Erika Learns To Make Chicken Thighs With Dates & Olives

Cooking chicken thighs with dates and olives may seem intimidating, but once you dive in, you'll never look back!

This is "Erica Learns," where I'm learning how to cook. I have two awesome, fabulous people here to help me: Tamron and Lish. You don't have to cut your hair insanely short and stylishly to be on this show, but it does help. Today, we are learning to cook chicken thighs with dates and olives.

Tamron and Lish feel amazing about this recipe because it is featured in their new cookbook, "A Confident Cook." Tamron mentions that beginners often find this recipe intimidating, but once you start, you won't go back. Lish begins by explaining that we need to turn the burner on lightly.

Hot pan, then hot oil, and then the food—that's the sequence. Tamron adds that if you get a phone call or an alarm goes off, and you walk away, the pan without oil won't start a fire. The pan is built for heat, and it’s important to understand the tools and techniques to build confidence in the kitchen. Tamron shares that her goal was to prepare a holiday dinner for her family, which took her about a year to achieve.

Lish then instructs to grab the chicken and pull off the skin using a paper towel. She explains that since this is a braised chicken recipe, the skin gets soft rather than golden brown and crispy. Braising means cooking with liquid, which makes the chicken super tender and creates an instant sauce.

The pan is now hot, and the oil is dancing, indicating it’s ready. Tamron places the chicken skin-side down in the hot pan to get some nice color on the meat. Lish explains that by taking the skin off, all the flavor of browning the meat goes into the meat itself.

When asked what makes her such a successful chef, Lish attributes it to approaching cooking with happiness, joy, and kindness. She mentions that not all restaurant chefs fit the stereotype of being divas. One of her first chefs, Dan Kelly, taught her the kind of chef she wanted to be. Lish learned a lot from Dan and vice versa, as she was fearless coming out of culinary school and eager to try new things. She emphasizes treating everyone in the kitchen with respect, from the dishwasher to the head chef.

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Cooking is all about tasting and trusting your senses—don't be afraid to get close and enjoy the process!

Not everybody is a restaurant chef, and not everybody is a diva. I was lucky enough that one of my first chefs out of culinary school, Dan Kelly, taught me exactly the kind of chef I wanted to be. I learned so much from her, and she always says that she learned so much from me as well because I was fearless coming out of culinary school. It was like, "Let's try it!" She showed me the way I wanted to manage people, and that's how I like to go through the world and every kitchen. You treat the dishwasher well, and you treat everybody well. You don't want to take the joy out of cooking; it's a fun thing to do, and I love that.

In television, I talk a lot, which got me in trouble a lot in Catholic school. But honestly, I'm very curious about people. I was curious enough to ask her about the tattoos, and that led to a lifelong friendship. For me, I lean into the fact that everyone has a story. Let's talk about it. That was our first season motto, and I believe that. That's what we do in this book. It is a cookbook we're proud of, but it's also a story of friendship. As confident as we may appear in our day-to-day lives, we all struggle with confidence.

When cooking, you use all your senses. You cook with your senses. If it smells like it's browning and not burning, you don't have to freak out. If it's sticking to the pan, just let it be; it's telling you it's not ready yet. We're browning the other side a little bit, and then we'll take them off. Now we're starting to build the flavor. The good stuff starts to happen.

When it comes to vegetables, like turnips, it's important to taste throughout making a dish. Taste, taste, taste. You can taste the vegetables right now to make sure they have enough salt. Every layer should be tasted. Of course, you wouldn't cut into the chicken right now, but you can taste the other components. When we build all these flavors and add the roux and chicken stock, we can taste it when it comes to a simmer before nestling the chicken back in.

There are foundational elements and an order to things in cooking. You shouldn't be afraid to get close to it. You have to sit in your cooking. When I was not into cooking, I never imagined this. In morning TV for 30 years, I've cooked with every great chef, but I never felt interested in making it at home. This process adds a lot of body to the dish and sweetness. We're going to toast it out a little bit and mash it in the pan. You can already see the difference in color in the pan.

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Cooking is all about layering flavors—start with the basics and build up with complexity!

