You know those nostalgic flavors that suddenly crop up in adulthood, prompting you to crave a very specific meal that you haven't had since you were a kid? My mom's "Italian chicken" is one such recipe for me. From what I can remember, the original version of this dish was essentially chicken breasts baked in Italian dressing, which imparted craveable flavor in one easy application. For my take, I've subbed in skin-on, bone-in chicken for more richness and turned up the volume on the vinegar while staying true to the classic with dried Italian spices. It's an easy weeknight meal that results in impossibly tender braised chicken and moment of childhood comfort.

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INGREDIENTS

2 whole chicken legs or 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, about 2 lbs
1 onion, roughly sliced 
1 bulb of garlic, halved
1 Tbsp olive oil 
3 tsp Italian seasoning—I like this blend, but you can easily make your own by combining dried oregano, thyme, basil and rosemary
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp celery salt, optional
1 tsp salt 
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 white wine vinegar 
1 1/2 chicken stock 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Heat a Dutch oven or other oven-proof pan with a lid over medium-high heat on the stove. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil. 

Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Add it to the pan, skin side down, and cook for 10 minutes, undisturbed. It’s going to feel like a long time, but we really want the skin to get deep brown and crispy. 

Flip and cook on the reverse for 2–3 minutes, then remove the chicken from the pan. It won’t be fully cooked at this point, and that’s okay! It'll finish cooking in the oven. 

Add the sliced onion to the pan and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes, until the onion is well coated in the rendered chicken fat and starting to soften. Add the halved garlic to the pan, along with the honey and the Italian seasoning, red pepper, celery salt and salt. Stir well to coat the onions, letting the spices toast for a minute or two. 

Add the vinegar to the pan and stir. Let simmer for a minute or two then add the chicken stock. 

Bring the vinegar and chicken stock back to a simmer, then add the chicken back to the pan along with any juices that have accumulated. 

Cover the pan and pop it in the oven. Cook for 20 minutes, then remove the lid and cook for 30 more minutes, until the sauce has reduced.

I like to serve this with rice and a salad of peppery arugula—and a few of the roasted garlic cloves.