Monday night braise.

Pats playing at home, time for another braise. Tonight's post is about how to braise on a weeknight. What? After a day of conference calls and commuting, you want to slave over a hot stove for hours? Certainly not. The key is not to plan to eat it for dinner, but to make a not-sad-desk-lunch for the next day. Remember, a braise is best the second day. True, you'll need to plan for something else for tonight's dinner, but we're braising on Monday night...and nobody said anything about slaving.

Here's how:

• Grocery shop the day before - no need to fight both the clock and traffic
• Prep what you can the day before - mincing, chopping, measuring can all be done ahead
• This is true for cooking any day, but identify the long pole in your meal plan and start it first. For example, I cooked pasta and sautéed kale once the chicken was in the oven...and managed to make two loaves of pumpkin bread too, but I've been doing this for a while.
• Chicken braises fastest - for best results, use dark meat...don't worry, nestling everything together in the heavenly sauce will protect it from microwave sadness the next day, and dishing it up into to-go containers will cool it quickly so you don't have to stay up waiting for it.

The Score: (W - L / home game braise coverage - misses)

Patriots: 9 - 0, Bev: 2 - 1 (out of town)

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Braised Chicken with Lemon and Capers

Adapted from NYTimes Cooking - because I don't care for olives, and I like it saucy.

Serves 4

2 chicken legs, cut into thighs and leg pieces, skin-on and bone-in

Salt and pepper

1/2 t red pepper flakes

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 t fennel seeds

1 T roughly chopped rosemary

1 T olive oil

2 lemons, cut in wedges

2 T capers

1 1/4 - 1 1/2 c chicken broth

Mix salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, fennel seeds, rosemary and olive oil in a baking dish. Rub seasoning all over chicken parts, sprinkle with capers, tuck lemon wedges in wherever they fit and let sit for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 375*F.

Put baking dish in oven, uncovered, and bake 20 min. Cover with foil tightly (don't burn your palm like I did) and bake for 1 hour, until meat is very tender and falling off the bones when poked. Remove thighs and lemon wedges. Pour remaining juices into a pan and simmer until reduced by half; meanwhile, shred the chicken and remove skin and bones (for an easier desk lunch experience). Mix shredded chicken back into sauce and serve over a bed of spicy sautéed kale and pasta.