Cooking with Blobby

It seems like forever since I did one of these.  

But you know.......summer. That meant a ton of grilling and nothing horribly new or innovative. 

Still, cooking relaxes me and 710 is usually a sport on letting me do what I want in the kitchen without too much push back. Granted, if he doesn't like it he won't say it, but he won't pretend praise me either. 

Blobby can take a hint. 

I went with Pan-Seared Chicken Thighs With Parsley and Lemon. 

The name pretty much says it all, though Blobby didn't really do it all it seems.  ....more on that in a bit. 

INGREDIENTS Yield: 4 servings 

1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley (3 to 4 ounces) 

10 garlic cloves, peeled 

1 jalapeño, stemmed 

2 tablespoons capers 

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus wedges for serving 

2 teaspoons granulated sugar 

Kosher salt and black pepper 

½ cup buttermilk 

1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs 

Olive oil, as needed 

PREPARATION 

Step 1 Separate the tough parsley stems from the leaves and tender stems. Coarsely chop the tough stems. 

Step 2 In a food processor, add the chopped parsley stems, garlic, jalapeño, capers, lemon juice, sugar, 1½ teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon pepper and the buttermilk; blitz until smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl and add the chicken; turn to evenly coat. Cover and refrigerate to marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.  (I let it go for about 22 hours.)

Step 3 Heat a large, preferably nonstick skillet over medium-high and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the reserved parsley leaves and tender stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until considerably wilted and bright green but charred in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; transfer to a platter. 

It never charred. And it reduced down to nothing - like spinach. 

Step 4 In the same skillet over medium-high, add enough oil to coat the bottom. Add the chicken with its marinade and cook until browned and caramelized in spots, 7 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer to the platter with the parsley and serve with lemon wedges, for spritzing.

This is where it fell apart. 

Between the added oil and the marinade, there was no browning. At all. It basically braised. Yeah, it was cooked through for temp purposes, but..........you know..............green.  And not just a little. 

The Grinch's chicken tasted fine, but........you know..........the Grinch.  It's pesto-like, but it's not the most appetizing colour. 

Parsley isn't spinach. You can cook it down but it's still somewhat tough. As for the chicken, with e marinade, I got no taste of capers or jalapeño. It smelled of garlic - as there were 10 !!! cloves.  I mean, it all tasted fine, but not over the top great or anything. 

I have four thighs left. Maybe I'll cut it up and make some kind of chicken salad. 

710 he liked my enthusiasm and when I talked down the meal a bit, he said "you learn from your experience".   I injected........"you mean mistakes"........but he claims it was 'experiences'. 

He is far too nice for me.