So, I had some spare chicken.  And I had some Cheddar Cheese.  So I said to myself – it is time to “Get the Frico Outta Here!”.

For those that don’t know, Frico is a simple recipe – you take cheese, put it in a non-stick pan, and heat it until it crisps up.  You can do this in the oven as well.  It’s great to make with leftover Parmesan – about 8 minutes at 350 and you have chips – those that you don’t scarf are great in salad (none have ever made it that far in my house).

But I decided to use it on a leftover chicken thigh. And (much to my surprise) it worked. So, why not post it?

Since I put a plate together, I should say that there are 3 recipes, 2 of which I’ve done before:

1. Cheddar Crusted Chicken (new!).
2. Roasted Lemon Potatoes (see Roasted Potatoes for a Crowd ).
3. Roasted Mushrooms, with Olives (see Roasted Mushrooms ).

Cheddar Cheese Crusted Chicken

Like a diamond, this has the 4 C’s; Unlike a diamond, carrots aren’t part of it. But… it is orange. And Crispy. 

Ingredients:

• Chicken – Either Leftover or fresh.
• Cheddar Cheese – a bit less than ¼ cup grated per serving.  Yes, I use the bulk stuff here.
• A non-stick pan.

Recipe:

If you’re using leftover chicken, heat it up in the pan.  Since I was recreating the recipe, I used a grilled chicken thigh. My friend Shari gave me the wonderful Cuban spice blend from Columbia Restaurant in Tampa. Thanks, Shari!

So, once the chicken’s good and ready – put a pile of cheese in the pan. Put the chicken thigh on top of it. If the cheese spreads too much, you can push it back with a spatula. Wait about 8 minutes until it dries out completely. A flexible spatula is useful to lift it out.

Roasted Lemon Potatoes

Ingredients: Scale these appropriately. I will give 1 portion.

• 1 Potato (I used about ½ dozen fingerlings to be all gourmet and stuff. Actually, they were the only ones in the house).
• 1 Lemon, juiced
• Olive Oil to coat
• Salt, Pepper to taste
• Optional – Clove of garlic (minced), some oregano leaves (to taste).

Critical First Step:   Take the cut up potatoes and lemon juice. Put them in a bowl and microwave for about 3 minutes. If you can, let them steep a bit. Steaming them in the juice gets the lemon flavor all through the tater.

Next, put everything in a bowl to coat.  Put this into a pan and roast at 375 for about 45 minutes.  I like to stir them up at about 20 minutes.

Roasted Mushrooms with Olives.

Ingredients: (one portion, scale appropriately)

• Half Pound of Mushrooms, Halved if large (so, half-and-half?).
• ¼ cup red wine, whatever you opened to make dinner with.
• About 6-8 olives – I like the crunchy green ones.
• Couple of shakes of red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced.
• 1 tbsp. butter.
• Salt, Pepper to taste.
• Optional – I used some Herbs de Provence to be fancy.

OK, here goes….  Put everything into a bowl to mix. Transfer it to a baking dish. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes, stirring at about 20.  Yep… Same as the potatoes!