Anticiplate

This past weekend we shipped the kid (Cashew) to my Mom’s, drank as much water as we could, and headed to Sonoma to celebrate Erik’s 30th birthday. We rented this amazing Italian Villa with a huge gourmet kitchen which I had planned to cook in.  But, I actually did not saute or dice the entire weekend (thanks to Dane, Michael, and Eddie).  We did many wine tastings, spent hours in the hot tub, and it turned out to be one of the best weekends  I have ever experienced. 

Well, last night, even though I was itching to cook again, my exhaustion got the best of me, which means Erik cooked. And by that I mean, he ordered a pizza. 

Tonight, however, I made no excuses. I went to the grocery store to see what inspired me, and this seemed like my last salute to summer. Summer squash, corn, and grape tomatoes.  I had also seen this “pressed chicken” by many of my favorite chefs, and I felt that at some point, I needed to jump on that bandwagon and try it. Enjoy! 

Serves 4 

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

4 chicken breast halves with skin and bones (about 3 lbs. total)

Kosher salt and Cracked black pepper

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2 yellow squashes, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

1 pint of tomatoes, cut in half

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 kernels of corn, stripped 

1/2 c. flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

3 tsp. of thyme, divided

Pat chicken dry. Season with a generous amount of kosher salt and black pepper. 

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. 

Add chicken, skin side down. Cover with parchment paper and top with a heavy skillet or pot (such as a Le Cruset or another skillet with two 15 oz. cans). Cook 8 minutes, remove pot and  parchment. Then flip over and cook another 8 minutes with parchment and pot on top. 

Transfer chicken to plate to keep warm with foil. 

Add squash, tomatoes, garlic, corn, parsley, and 2 tsp. of thyme to the chicken renderings in the skillet. Scrape up the brown bits with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook for 6 minutes until squash is soft and tomatoes are saucy. Season with salt and pepper. 

Place chicken on each plate. Top with vegetable mixture. Sprinkle remaining chicken with 1 tsp. of thyme.