Honey-Teriyaki Chicken

Inspired in equal parts by Lisa and Jessie, I've been working on implementing a new meal planning system in our house over the past week or so, and so far it's working pretty well. It involves assigning "themes" to each night of the week that are consistent from week to week. It's really helped me organize the recipes I want to cook, and I've been doing a lot better at actually cooking dinner rather than opting for frozen pizza or a quick sandwich. My husband is part of a spring softball league that's been occupying the better part of his Monday and Thursday nights, which makes cooking on those nights pretty tough, but after his games are over I'll definitely start sharing my meal plans with you.

Anyway, the theme I've decided on for Saturday nights is international cuisine, and this week I made a fantastic meal brought to you straight from the pages of Everyday Food. Joe and I both really enjoyed this honey-teriyaki chicken. I thought it had great flavor, and although I worried it would be too sweet, it wasn't overwhelmingly so. I love cooking with chicken thighs; they're always so tender, and this dish was no exception.

I would suggest cooking the chicken in a casserole dish, or anything with high sides, rather than on a cookie sheet as the recipe suggests. The honey mixture bubbled up quite a bit in the oven, and it could have easily run over the sides of the cookie sheet and made a real mess that I wouldn't have enjoyed cleaning up at all. The skin on the chicken got a bit darker than I would have liked, so if I make these again I may cook them at a lower temperature for a little bit longer. Apparently the skin was still edible, though. I peeled the skin off my chicken, but Joe seemed to enjoy crunching through his!

I served this with Asian cabbage slaw, and it was a delicious accompaniment. This meal is definitely a keeper!

Honey-Teriyaki Chicken
Source: slightly adapted from Everyday Food, May 2009

1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons peeled and finely grated fresh ginger
Coarse salt and ground pepper
6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 pounds total)

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a large bowl, mix honey, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat. Transfer chicken and sauce to baking sheet.

2. Bake chicken, skin side up, basting occasionally with pan juices, until well browned and cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve chicken drizzled with pan juices.