Mustard-Tarragon Chicken with Scallion-Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Getting to the point where I don’t need recipes has been liberating. Between staples that I always have on hand and then some random stuff in the fridge I can usually whip up something pretty tasty with minimal hassle. I still use recipes. There’s so much I don’t know in terms of fundamentals and then nuances of various cuisines. But figuring out how to wing my way to something good...that’s pretty cool. That’s where this meal came from. Both of the recipes are easy. Not many ingredients. Not a lot of steps. Nothing delicate. You just turn on some heat and start slamming away. 

It was a crappy day. Spent close to six hours at the airport not getting to Chicago for a meeting tomorrow. Gave up. Came home. Decided to take on the big ass hill that starts just on the other side of Sunset from the new casa. Important note - um...in winter it gets dark early and fast. Bring a flashlight you moron. I liked the hike, particularly when I got to the end of the road and slipped through a fence and caught a trail. Avoided any bad pratfalls but did have a few scary stumbles on the way down in the dark. Sans flashlight or headlamp. On top of that felt a little under the weather all weekend. Not sure if I’ve got something or am just stressed out from the move and not really sleeping well in the new place just yet. So haven’t felt great. Just kinda off. I didn’t want to do anything new. I didn’t want to go to the store. I didn’t want to go out. I didn’t want to screw with grub hub or pizza. 

I had a pack of chicken thighs and a pound of fingerling potatoes. Chicken and taters works just fine. But only if you do stuff to it. Otherwise its dull as all get out.

Looking in the fridge, I found this...