Vinegar-Braised Chicken with Farro and Watercress by Alison Roman

For the past 8 months, the vinegar-braised chicken recipe  has sat unwritten in my blog’s Google Doc. Every time I saw the title sitting there, unaccompanied, I opted to write about another recipe. I didn’t have much to say about this chicken when I first made it, but now I’ve really put myself in a pickle because I can’t remember anything about how I made it or how it tasted. All I know is that I made it on April 5, 2021 because there’s photo evidence that tells me as much. 

What I can deduce from all of this is that the chicken wasn’t a ton to write home about. I had to skip on the farro because of my gluten-aversion, which left only watercress and a simple roasted chicken to try. This recipe also has one of the shortest ingredient lists of all of Alison’s main course dishes, leaving the burden of flavor to just salt, pepper, vinegar, garlic, and a tablespoon of Yuzu Kosho. 

Now hear me out, there are plenty of tasty chickens that use the same small amount of ingredients for flavor. But such a short list is off brand for Alison. One of her defining features is bold, in-your-face flavor. She doesn’t hold back. Which is why this recipe felt like a departure from her normal routine. 

Perhaps I’d find this chicken refreshing if I made it again. I’ll probably give it a try! If you’re reading this and felt differently, please tell me? 

216 recipes cooked, 9 to go.

One Pot Chicken with Caramelized Lemon and Dates

I made this chicken on January 23, 2021, along with Alison’s Butter-Tossed Radishes and Garlicky Broccoli with Hazelnuts and Coriander. They were among the very first recipes I made from Alison’s books after receiving them as Christmas presents. Cooking this One Pot Chicken was only my third or fourth time ever roasting a whole chicken, and I reveled in this new skill, and the courage it took to acquire it. (Raw chicken used to really freak me out.)

This early meal provided the inspiration for this project. I had never made a meal using three brand new recipes and found each one to be out of my comfort zone, complex and innovative in flavor, and surprisingly straightforward to cook – all at once. I tasted Za’atar for the first time. I embarked on my first ingredient scavenger hunt to find ground sumac. I’d never thought a flavorful chicken could require so few ingredients. And how many times had I made roasted broccoli before? Alison’s recipe provided a major upgrade to a weekly dinner staple. Never had I learned so much by making a single meal. It was invigorating! 

I still hadn’t fully conceived the structure of the Annie and Alison blog. I had ideas, but nothing I’d formally committed to. I knew taking pictures would be an important element of blogging, but didn’t think to capture a bunch of this meal. Four days later, I put pen to paper in earnest and decided to tell friends and family about the cooking challenge. At which point, I told myself I’d remake this One-Pot Chicken so I could get better pictures. 

Well, here we are almost a year later, only 29 days left of the project, and I still haven’t recaptured this dish. Which I feel just fine about. Alison’s One Pot Chicken is, in my opinion, one of her most recognized recipes. She’s made a Home Movie about it, A Newsletter about it, and there are hundreds of images of other people making it on Instagram. Do I really need to add my own to that library? I don’t think so. 

There’s also not a whole lot more I can say about it that hasn’t already been said in the aforelinkedto media, so I’ll leave my story here: This chicken marks the beginning of one of the best creative endeavors of my life, and for that, it’ll always be special to me. 

197 recipes cooked, 28 to go.

can someone please tell me if they’ve ever successfully captured an appetizing picture of a raw chicken? thx.

Chicken Soup with Toasted Garlic, Mushrooms, and Celery by Alison Roman

Throughout this project, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how food can heal. Last January, I was physically in need of some serious healing. Rest helped, getting back into an exercise rhythm helped, but food saved me. 

Jordan and I had both been working jobs that left little to no bandwidth for anything beyond them. Rhythms and relationships got thrown to the curb as we flipped the “survival mode” switch to “On.” Meals mostly consisted of pre-made dinners from Trader Joes and Door Dash orders. We ate for fuel, not pleasure. 

Now, I realize that there are seasons in most peoples’ lives when survival mode is the only option. And there’s actually nothing wrong with Door Dash – we still use it today! (I also realize how privileged it is to even have access to Door Dash!) But it wasn’t until I quit my job and gained back the time and energy to cook for us that I started to heal. (You can read more about my thoughts on the importance of cooking rhythms here.)

Making things from scratch, besides the clear health benefits (isn’t it nice to know what’s actually in your food?), has brought great healing in my life. Yes, I was one of those people who started making sourdough during the pandemic. And yes, I actually do have a loaf proving in my oven as I write this. I love making my own bread. Another joy has been saving chicken bones and making bone broth. I first made Alison’s Golden Broth with Turmeric and Garlic, which is also the base for this chicken soup, on the day that I got my second CD-19 vaccine. I decided to make the broth again, and this soup, on the day I got my CD-19 booster shot. Seemed only fitting! 

The broth, bursting with complex flavor, was even better than I remembered. I made two adjustments from last time: I used turmeric root instead of ground turmeric, and used a combination of chicken carcass and turkey carcass leftover from Thanksgiving dinner. Let’s just say I’ll never throw turkey bones away again. 

