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I checked on the chicken. Browning nicely but not burning—good.

Next I tore the bread into bite-size chunks.

Once the chicken was about as brown as it could stand to be (15 minutes), I flipped it over and let it finish cooking inside-up (another 10 minutes). I removed the pan from the oven and flipped the bird breast up again so that any juices that had pooled under the skin would run out and into the bottom pan. I covered the bird with foil and left it to give up the goods.

Washed the arugula (always sandy, like spinach) and wrapped it in paper towels to dry.

Removed bird and grate from the pan, revealing the drippings below. Tossed the bread hunks in the drippings, then put the pan back under the broiler. Every couple of minutes I checked on the frying nuggets, turning them until golden brown and delicious.15 Then they got tossed with a couple ounces of Montrachet, which the residual heat melted nicely.

While the broiler pan was still hot, I tossed in the olives, tomatoes, and scallions, seasoned the lot with salt and pepper, and sent it back under the broiler until the tomatoes started to take on a little color (10 minutes tops).

Meanwhile, I cut the chicken into 8 pieces: 2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 split breast halves.

I removed the pan from the oven and dumped the arugula (3 cups, I’d say) right on top. Tossed this with tongs (if she hadn’t had those I’d have been in trouble) until the arugula barely started to wilt. Cooled it down with a few splashes of the vinegar, then tossed in the cheesy croutons. Plated the salad and served with the chicken chunks on top.

Mighty tasty indeed. And I’d never have done it at home.

Get Breakfast

I learned to love broiling in college, when I lived in an apartment with an oven that wouldn’t do anything else. Here is a breakfast I developed there (and please cut me a little slack, will you? I was in college and worked at a pizza place).

Application: Broiling

Remove hash browns from freezer to a sink full of water to thaw. Go back to bed. Get up half an hour later and drain the potatoes. (I didn’t have a salad spinner back then so I wrapped them in paper towels to dry.)

Turn on the broiler and heat the skillet. (Since I used to keep the skillet under the broiler, this was a no-brainer. Also, the oven only had one shelf and it was stuck in the slot next to the top. No wonder I broiled a lot.)

In a mixing bowl, beat 2 of the eggs. Add the hash browns along with the spinach. Toss with plenty of kosher salt.

Using fireproof gloves, retrieve the hot skillet, coat it with oil, and spoon in the potato mixture. Pack it down into the corners and spoon the salsa on top. Slide the skillet back under the broiler, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes or until the tomatoes just start to brown.

Retrieve the skillet, sprinkle with a handful of cheese, and crack the remaining 4 eggs on top. Sprinkle with more salt and drizzle with some oil. Place the pan back under the broiler and remove it as soon as the egg whites set, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Place in middle of kitchen table. Shake on the chili flakes, hand a fork to whoever’s there, eat, and wash it down with the flat beer. (You can leave this step out, but that’s the way it happened.)

Yield: 4 servings

Software:

1-pound 12-ounce package frozen

Ore-Ida hash browns

6 eggs

½ of 14-ounce box frozen spinach,

thawed

Kosher salt

Olive oil (stolen from pizza place)

Salsa (leftovers)

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

(okay, I stole that, too)

Chili flakes (ditto)

½ bottle flat beer

Hardware:

10- to 12-inch cast-iron skillet

Mixing bowl

Fireproof gloves

Tres Amigos

Application: Broiling

Lay the fish on a cutting board and very carefully slice down the length of the filets into 8 thin strips of salmon and 8 strips of halibut. Preheat the broiler. Season the fish and scallops with salt and pepper. Lay one strip of salmon on the board and overlap it with halibut about halfway down. Beginning at the top of the salmon