Duck confit in 2 hours? No way! Um… YES WAY.

I saw this on Simply Recipes and had to try it. First, it’s not too often you see the words “ghetto” and “confit” in the same phrase.  Second, duck confit is so delicious, but the multi-day preparation process has always been a huge turn-off.

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Got leftover steaks and baked potatoes from last night’s dinner? Turn them into breakfast GOLD by making an easy, delicious hash.

Here’s the how to: Chop potatoes and steak (or chicken, pork chop, meat loaf, whatev) into roughly equal size cubes (1/2 inch-ish). Chop a couple shallots or onions finely. If you’re like me, then for some odd reason your leftovers also fortuitously include a ziploc containing 5 cooked bacon slices and you should definitely chop those up as well. If you’re lucky enough to own a vegetable, like a bell pepper or broccoli or something, well then your fridge is better stocked than mine. Go ahead and pat yourself on the back, then give that the chop chop as well.

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I have been really busy so I haven’t been cooking that much lately, but I did make this last week and then ate the leftovers for several days after that. This is a really simple, foolproof recipe that is elegant and delicious. My aunt Sherrie, the “queen of chicken” (since she basically only makes chicken) got this recipe from someone and was kind enough to share it with the whole family! I served it with a wild rice blend but you could also serve it with mashed potatoes or buttered noodles. It’s also easy because it’s like chicken+salad all in one dish so you only need a starch to go with it- I think you could even get away with just throwing down a loaf of crusty bread to sop up the sauce- and then you are totally going the super simple route.

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This recipe has an interesting and meaningful provenance. When I used to teach cooking to high school students in New York, we had a competition in which the students had to create and execute their own original recipes. I was a judge for the competition, and when I tasted thie dish, I remember being blown away by their creativity and ability to invent something so original and delicious. Needless to say they won the competition, and I won a copy of the recipe!

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I was thinking about one of my favorite old white-trash recipes, which involves coating chicken pieces in mayonnaise and cornflakes and baking them in the oven. I decided there must be a more sophisticated way to make a dish like this, so I swapped out the cornflakes for pecans and made a tangy yogurt-based coating to stand in for the mayo. I also sauteed the chicken in olive oil instead of baking it, although I would suspect that you could just as easily throw it in the oven.

Not only did it taste a heckuva lot better than the original, it seemed a slightly more balanced nutritionally, and yeah, a lot less white trashy. I served it over a bed of kale wilted with a little garlic and cayenne in homage to its down-home roots.

Pecan-Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 6 to 8 oz. each
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 cups pecans, finely chopped
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• olive oil for sautéing

Method:

• Use a mallet to pound chicken breasts into a uniform 1/2 inch thickness. Cut each breast into 2 or 3 pieces for manageability.
• Combine lemon juice, yogurt, mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl and set aside. Put chicken pieces in mixture and let sit for about 10 minutes.
• Combine pecans, crumbs, and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl and set aside.
• Heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Wipe excess yogurt off chicken and dredge in pecan mixture. When oil is hot, add chicken pieces to pan and cook about 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown on the outside and cooked through. You may need to do it in batches, in which case you should wipe the pan out between batches and add a bit more oil.
• Serve immediately.