After spending about four hours making the broth, I turned to the soup, starting with the toasted garlic. Toasted garlic is actually the soup’s topping, but by no means can it be missed. I let the garlic slices turn a warm, golden brown at the bottom of my Dutch oven and spooned them out as they reached peak color, being sure not to take them all out at once so the stragglers could toast, too. (Pro tip: I sprinkled the leftover garlic chips on a pizza the next day, and OH MY!)

Leaving the garlicky oil behind, I threw in two large shallots, thinly sliced into rings. They spent just a few minutes getting loosely crispy before the mushrooms joined. I really liked how the soup maintained a distinct, but subtle shallot flavor, especially with all of the other potent ingredients in this recipe. For that reason, I would strongly caution against substituting shallot for a different kind of onion, as some are wont to do. For the mushrooms, I used a combination of oyster, shiitake, maitake, and lobster, all found at Whole Foods. After roughly five minutes of releasing lots of steam, I poured in the broth and brought it to a simmer so the shallot and mushrooms could infuse the broth. 

Two days before, I made Alison’s Slow-Roasted Oregano Chicken. I saved the bones for this broth, and the leftover meat for this soup! A true Laura Ingalls Wilder moment. The chicken and celery need only a few minutes to warm through in the broth before the soup is ready for bowls. Before serving, I mixed in a half teaspoon of fish sauce, which made the broth all the richer. Alison says it’s optional, but I think it should be mandatory. 

I took Alison’s side note seriously and made brown rice noodles to go along with the soup, which made it more filling and hearty. I topped each bowl with cilantro and the toasted garlic chips. Wow, what an incredible soup. My serious compliments to the recipe creator! I recently ate at an up-and-coming ramen restaurant in Chicago called High-Five Ramen. Their broth may be the best ramen broth I’ve ever tasted. And Alison’s broth truly rivals it! It even got better with age – leftovers were a highlight these last few days. 

Three days after my booster shot, I tested positive for CD-19. Instead of driving to see family, our Christmas will be spent in quarantine. Food can’t heal everything, but I’m grateful to recover with Jordan next to me and lots of time to cook the remaining recipes for this project. 

Merry Christmas Eve! I wish anyone reading this a safe holiday, filled with wonder and good food. 

192 recipes cooked, 33 to go.

Chicken and Mushroom Skillet Pie with Greens and Tarragon by Alison Roman

What a ride this pie was. How buttery, how delicious, how messy. 

It all started with a single disc of gluten-free pie crust (yes, the King Arthur one). I prepared the dough to chill at about noon, and once again felt like this disc is the best one I’ve made yet. My pie crust skills improve every time I attempt the task. It’s been personally satisfying to watch myself improve in this way over the course of the project. Of course, there’s always a mess with pie crust. Powdery flour that escapes from the saran wrap. Bits of butter that stick to the counter when rolling it out. But this doesn’t at all compare to the mess of the pie filling. 

Alison instructs us to brown and cook bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts and thighs in a large skillet. Cue the splatters of hot oil dotting the floor, counters, stove, and occasionally, my arms. The oil flies as the skin crisps and browns. It’s really a shame though, because after it cooks, Alison has you remove the meat and discard all bones, sinews, and skin. All that crispy goodness gone. The meat, though, is tender and juicy. 

Next, in the same skillet with all the chicken fat, garlic and leeks join to become soft and vibrantly green. I then added a pound of fresh mushrooms with salt and pepper, never minding the few little mushroom bits that always flop out of the skillet when I cook mushrooms. A few of them escaped and fell next to the flames underneath the skillet – don’t ask me how. 

Once the mushrooms softened, I mixed in a pat of butter and a quarter cup of gluten-free flour, which quickly thickens up the filling mixture. The next step calls for chicken broth, and I want to mention here, in case I haven’t already said this on the blog, my newfound love for Better than Bouillon. Margaret exposed me to this brand of chicken broth flavoring in goop form, and it’s changed my pantry for the better. Instead of buying (and wasting) so many cardboard boxes of chicken broth, and also needing to find places to store said broth boxes, I now have a jar of flavoring sitting in my refrigerator door, waiting to make batches upon batches of chicken broth, right when I need them. All it takes is one teaspoon of flavoring for each boiling cup of water, stirred in to make it a nicely flavored, not too salty bit of broth. I just bought my second jar at Costco today, which will last me for many months. Everyone should buy this product! 

Before turning down the heat, I streamed in heavy cream and a tablespoon or two of creme fraiche that I had leftover from The Greatest Creamed Greens. I then tossed in the separated chicken, chopped tarragon, and kale pieces. And here’s where I mention that Alison does NOT give instructions on the size of skillet to use. Which is problematic. By the time I added all of my ingredients, my 10-inch cast iron skillet was filled to its very brim. Any sudden movements, and the mixture would spill right over the edge. If you have a 12-inch ovenproof skillet, definitely use it here. 

