Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Lemon Chicken with Grapes from the Deen Brothers Cookbook

You are going to be terribly surprised to find that I am bringing you a chicken thigh recipe, but you can do this with drumsticks or a whole chicken cut into pieces. The choice is yours, but either way, this is so easy and so tasty you will love it. I found this in the Deen Brother's cookbook that MY brother got for me. For reference, I cut this recipe in half.

Ingredients:

4 to 5 pounds chicken drumsticks and thighs (bone in) / or 1 whole chicken cut into pieces
1 clove garlic, halved
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds seedless red grapes
1 teaspoon sugar

Method:

1. Preheat over to 425 degrees. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the chicken pieces all over with the cut sides of the garlic clove. Place chicken in a large bowl.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of the melted butter, the lemon zest, and lemon juice; season generously with salt and pepper. Pour the butter mixture over the chicken pieces and toss to coat.

3. In a separate bowl, toss together the grapes, the remaining two tablespoons melted butter, and the sugar. Season the grapes with salt and pepper. Arrange the grapes in the bottom of a 9-by-13 baking pan.

4. Place the chicken on top of the grapes. Roast, without turning, for 40 to 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear when chicken is pricked with a fork.




Preheat your oven to 425°. You will need some chicken, garlic, lemon, butter, grapes, sugar and salt and pepper.




Zest your lemon. Mine is in a great little Pyrex casserole.




Melt the butter, again mine is in Pyrex!




Combine half of the butter with the lemon zest, lemon juice and some salt and pepper.




Get the chicken rubbed all over with the cut side of some garlic and toss it in a bowl. Pour the butter and lemon zest over it and get the chicken nice and covered.




In a separate bowl, combine grapes with the rest of the butter and the sugar. Also season with some salt and pepper.




Get that mixture into a casserole dish. This is a Pyrex space saver and the pattern is called Embroidery.




Put the chicken on the top and pop it in the oven. Cook for about 45 minutes, this gives you plenty of time to wash up all your prep dishes.




I had a lot more than just prep dishes to take care of!




After 45 minutes the chicken looks delicious and you are ready to eat. I served this with some steamed asparagus.




This was easy and definitely something I will make again as it combines savory with sweet, which I love, and chicken thighs, which are cheap and delicious.

5 comments:

  1. Looks delicious, might just have to try this one - can I borrow some Pyrex:)

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  2. Unique. I've never had warm grapes before. Unfortunately I'm unlikely to find out b/c family dislikes savory/sweet mixes.

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  3. Hmmm I really like chicken thighs. They are moist and have lots of flavour. Yours have come out looking great...nice crispy skin.

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  4. Do you keep unsalted butter on hand? Do you use salted butter in this recipe? I can't imagine it would make a big difference.

    I could be wrong, though!

    Cheers,
    Jo (and Stella)

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  5. I tried this recipe about two or three weeks ago when I made dinner for a friend. It was so good. I served it with a simple salad of baby spinach, cucumbers, and tomatoes. I'm sure this chicken goes well over mashed potatoes, even rice. All I can say is YUM! thanks for sharing.

    Luis

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