Chicken and Red Potatoes

The first weeks of River's life were the particular chaos and wonder of a newborn in a house. Caleb was doing it mostly with the help of River's mother, a woman named Drea who I'd met a couple of times before. She's steady and clear-eyed and doesn't need much from the outside world to manage, which is probably good given who she's partnered with. I liked her for how she handled it—no drama, just competence and warmth in equal measure.

I went over twice a week. Sometimes to see them, sometimes just to drop food and leave if they were sleeping. The food journal noted: first casserole for new parents, February 2021. Chicken and rice, because it's the most unoffensive and useful thing you can bring a household with a newborn. A pot of beans. A loaf of the sourdough bread that had by this point become reliably good. Banana bread because Caleb always eats banana bread.

My mother called when she heard about River—she's in Muskogee, doesn't come out our way often, but she called and asked a lot of questions and seemed genuinely moved. There's something about new babies that restores people to themselves a little. The generation gap collapses temporarily and everyone is just glad something new arrived.

Hannah took Kai to meet River when he was about ten days old. Kai studied him for a long time with that careful assessment he applies to new information and then announced that River had very small hands. He said this with the seriousness of someone filing a report. Caleb said yeah, but they'll get bigger. Kai seemed to find this acceptable and proceeded to eat the banana bread I'd brought without further comment on the baby.

The chicken and rice casserole I brought Caleb and Drea that February is something I’ve made in variations for years — the logic being that chicken and starch, roasted together until they soften into each other, is about as close to unconditional support as food can get. This version with red potatoes is the one I come back to most: easy to scale, hard to mess up, and the kind of thing that reheats well at 2 a.m. when a baby won’t sleep and someone needs to eat something real. It’s what I think of now when I picture that kitchen, River in the next room, Kai solemnly reporting on the size of someone’s hands.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 55 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks
1 1/2 lbs small red potatoes, halved
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a large 9x13-inch baking dish or oven-safe skillet.
Season the chicken. Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, combine garlic, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, paprika, salt, and pepper. Rub the mixture all over the chicken pieces.
Arrange the pan. Scatter the halved red potatoes in the prepared baking dish. Nestle the seasoned chicken pieces on top of and among the potatoes. Pour the chicken broth into the bottom of the dish.
Roast uncovered. Bake for 50–55 minutes, until the chicken skin is golden and crispy and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F. The potatoes should be fork-tender.
Rest and serve. Let the pan rest for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon the pan juices over the top and finish with fresh parsley.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chicken and Red Potatoes — The Casserole You Bring When Words Aren’t Enough