Not your mom’s Southern food: Try vinegar chicken thighs

One pot dishes are all about planning well and laying out your prep in a smart sequential order. The beauty of this dish is the vinegar, which is a malty, nutty and nuanced.

Season the thighs with the salt and pepper.

In a wide and heavy bottomed pot that has a lid, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the thighs, skin side down and let them sit in that pan WITHOUT moving them around for 7 minutes. You are encouraging good caramelization of that skin and developing a ton of flavor in the process. After 7 minutes turn the thighs over and add the onions, paprika, and garlic to the pot. Cook for 5 minutes and then add the vinegar, careful not to let it flame up.

This is a good time to get a spatula and loosen up all of those pan drippings. The vinegar needs to cook down by half, and when it does, add the stock. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes over low heat and then remove lid, adding oranges, mint, and spinach. Stir lightly and serve immediately.

The beautiful beets and carrots harvested at the same time in the early fall by our local farm supplier inspired this recipe.

Feta is a brined sheep’s milk or cow’s milk cheese made in many places, but the European Union recently mandated that only feta from Greece can be called “feta” so we’ll start to see a bunch of “Greek-Style Salad Cheeses” in grocery stores. My favorite feta, Valbreso, is from France, is 100% sheep’s milk, and is for sale at Kroger in Athens, Georgia.

Vinaigrettes need balance and should be made with the other salad components in mind. If you are dressing salty feta, scale back on the salt content in the dressing.

For cumin vinaigrette:
Place the Dijon mustard in a bowl and whisk in the olive oil, then the lemon juice and the sherry vinegar. Add the cumin and the mint. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For salad:
Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Bring a large pot of water to a vigorous boil, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, then the carrots. Blanche for one minute and remove to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Once cool, remove and set aside.

Place the beets in a large pot of cold water. Bring to a boil, add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and simmer until the beets are tender. Strain the beets and peel them using paper towels to rub off the skin.  This is easier when they are still warm.

Crumble the feta and set aside.

Toss the carrots with a 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil and place them on half a baking sheet pan. Toss the beets with the remaining olive oil and place on the other half of the sheet pan. Roast for 15 minutes.

Remove the beets and carrots from the oven and place in separate bowls. Add 1 tablespoon of the vinaigrette and 1/2 cup of the parsley to the beets and toss. Add 1 tablespoon of the vinaigrette, the remaining parsley, and the feta to the carrots and toss. Divide the carrots evenly among 6 plates. Then divide the beets evenly among the plates and gently mix with the carrots. Drizzle with a touch more of the vinaigrette.

This is a very simple way to embellish marinated white anchovies, the Spanish variety that are cooked, vinegary, and packed in oil. Marinated anchovies are not for Caesar salads, pizzas, or tomato sauce. These little beauties are a snack unto themselves. Pairing their puckery vinegar marinade with great olive oil, ruby red grapefruit, and freshly ground black pepper enhances their intrinsic flavor. If you have trouble finding items like marinated anchovies at your local market you could order them from online sources such as Amazon.com or Tienda.com.

Using a sharp paring knife, cut off the top half inch and the bottom half inch of the grapefruit. Rest the bottom of the fruit on the cutting board and cut off the pith and skin moving from top to bottom. Once you have the fruit ready to go, cup it in your hand and carefully run the knife blade between each segment, stopping at the center of the fruit, to free the segments from their skins. Do not use too much pressure when cutting; instead, let the sharpness of the knife work for you. Place the segments in a small bowl, and when all of the segments have been removed, squeeze the juice on top.

Arrange the anchovies and the grapefruit segments on a plate in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle with the freshly ground pepper and then drizzle with the olive oil. Serve immediately.