Pan-roasted chicken

The wife and I were shopping for Thanksgiving the other day, and we settled the question of who would make the stuffing to serve alongside the turkey. She would: I don't like stuffing, so I have little interest in cooking it. So she announced that she'd need some chicken stock, and went heading off to find some in the canned soup section of the store.

I fell into a panic, running after her and practically frothing at the mouth.

"What are you doing?! I thought you said you needed chicken stock! You can't use that gloop in a can. Do you know how it's made? Take some chicken beaks and feet, and the occasional non-free-range, hormone-infested, animal-diet-fed chicken that didn't pass the quality test to sell on its own. Boil it up with some scraps of vegetables and a ridiculous amount of salt. Add some chemicals to hide the awful taste, and some more salt for good measure. Put it in a can and call it chicken stock, or chicken broth."

My wife rolled her eyes. "OK," she said, "you get me chicken stock for my stuffing."

My task was clear. I had to make a couple of pints of chicken stock before this evening, or I'd be eaten alive. So I grabbed a nice-looking organic chicken and threw it in the cart.

Last night, about an hour before supper, I remembered my commitment. So I hacked up the chicken, reserving the legs and breast and throwing the rest in a stockpot along with a bouquet garni, some aromatics (celery, carrot, onion), and some peppercorns, added water and set it on the stove to bubble. First part of problem solved. But there was still supper to contend with, so I looked at the chicken pieces and wondered what I should do with them.

It took me about a minute to figure it out. If in doubt, I remembered, consult Marcella. So I tried, for the first time, Marcella Hazan's recipe for pan-roasted chicken with rosemary and white wine. It was sublime. Here is the recipe, as far as I remember it (I don't have her Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, where the recipe is to be found, in front of me right now).

1 chicken, cut into pieces (I used two legs, two boneless breasts)
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 tsp dried rosemary (that turned out to be the perfect amount)
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used light olive oil)
3 cloves garlic, peeled
salt and pepper

Heat the butter and oil in a sauté pan, over medium-high heat, until the froth of the butter begins to subside.

Add the chicken pieces, skin side down, and cook until brown on both sides, about 5 minutes.

Add the rosemary and garlic, and cook until the garlic is lightly golden (about 3 minutes).

Add salt, pepper, and the white wine, letting the wine sizzle for about 30 seconds. (The smell at this point is just fantastic.)

Adjust the heat to a slow simmer and cover the pan, leaving the lid a little bit ajar.

Cook until the chicken is done, 45 mins to 1 hour.

Remove the chicken to a warm serving dish (or plates or whatever), and spoon off as much of the fat from the pan as you can get at. Bubble up the remaining liquid on a medium heat, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all the juicy gooey bits up. When you've hit syrupy consistency, pour the liquid over the chicken pieces and serve.