We have had a busy month and it’s only the 13th! We haven’t had a chance to go grocery shopping so I thawed a package of chicken thighs hoping I could come up with something good with what I had on hand.

When this happens I like to do a Google search for chicken thigh recipes to see what sounds good. This time it was Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa, who got me started.

Her recipe, Chicken Thighs with Creamy Mustard sauce, sounded good. I was grateful I could make do without having to go to the grocery store at rush hour.

As the sauce was simmering, I thought it was missing something, so I looked up other mustard sauce recipes to see what spices they used. I added ground coriander (the seed of cilantro), cayenne pepper to add depth of flavor, raw honey to balance the tanginess of the mustard, and some leftover bacon slices because, well it’s BACON! For garnish a chopped up fresh spinach since I had no parsley.

I made white rice to soak up the creamy sauce and seasoned green beans. It was so good and might become a new favorite. I’ve also heard that when you change three ingredients to a recipe it becomes a new original. I like that.

Thank you Ina and Google. You helped me make do in a pinch.

Do you have favorite chicken thigh recipe?

Debi’s Crispy Chicken Thighs with Creamy Honey Mustard Sauce

Ingredients:

• 8 medium bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (2¼ pounds)

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Good olive oil

• 2 cups halved and thinly sliced yellow onion (2 onions)

• 2 tablespoons dry white wine

• 8 ounces crème fraîche (I substituted with whole milk Greek yogurt because it’s what I had)

• 1 tablespoon good Dijon mustard

• 1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard (I omitted since I didn’t have this and doubled the Dijon mustard)

• 1/2 t. Garlic Salt

• 1/2 t. Coriander

• 1/4 t. Cayenne pepper

• 1/2 T. Honey

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh spinach, for garnish

Instructions:

Heat a large cast iron skillet (this insures a crispy skin) on medium high.

While waiting for pan to heat Pat dry the thigh on both sides and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Add olive oil to heated pan and once hot place chicken thighs skin-side down. Do not disturb and cook for 15 minutes. Using tongs flip chicken and add sliced onions to pan stirring often. Turn heat down to medium and cook for another 15 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165 with meat thermometer.

Remove chicken from pan and add white wine to the onions to deglaze the pan. Add the additional ingredients except the honey. Simmer and stir for 5 minutes on low.

Add honey to the sauce and chicken thighs crispy side up.

Serve with your favorite sides and enjoy!

Makes 6- 8 servings

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