Late night dinner.

I know this won't seem like the kind of dinner you'll want to make when coming home late, but after my last two shifts at work, some tasty, comforting food was truly in order.

So in the last hour of my work shift last night, I was checking Facebook. I am friends with Smitten Kitchen and there was her most recent update, Dijon Chicken. It sounded like exactly what my husband and I both needed for dinner. Trouble was, I only had frozen solid chicken. A trip to the store would be in order.

I booked it out of work and hit the Trader Joe's very near by for some chicken. I intended on skipping the butchering of my own whole chicken tonight, however, the price of the whole chicken wooed me in. Saving money beat my laziness out.

Purchases made, I headed home. I de-worked myself, got my comfy pants and slippers on, and got to it.

Oven preheated and potatoes go in.

Chicken unwrapped.

And hacked into eight pieces. If you've never done this before, it isn't hard, check out the Smitten Kitchen blog I am linking below for a great video tutorial.

Look at the size of those boobs.

Chicken browned, roasted, sauce made, potatoes hot and broccoli cooked. Husband made it home just as everything came together and we shared our first dinner together for the week. Sure it was 9 pm, but the meal was awesome and company even better.

Roasted Chicken with Dijon Sauce
Adapted from Gourmet, March 2008 via Smitten Kitchen with 2 small tweaks of my own. Sauce serves eight at 3 points a serving. Chicken without the skin varies on point value, I leave you to it.


3 pounds chicken parts (thighs, drumsticks, and/or breasts), with skin and bones
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 small shallots, thinly sliced
3/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup reduced-sodium or sodium-free chicken broth
1/4 cup evaporated milk
2 tablespoons smooth Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon

Preheat oven to 450°F with a rack in middle. Pat chicken dry and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet (if you’ve got a cast iron skillet, it is great here) over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Working in 2 batches, brown chicken, skin side down first and turning once, about 2-3 minutes a side.

Return all chicken, skin side up, to skillet and roast in oven until just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter, then add shallots to pan juices and cook until softened for about 2 minutes over medium heat. Add the broth and wine to skillet and boil, scraping up any brown bits, until reduced by half, about 5-7 minutes. Add milk and boil until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.  Whisk in the mustard and tarragon until smooth.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve chicken with sauce. Drink the rest of the white wine you used with dinner.