Spanish Chicken with Saffron and Almond Sauce

Last night we made this chicken dish that we had never made before. I got the recipe from Elle Magazine and the recipe was written by Tamasin Day-Lewis (Daniel Day-Lewis's sister). She is a cookbook author and I had never heard of her until I saw this article. This recipe we tried was packed with flavor and I would definitely make it again. Although at first glance it seems a little complicated but I have to say it was well worth it. The recipe follows:
Saffron threads
1 cup chicken stock, heated
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
3 sliced garlic cloves
1 thick slice stale bread, crusts removed
1 whole chicken, cut into 8-pieces
2 whole cloves, crushed
Dash nutmeg
1/2 cup Fino sherry
Sprig of bay leaves
Leaves of 4 thyme sprigs
36 whole blanched almonds (the recipe calls for Marcona almonds, but these are very expensive so we opted for plain old almonds) coarsely ground in a blender
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
spritz of lemon juice
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Soak saffron threads in a ladleful of the hot stock. Heat olive oil and garlic in a large skillet. Before it browns, remove garlic and set aside. Fry bread in same oil until browned. Place aside with the garlic. Season chicken with salt and pepper and sprinkle with nutmeg and crushed cloves. Add to skillet with a dash more oil if needed. Brown on all sides (about 20 minutes). Remove, then add remaining stock to skillet with sherry (please make sure to take the pan off the heat before you add the sherry, we almost set the house on fire!) Scrape to deglaze the pan. Let liquids bubble. Return the chicken back to the skillet. Add the finger crushed bay leaves and thyme. Simmer covered for 10 minutes. Meanwhile in a blender put the garlic, bread, stock with saffron, almonds, and parsley and pulse until it forms a sauce. You might have to add a little more chicken stock to get the saucy consistency. Add the sauce to the chicken and stir with juices. Cover and put in the oven for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked all the way through. Add the spritz of lemon. Serve with Basmati rice.