Have you ever surprised yourself in the kitchen? Have you ever chopped, roasted, sauteed and then plated a dish - thinking you knew how it was going to taste - only to be completely bowled over by that first fork-full when it passed your lips? I had that happen last week.

I don't just rehearse meals for Christmas, I practice them for New Year's too. Especially this year. I found out recently that Jedd's brother and sister-in-law are coming that weekend. It's pretty exciting because they live 13 hours away and we've only celebrated the new year together a couple of times. So, obviously I want to make something that's pretty festive. So, my thought process went something like this:

“What's really festive? Festive... festive... Festivous? No, that's the opposite of festive. Festive... festive... oh! Truman Capote's Black and White Ball. That's super festive. And he used to serve chicken hash for his guests at midnight. Midnight is officially New Years Day. Cool. Chicken hash it is.”

But something pretty magical happened when I made the dish – it was the best I've ever had. Normally when I cook something, I have a vague notion of how it's going to turn out. Whether it's spicy, citrusy or sweet, I tend not to be too surprised when I eat something I've cooked. I know what the ingredients are, after all. But in this case, I was so shocked by the finished product that I yelped.

It was incredible. And a big part of that was the parsley pesto I used in lieu of regular parsley. Also, roasting the potatoes meant that they remained firm and not soggy. I really kind of recommend this recipe. A lot.

Chicken Hash with Roasted Potatoes

2 medium potatoes, diced

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

2 cups of cooked chicken

1 red pepper, diced

1 large onion, chopped

½ cup of chicken broth (I used Kitchen Basics)

½ cup of white wine

1 tablespoon of fresh thyme

2 tablespoons of parsley pesto

Preheat oven to 375.

On a large rimmed sheet pan, combine the potatoes with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper. Spread out into an even layer. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until the bottom of the potatoes are brown, then flip them. Bake for another 15 minutes.

While the potatoes are baking, saute the red pepper and onion in a large frying pan along with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper. When the onions and peppers have softened, add the chicken broth, wine, thyme, parsley pesto and chicken together. Simmer on medium-low heat until the sauce has been absorbed. Serve with the potatoes.

Serves 4.

(Photo by Launie Kettler)