Weeknight Hero: Panko-Crusted Roast Chicken

As I hand over this genius weeknight recipe, it’s hard not to think of my earliest magazine editor days, when I was expected to constantly pitch story ideas — food and otherwise — to my boss in the dreaded weekly “beat meetings.” I was just starting out and operated under the assumption that anything that was interesting to me was inherently interesting to the world at large, including, things like “how to use chopsticks” (I was in my late-20s and, suffice to say, a little behind the rest of the world) and a David Sedaris book I thought people should know about, a year after it was published and reviewed in every major newspaper and magazine. The feedback from my boss was almost always the same: There’s nothing new here. Tell me what’s new. (Besides that I had newly discovered it? Hmm.) I guess not a whole lot has changed in the intervening decades, because I’ve run a version of this crispy, herby mustardy chicken recipe before (initially inspired by the great Diana Henry), and at the height of its popularity the dinner appeared on our table once a week, but…BREAKING NEWS…while I was writing about it for Bon Appetit, it got even better, thanks to a pass through their test kitchen. What’s new here? you ask. Well, for starters, using panko, not regular breadcrumbs, gives it a pronounced, super-satisfying crunch, and adding carrots to the pan offers just the right destination for the chicken’s buttery juices. It’s a sheet pan chicken dinner that I’ve newly re-discovered, and I don’t think I’m wrong that here on DALS, that’s always welcome news? Head over to Bon Appetit for the recipe.

Photo by Bobbi Lin for Bon Appetit.