at some point I will blog on the same recipe twice, but so far it has not happened… 🙂 Senior blogger moments, anyone?
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Wow, congrats to 500!! And here is to 500 more! 🙂
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I am taking a deep breath, a la final 4 miles of a marathon, and hope I can pull 500 more!
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Happy Quincentennial!
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That sounds professorial enough! 😉 Thank you, Cindy!
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Mmm! *Drool* Here’s to many more!!!! All your recipes turn out amazing! Thanks for sharing all your food goddess knowledge with us! 😉
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Thanks so much, Dr. Smallwood! I wish my approach to making graphics from the SLM worked as well as cooking… got a severe lesson in humility today trying to plot my data. (sigh)
We might give you another call tomorrow….. 🙂
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MAJOR congrats my dear! Achieving 500 posts is no easy feat. And what a fabulous dish to celebrate with! Leave it to Alton to give you a winner. 😛
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I don’t question this being the best thing ever, not one bit. Sometimes you read a recipe and you just know!
Congratulations on getting to 500!
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That does look amazing. Always fun to break bread with you. Here’s to 500 more.
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Congratulations on 500 posts Sally! That’s impressive!!!!! This chicken dish looks like one we would really enjoy. Of course, I’d add the garlic back in. 😉
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amo seu blog, parabéns!!!
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Congratulations Sally! that is an amazing milestone!
and a recipe that Alton Brown names the best thing I ever made is definetly worth a try! Though I will join in with Kristy in readding the garlic
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Just made this and it is simply amazing. I didn’t have the ingredients you suggested so I used artichoke hearts, black olives and parm cheese under the skin with the simply wonderful smoked paprika rub. Also, potatoes were not cooking so I added 1 cup stock and let it cook off. OMG…people… HAVE to make this!
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Wonderful! So glad you liked it! Thanks for getting back to me on that!
I like your changes, actually… must make it again 😉
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