how to keep a happy engagement: chicken edition

Photo courtesy of Witty in the City

I love food. I love reading about it, looking at pictures of it, cooking it, and eating it (only on occasion of course, I'm getting married after all. Today's lunch will be a big gust of wind.).

I have shared my love of Pinterest before on this blog, but I utilize it for much more than just pinning my favorite Lauren Conrad-inspired messy waves for my rehearsal dinner hair. Ugggggh did I really just type that? I hate myself.

ANYWAY. Pinterest is amazing for food porn. It's not quite as great as a site like Tastespotting for actually finding recipes -- since a lot of people just post salivating images with no instructions -- but I have found quite a few gems over the past few months. I organize my boards into a substantial amount of categories (shocker, I know), so I have everything from my favorite quick bread recipes to party dishes all within one easy click. And for just an additional $39.99, you can add on one more really dorky sentence to this paragraph!

One of my favorite pages, which is really more for wishful thinking than actually useful, is my entree board. While my new job (!) affords me far more free time than when I was hitting the pavement as a reporter, I still find myself bopping around to events, having work dinners or channeling my inner-ballerina after hours. Although I'm quite grateful to have a full dance card (get it?), this doesn't leave much time to hone my mad skills as a happy homemaker. But, when the stars align and I shockingly find myself with a free night, nothing brings me more pleasure than wandering around Agata and coming home to prepare a Giada-worthy feast for me and the Mike.

And, feminism be damned: Ladies, your men go CRAZY when you cook for them. It's hardwired, the same way never putting the goddamned toilet seat down is (we'll save that story for another time). Look, Mike is all for women's rights (except when it involves anything coming between him and a soccer match), but would it make him ecstatic if he could come home to a scratch-made meal and a clean apartment every night? Of course. Is this ever going to happen? Probably, definitely not.

But, hey, I try and throw him a bone when I can, which brings us to this mind-bendingly good recipe I hunted down on Pinterest. It's actually called Man-Pleasing Chicken. Not only is it simple enough for any kitchen-phobic Manhattanite to master, it's potentially the best chicken I have ever made. Those two factors should be enough to add it immediately to your roster of weeknight dinners.

Man-Pleasing Chicken (courtesy of Witty in the City)

Ingredients

1/2 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup (get the good shit)
1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
1.5 pound package of chicken thighs or breasts (I recommend boneless)
Salt
Pepper
Fresh rosemary

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix mustard, maple syrup and vinegar together in a bowl. Set aside. Line an oven-proof baking dish with foil, then place salt-and-peppered breasts inside. Add liquid ingredients to chicken, turning them over to fully coat. Pop into the oven for 40 minutes, basting the chicken with the excess sauce once during baking. Let rest for five minutes, then finish by sprinkling fresh rosemary over the top.

Your man (or woman) will love you for this.