Chicken Dijon with Wine Sauce

Do you enjoy experimenting with recipes? Do you ever wonder what something would taste like if you added something extra to the dish? Do you ever take "family favorite' recipes and tweak them to accommodate a child, yourself or even a friend?  I for one enjoy doing just that and more frequently imagine what I could do to change a recipe as I read through it. It might mean that I leave out an ingredient, add an ingredient or even change the way something is cooked. That could mean switching from stove-top to oven or the reverse or even grilling instead of either one of those methods. All of those things make a recipe uniquely your own and you have the satisfaction of creating a brand new dish.

I have learned that chicken is one of the most adaptable meats to cook. It combines with so many elements, vegetables, pasta and rice. It seems to show up in magazines most frequently and can be used in ever so many ways. It can be comfort food and used in a dish as familiar as Chicken and Dumplings or it can be elegantly stuffed and sautéed in wine.

In the following recipe I changed the portions and added several ingredients. I found the basic recipe for a Honey-Mustard Chicken in a magazine supplement to our local newspaper and decided to personalize it to our taste. We were very pleasantly surprised at the result and it will be a family favorite in our file.

Honey-Mustard Chicken

• 3 skinless chicken thighs
• ½ teaspoon salt, divided
• Coarsely ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons honey Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• ¼ cup finely chopped sweet onion
• 1 large clove garlic, diced
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup white wine
• 4 small red potatoes

1.     Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2.     Sprinkle the chicken thighs with ¼ teaspoon salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste. I like a peppery taste so I use more than most folks, probably about ½ teaspoon.

3.     Combine the mustard, honey, onion, garlic, thyme and ¼ cup white wine in a small Pyrex bowl and blend together. Pour over thighs that you have placed in a 9x9 baking dish or an oven safe skillet.

4.     Cut the red potatoes in half and place them in the baking dish with the chicken thighs. Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and coarsely ground black pepper.

5.     Bake for 50 minutes until potatoes and chicken are tender. Stir the potatoes once to ensure even baking.

6.     Plate the chicken and potatoes, and add remaining 1/4 cup wine to the baking dish and stir over a low heat until you have a thin drizzle to pour over the chicken.  Serves 3 generously.

If cooking for fewer people, the leftovers will make a delicious chicken sandwich lunch with potatoes for a side.

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