Crusty Herbed Chicken

While this gluten-free recipe calls for baking skinless chicken thighs, the result is similar to a breaded and spiced, fried chicken dish---without the fat and flour!
The idea for this flavorful recipe came when I was first exploring food-pairing and the low-glycemic diet. Newly married, my husband was so enraptured by this dish, he pronounced it our "House Special" and I felt very encouraged in our burgeoning roles as food-experimenter and appreciative-tester. Over the years, he has requested that "House Special Chicken" appear on the table once a week, but I am too much a rebel of routine. Cry him no rivers; We have cold-packed it for day-long outings on our boat, and we served it at our son's first birthday party, and at a Fourth of July gathering; This easy, summer dish makes an impressive large-batch dish for family reunions and picnics.

Begin with 2 eggs and enough boneless, skinless chicken thighs for 4 people.

Mix together the following:
1 cup grated parmesan
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon ground sage
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 bay leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon dried coriander
½ cup dried onions (optional)

Please note: I like TONS of spice, so you may want to consider each measurement to be "heaping."
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, beat two eggs. Place some of the spice mixture in another bowl. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Spray it with canola or olive oil. Dip a chicken piece in egg, then roll it in the spice mixture. Place on the oiled cookie sheet. When you’ve coated all the chicken, place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly. If you’d like it extra-crispy, give each piece a quick mist with the oil before you put them in the oven.

Food Fact! Parmesan is one of a category of cheeses called grana because of their grainy texture. They are made throughout northern Italy and for centuries a war was waged over whose grana was considered the most prestigious. The cheeses made around Parma and Reggio in Emilia Romagna eventually won, with those of the other regions being lumped under the name of Grana Padano, after the name for the Po river valley.
Refrigerated parmesan should keep as a premium eating cheese for up to two weeks, then as a grating cheese for a further six. Because of parmesan's very low moisture content, store your chunk tightly wrapped in wax paper with a layer of either foil or cling film around the outside of the paper. This way the cheese can still breathe but is kept airtight. Finally, before use, leave it unwrapped for 15 minutes or so. Any moisture that has been drawn out of the cheese while in the fridge will be reabsorbed, keeping the cheese soft and preventing mold.

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