Maple Roasted Chicken and Sweet Taters

As many of you know Mr. Vino's brother and sister-in-law visit us from Toronto when the weather is so gray and white they can't stand it anymore. Tia Vino - Janet - loves to cook and we have the most amazing meals with lots of excellent wine and fantastic beer.

This year, Scott and Janet kindly brought us a bottle of maple syrup. The REAL stuff. No, I'm not talking Mrs. Butterworth's. We sampled it and it was absolutely incredible. Just after Scott & Janet left, I found this recipe in our local newspaper and, since I had both chicken thighs and sweet potatoes, I thought I'd give it a try. Scott & Janet, if you are reading this. Bring more syrup next year and I'll make this for you because it is absolutely amazing.

Double Maple roasted Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (I used 3)
2 T olive oil
1/2 cup granulated maple sugar (No, Mrs. Vino does not habitually have this in her pantry so, Canadian friends - feel free to use maple sugar. Everyone else, light brown sugar works great)
2 t. kosher salt
1 t. ground black pepper
2 lbs bone in chicken thighs (skin removed)
1/3 c. real maple syrup (Use the closest thing to real maple syrup you can find - NOT Aunt Jemima Lite)
zest of 1 lemon

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large ovenproof baking dish, combine the sweet potatoes and the olive oil. Toss well to coat. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt and black pepper. sprinkle half of this mixture over the sweet potatoes and toss or stir to coat. Arrange the sweet potatoes in an even layer in the bottom of the baking dish.

Rub the remaining sugar mixture over the chicken thighs with your hands. Arrange the chicken in a single layer over the sweet potatoes. Drizzle the maple syrup over the thighs. Cover the baking dish with foil and roast for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and roast for another 10 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165 degrees at the thickest part of the thighs. Serve the chicken with the sweet potatoes - just before serving, sprinkle the lemon zest over the chicken.

Sweet, tart, salty, spicy, and umami - it hits on all possible flavor palates.