chicken thighs, red kale

If you are intrigued by kale, chard, mustard greens and the like but are put off by their toughness, a great way to handle them is with pressure. Whatever bitterness they possess is moderated and their flavors are easily adjusted and enhanced.

* One bunch of red kale stripped from the stem, cut down to appropriate size. Obviously olive green, who do they imagine they're fooling?  The leaves started out with red edges, and the stems are red.
* One garlic clove thinly sliced, dumped on the top of the pile but not stirred into it.
* S/P, and aprox. one teaspoon fennel seed, all left on top of the pile. The idea is for a excessively hot steamy braise to drag it all down through the pile on its own.
*1/2 cup water to get it all going.
* pressure cook on low setting for ten minutes. Allow to cool on its own.

Meanwhile in another pan,

* A few strips of bacon fried to crispy, removed to separate dish, fat reserved.
* When the kale cools, add the fat (1/2 oil/vinegar dressing) and the bacon bits.
* Add acid of your choice. I used cider vinegar which oddly turned out to be a bit strong.

Embellish to your heart's content. Pecans, walnuts, almonds, raisins, craisins, sun-dried tomatoes, for example, chunks of orange or apple, pineapple even. If there were children around I would consider a touch of brown sugar. Here, a thin pat of butter.

S/P, cumin, coriander. No flour this time. 

Loading up the meat with spices is my new thing. I totally overdo it. The thighs were rinsed and dried,  stretched out, loaded up with spices, then rolled back. They sat there rolled up coated inside and out with a dry rub until they settled to room temperature throughout. They fried unevenly due to the variance of their thicknesses. Each thigh has a thick area and a thin area. That's okay. I stand there with a thermometer continuously testing the thickest area and remove them when it hits 150℉/65℃. They rest as I busy myself with other things, setting up a spot for pictures, etc., by then their internal temperature has risen on its own by carryover heat to 160℉/70℃. The thinner parts obviously hotter, but I like that. The trick, if there is one, is to get them off the heat as soon as possible without removing them raw. That means, stand there and watch them.  Absent a reliable thermometer, I'd  make a test cut. These Bell & Evans thighs are awesome, if a bit small. I recommend them.