Feeling precarious and cautious, I still chose to top the skillet in its very full state with the rolled out pie dough and stick it in the oven to bake. Which I realize now, was a mistake, but couldn’t know it then. Alison says nothing about how full the skillet should be or how to crimp the edges of the dough around the skillet rim to secure the filling. There’s a real lack of information in the book so allow me to fill in the gaps: 

1. It would be best to let the filling come up about a fourth of an inch from the top of the skillet. That way, when you lay the dough, it sort of falls into the pie and acts as a pseudo lid. Also, when the filling starts to bubble up, you will hopefully avoid it seeping over and making a huge, smoky mess in the oven as it burns on the bottom. (Yes, this happened to me.)

2. Trim off any straggling pieces of dough that drape far down the sides of the skillet. I tried to do this, but didn’t do it enough. Within a few minutes, several pieces of dough fell from the sides and burned at the bottom of the oven. 

3. Beware that the pie crust may turn golden faster than you think, so be ready to cover it with foil if it browns too quickly. I, thankfully, thought to check this and caught mine in time. 

4. Finally, though you make sizeable slits in the dough’s surface to allow steam to escape, beware that they could close up as the butter melts and tries to seal the surface again. Be ready to reinforce the slits with a sharp knife, as necessary. 

If you’re reading between the obvious lines, you’ll see that this was clearly a chaotic cooking/baking process. I learned a lot. I also honestly enjoyed eating the fruits of my very thorough labor. This pie is delightfully tangy, salty, and filling. Perfect for a cold night with a glass of red wine. It also made fantastic leftovers. I don’t know how soon I’ll make this again – I’m exhausted just thinking about it. But I know I’ll crave it again this winter. Perhaps I’ll make a “Skillet Pie Revisited” post to report back on how my suggested adjustments work. To be determined! 

170 recipes cooked, 55 to go.

Coconut-Braised Chicken with Chickpeas and Lime by Alison Roman

I’ll admit I came to this recipe with a bit of healthy skepticism. An Indian-Korean fusion dish sounded nice in theory, but could gochujang and cumin really go well together? Thank goodness it’s in Alison we trust (at least when it comes to cooking). I didn’t have to taste this dish to know my doubts were laid to rest. I simply had to smell it… 

This recipe calls for a mix of bone-in, skin-on chicken parts. Instead of trying to cut up a whole chicken myself this time, I bought 1.7 pounds each of legs and breasts. Which turned out to be a good call. With so much rich coconut milk, a darker meat, like thighs, would have felt too heavy. The whiter meat soaked in the fatty coconut and strong spices nicely. But I’m getting ahead of myself… 

The first twenty minutes were spent browning the chicken in my dutch oven, trying to render as much fat as possible. Sadly, much of the skin stuck to my pot, ripping off the skin as I took it out. I kept the heat at medium, like Alison says, and used canola oil too. Perhaps it’s my pot? Maybe the heat was still too high? 

With the chicken browned and the fat rendered, the chicken lies in waiting on a plate while garlic and onion spend time softening in the fat. Then joins the spice brigade: gochujang (Korean chili paste -- find this at Whole Foods or H-Mart), ginger (freshly grated), turmeric (I used the ground kind), cumin, and red pepper flakes. This is one powerful combination, and each spice is essential to the end result, adding dynamic heat, floral and earthy tones, and acidic tang (gochujang is fermented). The spices took no time at all to become fragrant. I added two cans of coconut milk next, along with chicken broth. I’ve recently taken after my pal Margaret and stopped buying cartons of chicken broth. Instead, I bought a Costco-sized jar of Better Than Bouillion and add one teaspoon at a time to boiling water before I start any recipe that requires chicken broth. It takes no time at all to make my own, plus it’s more fridge-space efficient and environmentally friendly! 

I submerged the chicken in the liquid, and sprinkled in a drained can of chickpeas. Now for the fun part: put on the lid and walk away. Forty-five minutes later, the smells of spice and coconut are frankly irresistible. But the stew needs more time. I removed the lid and let everything simmer for another half hour. You’ll know it’s ready when the chicken meat can practically fall off the bone with the smallest nudge. 

Toppings can make or break a dish. Good thing Alison’s suggestions make this dish a hundred times better: namely lime juice (use it liberally), fresh cilantro (sprinkle it freely), and thinly sliced red onions (enjoy). These three elements elevated the dish from being too heavily dominated by the coconut milk and chicken fat. I made the effort to chop up more for leftovers too – they’re that essential. For the record, Alison suggests fish sauce and peanuts as well, but I felt they were unnecessary. 

This dish is hands-down in my top three Alison-chicken dishes. It requires moderate effort and skill for such flavorful and filling results. Plus, I’m a huge fan of Indian and Korean flavors, so it’s no surprise that this dish won me over. The other top two are her Slow-Roasted Oregano Chicken with Buttered Tomatoes (no surprise there), and Crispy Chicken Legs with Rosemary, Tiny Potatoes, and Sour Cream. I also love when a dish makes enough for leftovers. Quick tip: before storing the rest in a container, try separating all of the chicken from the bones. It takes about ten minutes, but it makes eating leftovers effortless, and less messy. You’ll thank yourself later. 

140 recipes cooked, 85 to go.