Balsamic Ben

After more than six years of cooking for my husband, I found a flavor that he really likes (as opposed to something he eats because it's in front of him). I made the dish below last week, and he immediately said, "Wow, this is good! It has great flavor!" As I pondered what this flavor could be, the only major flavor-izer (like my new word?) in the dish was balsamic vinegar.

I started thinking back and realized that whenever there was balsamic vinegar and oil on the table in Europe (particularly Italy) he used it every time with his bread and other things. On top of that, as I filed the recipe away with the rest, I noticed a number of other recipes that also featured balsamic vinegar, which had the note "Ben likes!" scrawled across the top, in my horrid, un-teacherly handwriting. (One of these recipes is my favorite sauce for asparagus) So, now I know. Use balsamic vinegar as much as possible to make my hubby happy :-)

Baked Chicken with Onions, Potatoes, Garlic, and Thyme

[Note: This is the original recipe. I adapted it to about 2/3 of the original amount so it'd all fit in a 9x13, and used 8-12 chicken tenders (smaller than breasts), which bake quicker. Either way, it's super easy!]

1 whole chicken (approx. 3 lb), cut into 8 pieces and breasts halved lengthwise

1 pound potatoes, cut in eighths

1 large red onion, cut in eighths

1 head garlic, cloves separated and left unpeeled

6 sprigs thyme

1 lemon, quartered

1/4 c. olive oil

2 T. balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Arrange chicken, potatoes, onion, garlic, thyme and lemon in a 12x16 roasting pan. Whisk together oil and vinegar and drizzle over chicken and vegetables. Toss to combine and season with salt and pepper. Turn chicken skin side up. Roast until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 50 minutes.

By the way, if you're interested in the recent revival of our garden, check out Ben's blog!