chicken rice with buttered onions

Over the last few years, and particularly during those long months of 2020, we got really into variations on “chicken rice” — chicken and rice cooked together in an aromatic broth that together is the most cozy, comforting thing. The rice is crazy flavorful, drinking up any seasonings and/or vegetables you add to the pan. The chicken is tender and juicy. The dish keeps well even if I’m making it many hours earlier than dinner and the leftovers are phenomenal. It’s relatively inexpensive and I’ve almost always got at least the rice and various pantry items around to make it work. It should run for president. I’ve made versions with almost every regional or seasonal flavor group I was craving that day, but the one that has proven to have the most staying power is perhaps unsurprisingly the simplest, the one I can make from the one thing I’ll have around even when the fridge is sparse: onions. We brown chicken thighs in a hot pan, then add a lump of butter and a heap of diced onions to the drippings and cook them down until the onions are golden and sweet throughout, darker and deeply caramelized at the edges. We reserve some of these copper, almost jammy onions then build the rest of the dish on this foundation, adding thyme, a splash of wine, chicken broth, plus the rice and chicken thighs and they all finish cooking together. At the end, we scatter the top with the reserved onions and I … want to take a nap in the pan. No seriously: It’s like a thick comforter on a shivery rainy day, it tastes the way the first hot cup of coffee of the season feels in your hands, and it smells the way you dream your home will when you open the door after an exhausting day, or so seems to be the reaction from my two most opinionated dinner guests. If you don’t mind me prattling on further — I’m having a moment today! — I feel staunchly that one way we can make cooking feel like more than just a list of endless tasks to complete, even though it’s definitely often that, and more than about pleasing the people who it feeds, elusive as that can be with kids or really any time validation comes from the outside, is to focus on how it feels to make something that tastes, smells, and feels phenomenal and this, for me, is very much that. Something fun! ğŸ�‚ This fall, I am partnering with Williams-Sonoma on all things Thanksgiving. You might spot me in their catalog, in stores, and on their website sharing my recipes and tips. Plus! Stay tuned as we put together some in-person events around the country. We can’t wait. Here’s aPomegranate and Orange Peel Fizz, my favorite holiday nonalcoholic drink. You can find the recipeonline, and inSmitten Kitchen Every Day, my second cookbook. 6 months ago:Bean and Vegetable Burritos1 year ago:Apple Dumplings2 years ago:Big Apple Crumb Cake3 years ago:Whole Wheat Chocolate Oat CookiesandSimple Cauliflower Tacos4 years ago:Chickpea and Kale Shakshuka5 years ago:Crispy Spinach Pizza6 years ago:Pizza BeansandChocolate Tahini Challah Buns7 years ago:Homemade Merguez with Herby YogurtandMagic Apple Plum Cobbler8 years ago:The Perfect Manhattan,Broccoli Cheddar SoupandS’more Cupcakes9 years ago:Latke WafflesandThe Crispy Egg10 years ago:Frico Grilled Cheese Sandwiches11 years ago:Crackly Banana BreadandSpaghetti with Broccoli Cream Pesto12 years ago:Apple Pie Cookies13 years ago:Single-Crust Apple and Plum Pie14 years ago:Date Spice LoafandLebanese-Style Stuffed Eggplant15 years ago:Summer’s Last Hurrah Panzanella,Sweet and Sour Glazed Cippoline,Majestic and Moist Honey Cake, andBest Challah (Egg Bread)16 years ago:Red Velvet Cake,Noodle Kugel,Spaghetti Fideos with Chorizo and AlmondsandCouscous and Feta-Stuffed Peppers17 years ago:Acorn Squash with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette