A few Sundays ago, Sam Sifton of The New York Times had an article in the Magazine Section on Chef Bobby Flay and his Pan-Roasted Chicken With Mint Sauce. In it, Chef Flay explained how to obtain a good crust on a roasted chicken breast, as he does at his restaurants. I clipped the article with the intention of trying his technique some time in the future. However, as with so many good intentions, if too much had gone by, I would have no doubt forgotten all about the article. But serendipitously, two unconnected events happened shortly thereafter.

Last week, Grammy noticed that the basil plants on our deck were in full bloom and that unless the leaves were picked soon they would be lost. To our minds the best use of an abundance of basil is Uncle Fred’s Pesto Sauce. So she whipped up a batch and refrigerated it that same day.

Then, the other day, she announced that she was going to defrost a split chicken for dinner that night, and was going to roast it. That’s when I remembered the Sunday Times article and was fortunately able to put my hands on it. After a quick perusal of the article, I announced that I would take care of the chicken if she would prepare the Sautéed Spinach. She gladly accepted and the result can be found at Pollo con Pesto (Pesto-Crusted Pan-Roasted Chicken)!