As I hand over this genius weeknight recipe, itโs hard not to think of my earliest magazine editor days, when I was expected to constantly pitch story ideas โ food and otherwise โ to my boss in the dreaded weekly โbeat meetings.โ I was just starting out and operated under the assumption that anything that was interesting to me was inherently interesting to the world at large, including, things like โhow to use chopsticksโ (I was in my late-20s and, suffice to say, a little behind the rest of the world) and aย David Sedaris book I thought people should know about, a year after it was published and reviewed in every major newspaper and magazine. The feedback from my boss was almost always the same: Whereโs the learning?ย Whatโs new here?ย (Besides that I had newly discovered it? Hmm.) I guess not a whole lot has changed in the intervening decades, because Iโve run a version of this crispy, herby mustardy chicken recipe before (initially inspired by the great Diana Henry), and at the height of its popularity the dinner appeared on our table weekly, butโฆBREAKING NEWSโฆwhile I was writing about it for Bon Appetit, the dish got even better, thanks to a pass through their magical test kitchen. Whatโs new here? you ask. Well, for starters, using panko, not regular breadcrumbs, gives it a pronounced, super-satisfying crunch, and adding carrots to the pan offers just the right destination for the chickenโs buttery juices. Itโs a sheet pan chicken dinner that Iโve newly re-discovered, and I donโt think Iโm wrong that here on DALS, thatโs always welcome news?ย Head over to Bon Appetit for the recipe.
Photo by Bobbi Lin for Bon Appetit.
Back when I was in college, my roommates and I would take turns cooking dinner every week. I remember one of our favorites was chicken breasts that were coated in a mixture of bread crumbs and an envelope of Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing mix and then baked. I have no recollection of what we paired them with, but I have made a variation for my kids a time or twelve. ๐ This seems like an evolution of that recipe with the dual improvement of bone-in chicken and panko! Classics are classics for a reason!
Per the recipe on Bon Appetit, โ Arrange skin side up a rimmed baking sheet and smear all over skin side of thighs.โ Smear what all over the skin side???
The butter, mustard, thyme comboโthat will be delicious with the Panko crust!
The butter โ herb โ mustard mixture.
Confession โ I use boneless/ skinless thighs.
Did it turn out well with the boneless/skinless? I have little kids and that is so much easier for them to eat.
Iโve made it with boneless, skinless thighs and itโs still delicious. I think the original recipe called for them. The cooking time might be slightly different? The original recipe is on the blog โ check it out. Title of recipe is Baked Chicken with Herbs and Dijon
I get to feel ahead of the game hereโฆ Iโve been using panko since I started making this, petty much immediately after you posted it the first time.
Iโve made it so many times it is literally โthat chickenโ at our house, and last year my 9yo son found out it wasnโt actually your recipe โ so he convinced my husband to buy me A Bird in Hand for Christmas.
In fact, I probably need to throw this down for next weekโs Sunday dinner. Tomorrowโs is your tomtoey pork chops and kale.
Love this recipe โ have been making the original on repeat since you posted. Always done with Panko, but excited to try it with the carrots!!
Literally eating leftover (homemade) chicken nuggets and roast carrots we made the other dayโฆ Seems like weโre on the same wavelength here! Such a perfect, simple but still satisfying dinner
This recipe legitimately blew my mind. I got home last night late because I had to go to the laundromat (worst of all the chores). So I came to make this kind of grumpily. So much so that I accidentally put the mustard in with the bread crumbs and had to scoop it out. Luckily it didnโt affect what was a PERFECT dinner. Literally. I hate two chicken thighs and had peeled and cut a bunch of carrots. I ate EVERY blessed carrot. Iโll have to make more tonight to go with the leftovers.
So thank you! What a win.
That looks delicious! I just did this with sole last night (how can we try something else thatโs not regular bread crumbs or just flour?) and the textural crunch made a boring fish dinner a bit more exciting and a little more tasty too. Added with a salad with a lemon-tahini dressing, it was a well balanced meal. Basically, are you reading my mind with the thoughts of panko?!
Also: David Sedarisโs Theft By Finding is EXCELLENT. I saw a mention of Andyโs name in the thank you. It was the perfect antidote to the wintertime blues.
Well I am trying to guess this vegetable is pepper or carrot before I visit Bon Appetit
โWho won dinner?! Mom did!โ โ said my three year old after tasting
I didnโt check out this recipe until now as it links to your new post. This reminds me very much of a chicken recipe made famous by the late food write Laurie Colwin.
Can this be done with skinless thighs?