Arroz con Pollo (TTH)

• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 pounds), rinsed and patted dry
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
• 3 jarred piquillo peppers, seeded and chopped, or 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped [Eh, was moving soon.  I don't really need to buy a jar of pickled peppers right before.]
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 Roma (plum) tomatoes, halved, seeded, and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground Espelette pepper, cayenne pepper, or hot paprika [I may have used double this amount.  I imagine half cayenne and half pimenton.]
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1 small packet (1 1/4 teaspoons) Sazon seasoning [Completely failed to see that an actual measurement is listed here]
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
• 3 cups chicken broth
• Hot sauce, such as Crystal, to taste
• 2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro [Pretty sure I didn't bother buying this]
• 2 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 cup plain whole milk yogurt for serving
• Lime zest (optional)

Mise en place.

Browning the chicken thighs.  it's probably impossible to tally up the number of chicken thighs I've browned since I started cooking.

Drain off half of the copious oil (we rendered plenty of fat from the chicken thighs) and cook onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes, Espelette (I'm pretty sure this is some fancy pepper that my idol Richard Blais digs, but I've finally bought the pequin chiles April Bloomfield is into.  Really, I only need so much specialty red pepper in my life, thanks.), and bay leaves.  Cook until the onion softens.

La di da, add tomato paste and caramelize.  Apparently this is also a big Richard Blais thing.

Add rice, Sazon, and saffon and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes.

Pour in chicken stock.  Season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce (which is surprisingly rarely ever used in my cooking even though I like things hot).  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and maintain a simmer.

Nestle in chicken thighs (I guess try to keep the skin from getting totally submerged.)_  Cook until chicken has cooked through.

Somehow it escaped me to take a photo of the finished dish itself.  Top with herbs, yogurt, lime zest, and copious amounts of the condiment I otherwise almost never use for some damn reason.
Arroz con pollo surely hasn't shot up my list of favorite things to eat, but this is arguably better than the ATK skillet version.

Moroccan Tuna Bolognese (TTH)

Tomato Sauce

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, minced
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• Two 28-ounce cans San Marzano tomatoes in juice [ATK says San Marzano is not at all inherently better quality and I take what they say as gospel]
• One 4-inch piece Parmesan cheese rind [Didn't have this]
• 1/4 cup finely diced charcuterie scraps, such as prosciutto or hard salami rinds (optional)
• 4 teaspoons dried oregano
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 18 to 20 fresh basil leaves [I threw the basil into the back of the fridge even though I knew they were a strong possibility that they would freeze and become ruined...  C'est la vie.]
• 5 to 6 leaves from an organic or nonsprayed tomato plant (optional) [Better be]

Tomato sauce mise en place.

Cook onion and garlic until softened over medium heat.

Add tomatoes, mash with potato masher and simmer for 1 hour.

Moroccan Tuna Bologneese

• Three 6- to 8-ounce tuna steaks
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
•  1 carrot, finely minced
• 1 stalk celery, finely minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon Moroccan spice blend [I'm judging you if you need to resort to this] or 1 teaspoon each ground coriander, cumin, and cinamon
• 1 bay leaf
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup dry sherry or red wine
• 2 cups Tomato Sauce
• 1/2 cup pitted Picholine or other green olives, roughly chopped
• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest, plus more for garnish
• 1 pound Fresh Pasta Dough, rolled out and cut into linguine, [Didn't happen], or store-bought dried linguine
• Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
• 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled, for garnishing
• 1/4 cup mixed chopped fresh dill, parsley, and basil [I think I just had parsley]

Mise en place.

Very finely mince one of the tuna steaks and cook in olive oil over medium-high heat until it begins to brown.  Remove with slotted spoon.

This is a utensil I didn't exactly have when I cooked this, but I do now.

Add aromatics (I guess I need to be more explicit here and say this only includes the oncion, carrot, and celery.) and cook until softened.

Add garlic, spices, bay leaf, and salt and pepper.  Cook to toast spices.

Add tomato paste and cook to caramelize.

Add tomato sauce and cooked tuna.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer until the sauce is very thick, 25 to 30 minutes.

Stir in the tuna chunks, green olives, and orange zest, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning.

Add pasta to the sauce, then add the lemon juice and half the feta and herbs.  Toss until pasta is well-coated.
Sprinkle with remaining feta, herbs, and extra orange zest if I really wanted to bother pulling out the microplane again.

Lamb Shanks Briased in Root Beer (TTH)

• 4 lamb shanks (2 1/2 to 3 pounds total)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• One 12-ounce bottle root beer
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 6 fresh flat-leaf parsley stems, plus 1/4 cup chopped parsley, for garnish
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 bay leaf

Mise en place.

Dredge lamb shanks in flour and sear in olive oil over medium-high heat until golden brown.

Bloody murder.

Browned shanks.

Reduce heat to minimum and soften aromatic vegetables.  Oh, since this is a dish I made upon moving from Cambridge to Malden, I didn't realize that nearly all my carrots had gone bad.

Instead of going out and buying more, I used parsnips.  Given the nature of the dish, I figured it would be a good idea.

Add tomato paste and cook, stirring often, until it caramelizes.

Add root beer, chicken stock, parsley stems, rosemary, bay leaf, and lamb shanks, along with any accumulated juices.  Braise in a 325 degree oven until tender and...

Goddamn MAGICAL.  Blanket it all with the mixed herbs; or rather, strictly parsley in my lazy case.  Microwave-in-a-bag vegetables and we're good.

It seems as if I might have a reason to bother attempting side dishes so...  I guess I'll keep you posted.