Baked buttermilk chicken with roasted potatoes and shallot-green beans

I love this dinner because it's really easy and relatively quick to prepare, yet looks much more impressive! Thank you Smitten Kitchen for the chicken recipe. You prep the chicken the night or day before and the potatoes and veggies don't take long at all. I especially liked this meal because I had most of the ingredients on hand. Even if you don't happen to have frozen chicken thighs in your freezer, shallots on hand, and fresh herbs from your garden, the ingredient list is pretty minimal and infinitely adaptable.

Buttermilk Roast Chicken

barely adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Chicken:

-2 cups buttermilk
-6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
-1 T salt
-1 T granulated sugar
-1 1/2 t paprika, plus extra for sprinkling (I think I used a little bit more, actually)
-pepper to taste (in in this case, to smell)
-2 1/2 to 3 pounds chicken thighs. I just kinda guessed here and used maybe 10-12 legs

1. Whisk together buttermilk, garlic, salt, sugar, paprika, and pepper in a bowl.

2. Place chicken parts in a gallon-sized freezer bag (I used a lidded pyrex container) and pour buttermilk brine over them, then swish it around so that all parts are covered. Refrigerate overnight.

3. The next day, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking dish with foil. Remove chicken from buttermilk brine and arrange in dish. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, then sprinkle with a little bit more paprika.

4. Roast for 30 minutes, until brown and a bit scorched in spots.

The potatoes can be infinitely adapted. I used rosemary and thyme since I happen to have both on hand, but you could use chives, oregano, basil, etc. I also happen to love rosemary with potatoes as a rule.

For the potatoes:

-3 springs rosemary, or more/less to taste

-2-3 t olive oil

-3 sprigs thyme

-salt and pepper

-1 1/2 lbs small potatoes *Note: any potatoes will work, just make sure they're all about the same size so that they cook at the same speed.

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Finely chop the herbs. Wash and dry the potatoes.

2. Combine potatoes, herbs, salt, pepper, and oil in a baking dish and toss to coat all.

3. Bake for 20-30 min or until tender and skin starts to wrinkle slightly.

For some reason I don't eat green beans all that often, although I really like them. This is one of my favorite simple ways to make them. Additionally, someone in my family bought a ton of shallots at some point, so we always have them on hand. I think they're an easy way to glam up an otherwise-average dish.

Green Beans with Shallots:

-1-2 lbs green beans

-2 shallots, finely chopped

-salt and pepper to taste

-oil to coat pan

-splash of white wine

-splash of water (if needed)

-splash of red wine vinegar

1. Rinse, dry, and chop green beans into bite-sized pieces.

2. Heat a pan over medium heat, add oil just to coat pan. Add shallots and then green beans. Add a splash of white wine and cover.

3. Check on the beans frequently, tossing often and adding water or wine if they start to stick too much to the pan.

4. When the beans are just about done, take the lid off and let the liquid evaporate. When they're done, toss with a splash of red wine vinegar and transfer to a bowl or serve immediately.