CLASSY CHICKEN: NIGELLA LAWSON'S SPANISH CHICKEN WITH ORANGES AND CHORIZO

Remember that friendly competition/writing contest Warren and I were doing? Bad news bears: Warren won. By one page. One! Of course he has since taken every moment to lord his win over me, which I have taken with about as much grace as a dancing lobster. He also had the audacity to abandon me on Valentine's Day to play basketball. In his defense, we had agreed a few weeks ago to celebrate the writing contest win/Valentine's dinner over the weekend, but please feel free to give him a lot of grief about that :) But since I am a true romantic, I was able to save the day with a bucket of the Colonel's famous (disgustingly delicious) chicken. It was the right decision on many levels. Don't judge. 

We tried to even out our white trash Valentine's with a classy chicken dinner tonight. Warren had only one stipulation for his writing contest winner dinner: mini potatoes. We love these teeny tiny ones from Trader Joe's but went with a mixed bag of red, Yukon, and purple minis. Nigella Lawson's Spanish chicken with oranges and chorizo may be the easiest and tastiest one pan chicken meal on earth. Seriously. So good! We used Jennie-O's Hardwood Smoked Turkey Sausage and it was divine. 

CLASSY CHICKEN WITH ORANGES AND SMOKED TURKEY SAUSAGE

*From Nigella Lawson

• Olive oil
• 6 chicken thighs and 6 chicken legs (bone in with skin--trust me)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 package Jennie-O's Hardwood Smoked Turkey Sausage (or chorizo)
• 1 bag baby potatoes, potatoes cut in half or in quarters
• 2 red onions, peeled and quartered
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 2 oranges, sliced into about 8 pieces each

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. We want to roast everything to golden perfection and caramelize the veggies. Throw the chicken pieces in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Use your hands (I know, it's super gross touching chicken skin but it will be worth it) to rub everything in. Lay each chicken piece on a parchment paper-lined rimmed cookie sheet (I used two pans).

In the same bowl toss potatoes, red onions, and oranges with olive oil, oregano, and garlic powder. Salt and pepper. Nestle around the chicken pieces. Roast for one hour. Halfway through, baste with any juice (I forgot to do this step and it still turned out great). Let the meat rest for ten minutes before serving. If you want to stretch the meal out, add a side of couscous. Can't go wrong!

______

On a final Valentines-y note, check out the adorable film my dear friend Patricia made for the 2013 Lonely Hearts Film Festival in Washington, D.C. The Good, the Bad, and the Eggly took home Best Picture and it isn't hard to see why. I love how Patricia was able to give inanimate objects such life. I'm also incredibly proud of this project because I helped write the script! Collaboration is the best. Harold will make your day in the best way:

Wherever and however you spent Valentine's Day, we hope it was lovely!