To truly appreciate cooking, you shouldn't be afraid to get close to it. You have to immerse yourself in the process, almost like sitting in your cooking. I never imagined this when I wasn't into cooking. Despite being in morning TV for 30 years and cooking with every great chef, I would leave the show thinking it was great but not interested in making it at home.

This approach adds a lot of body to the dish and sweetness. By toasting it a little bit and mashing it in the pan, you can already see the difference in color, which brings out the sweetness and makes it taste more tomatoey.

When considering the role of certain ingredients, it's important to think about their composition. For example, tomato paste serves a different role than celery. I added Calabrian chili paste, which is a fermented chili that has a little bit of funk, sweetness, and spice, making it complex. Everything in cooking is about layering flavors. It starts with the basics, like a variation of mirepoix, which is typically carrot, celery, and onion. We swapped in parsnip for the carrot, but the concept remains the same.

Mirepoix, spelled m-i-r-e-p-o-i-x, is French and would make a great name for a restaurant. The classic combination is onion, celery, and carrot. Swapping in parsnip still maintains the essence of mirepoix.

To deglaze the pan and bring up all the bits from the bottom, which adds flavor to the dish, I used a little bit of vermouth. Vermouth is a fortified wine with extra alcohol, which lasts longer in the fridge and has great herbaceous notes because it's infused with herbs.

The three ingredients in mirepoix are staples and form the vegetable base for most dishes. Building flavor involves adding elements like tomato for sweetness and earthiness, and caramelizing it with heat. Vermouth adds brightness, herbaceousness, and the necessary acid to the dish.

Acid is crucial in cooking, and it can come from alcohol, tomatoes, or vinegar. Many restaurants add acid, which people at home might not know to do. Our book helps you stock your pantry with long-shelf-life items, so you have everything on hand without needing to run out for specific ingredients.

We added cumin to bring out certain flavors and then added chicken stock to form the base for our braise. Finally, we nestled everything back in to complete the dish.

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Stock your pantry with essentials to make cooking stress-free and delicious!

In our book, we help you stock your pantry so you have essential items on hand when preparing meals. These items, like vinegar, have a long shelf life. Building your pantry means you don't have to run out to the store every time you need something, especially after a long day at work. For instance, we added cumin to bring out the flavor and then added chicken stock, which serves as the base for our braise. We nestle the ingredients back in with all the accumulated juices, toss them around to coat everything in the goodness, and then sprinkle in olives and tear up dates, ensuring there are no pits. This mixture will cook for 10 minutes, after which we’ll flip it over, reduce the heat to let it simmer, and cook a bit longer on the other side.

Cooking is like adding different ingredients to create a unique taste, much like having different people around you with various perspectives. One of our first vacations was to the Caribbean, where my nephew, who was 22 at the time, joined us. Despite the diverse backgrounds—Texan, Wisconsin, black, white, and even my nephew's marriage to a woman—he was more interested in teaching everyone a new TikTok dance. It was a fun, unexpected moment that exemplified what family is like.

When launching a recipe with confidence, you'll find it tastes delicious and doesn't require much extra effort. All you need is wine or water to complement the meal. To finish the dish, we use a little za'atar and feta cheese, along with the inside leaves of celery, which are fresh and earthy with a slight bitterness that balances the sweet and spicy flavors. Once the chicken is cooked, don't be afraid to use a thermometer to ensure it's done. We recommend having this tool in your kitchen.

Adding za'atar, which contains sumac—a very acidic berry—brings brightness to the dish. The sesame and herbs in za'atar add an amazing aroma. After crumbling some feta over the top, we cover the dish for another minute or two to let the cheese relax into the sauce. Finally, we plate the dish, sprinkling celery leaves on top, and serve it with crusty bread. The result is a stress-free, amazing-looking, and delicious meal with the sweetness of dates, salty olives, and creamy cheese.

You can find our book wherever books are sold. Thank you both for this amazing session. Now, let's taste the dish. The combination of sweet, spicy, and salty flavors, along with the texture of the olives, makes it delicious. All the layers of flavor are present, making it a perfect dinner option. We look forward to seeing your creations on social media and can't wait to FaceTime with you every night at 7 o'clock.