This will be published in the Alternative Press tomorrow.  Hope you enjoy it!

I’ve been writing this weekly column for a number of weeks now and realized that I really haven’t done anything particularly French yet. Since I trained in classic French cuisine, I need to rectify this particular situation. This dish utilizes classic French ingredients and techniques, but it’s rather rustic. I would say it’s definitely more of a French country dish rather than something more sophisticated and Parisian.
The chicken is cooked on the range to crisp the skin and brown and then finished in the oven with a few herbs and vegetables and a splash of wine. The sauce is a simple au jus reduction using pan juice, chicken stock, mushroom stock, and brandy and it’s paired with incredibly crispy potatoes. Add a baby spinach salad seasoned only with salt, pepper, and chives and dressed simply with olive oil and you have a meal that is both healthy and well rounded (not to mention incredibly delicious). Even the duck fat isn’t too bad for you as it contains high levels of ‘good’ fat…nutrition information on that is widely available on-line.
All the ingredients can be found at any grocery store or market expect for the duck fat. I purchased my duck fat at Kings and I keep it in the freezer. I break it out every once in a while and simply return it to the freezer for another day. I never use a lot…just a few tablespoons at a time. If you are really ambitious, you can make a duck dish, reserve the fat and use your own. Either way, a little goes a long way. Bon appetite!

Ingredients:
For Chicken:
4 Bone-in chicken thighs, skin on
4 Carrots, peeled and cut in half
2 Onions, skin removed and halved
3 T Canola oil
1 T Olive Oil
1 Bay Leaf (fresh if you have it)
Few sprigs of thyme
Few sprigs of Italian parsley, roughly chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
¼ Cup Brandy
1 Quart Chicken Stock
1 Ounce Dried Chanterelle mushrooms
2 Cups Reserved Mushroom water
1-2 Tablespoons butter
For Potatoes:
1 Small bag small yellow potatoes
2-3 T Duck fat, plus a bit more if necessary
Few Sprigs of thyme
2 Cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper
For Salad:
1 Bunch baby spinach
5 Chives, roughly chopped
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions:
• Blanch the potatoes by bringing water to boil, place potatoes in pot and cook for 5 minutes. Remove potatoes from the water and plunge them into an ice bath to stop the cooking. Dry with a paper or kitchen towel. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Take one quart hot water and place chanterelle mushrooms in container and cover/seal in container. Set aside.
• Heat chicken stock over medium and bring to boil. Add brandy and continue to cook to reduce liquid.
• Heat cast iron skillet on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Add canola oil and olive oil to the pan.
• Place chicken thighs skin side down in cast iron pan and cook slowly for around eight minutes to allow the skin to crisp. Check the chicken periodically to ensure there is no burning and adjust heat as necessary.
• Once chicken skin is dark amber brown and crisp, turn chicken over and cook a couple minutes longer.
• Add carrots, onion, thyme, and bay leaves to chicken. Place chicken over the vegetables and herbs and place cast iron skillet in oven. Cook chicken in oven for 5-8 more minutes or until the juices run clear.
• Take cooled potatoes and slice them in half. Thinly slice the two garlic cloves
• Heat non-stick skillet on medium-high for five minutes. Add the duck fat.
• Add potatoes to the pan. Add thyme sprigs. Season with a bit of salt and pepper
• Cook potatoes for around 5 minutes or until they are darkly caramelized and crisp. Add garlic during the last minute of cooking.
• Remove potatoes from pan, add chives, and adjust salt and pepper seasoning as needed.
• Strain the mushrooms from the mushroom water and place water in the boiling chicken stock/brandy mixture. Bring to boil again and reduce until the liquid is reduced by half its volume. Reserve the chanterelles.
• Remove chicken from oven once cooked through. Remove chicken thighs, herbs, and vegetables from pan. Set aside.
• Place chicken stock, mushroom liquid, and brandy mixture in hot cast iron pan just used for the chicken. Turn on high heat and reduce until very thick and only around ½ cup of liquid remains (around 5 minutes).
• Once reduced, lower heat to simmer and add a pat of butter. Stir in to incorporate. Add parsley to sauce.
• Season spinach with chives, salt and pepper and toss in a little olive oil to coat.
• To plate, arrange salad, potatoes, and mushrooms on plate. Garnish with a few parsley sprigs. Add chicken thighs over the potato and mushrooms. Spoon the jus over the top of the chicken and potatoes. Serve immediately.