Good Food: Chicken Thighs with Basmati Rice (and green beans ...)

Mmm ... I love it when a good meal comes together. Yesterday, I took out a pack of organic chicken thighs from Whole Foods. After cooking, what felt like all weekend/week, the previous days I decided to go light on dinner. No pots and pans necessary. So tonight, I wanted to make something especially good, something that reminded me of Dad. My father was an awesome cook. I can still smell the pork chops, basmati rice and spinach and amazing au jus. And let's not forget the fabulous Sunday breakfast, which sometimes consisted of Red Eye Gravy (black coffee slowly cooked over country ham drippings), eggs with cheddar cheese and the most amazing cheddar grits you've probably ever had (sigh ...). Miss you, Dad!

Tonight, I baked 4 chicken thighs with fresh lemon juice, fresh ground pepper, Kosher salt, which I believe makes everything taste better, and makes the skin extra crispy and Adobe seasoning. I cut up of the remaining of the half lemon that I squeezed over the chicken, and added the small wedges to the pan. I topped everything off with extra virgin olive oil. Then, into the oven it went at 425F for 35-40 minutes.

The result? Perfection.
The skin was perfectly crispy. The fresh lemon juice and the au jus from the chicken created the perfect gravy, which I spooned over the chicken and rice, once I plated everything.

It was fantastic. The sides included Basmati rice and reheated green beans (let's just ignore those ...)