Food Revival

Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely adore Ina Garten (aka Barefoot Contessa). I could post tons of reasons why (maybe I will save that for another blog entry later), but I'd rather tell you about her chicken recipe that changed my life. Literally. 

How many times have you cooked chicken and just thought, "Hm...not so good- It's dry and tastes like absolutely nothing?" Ahem... look NO further. I found the chicken recipe you can't live without. It is simple and works like a charm EVERY single time. Once you get the hang of this, you'll make 3 or 4 chicken breasts at a time and use throughout the week (as a meal, in salads, and even in your pot pies and soups). The truth is no other chicken will do. 

Caveats: If you are weird with raw chicken ignore one of the photos below. If you are like me and have a one butt kitchen with an old stove and no hood/vent, you'll find that this recipe may make your house smell fantastic (but a little strong) for an evening. Just open a window and watch how much oil you use ON the chicken breasts. You will see what i mean in a second.

Barefoot Contessa Chicken

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

You will need: Bone-in Chicken Breasts with skin (I get the cage free kind and I think you should too)

Remove chicken breasts from package, wash, and pat dry. Use a very small amount  (1 teaspoon) of olive oil for each chicken breast. Rub on both sides of chicken. Be careful NOT to drip oil on pan or use too much oil on chicken as you don't want the smoke and smell from burning oil. 

Generously add salt (kosher or sea salt) and pepper (freshly ground) to BOTH sides of chicken breast. When I say generously, I really mean that. It gives the chicken lots of flavor and you have the option to discard the skin once the chicken is ready to eat. 

Place on baking pan and cook for 45 minutes. (Remember each oven is different, so just check it until you get the hang of how your oven works for this recipe). Skin will be golden brown.

Remove pan from oven and let chicken rest under aluminum foil for at least 10 minutes. DO NOT TOUCH IT UNTIL IT RESTS. 

And... enjoy! I promise you will never look at chicken the same. And best part is once you get the hang of it, you can seriously do this with your eyes closed and it will take all of 5 minutes. Then you have a glass of wine (or two) while you wait for the chicken to bake! Be prepared to have your life and dinners transformed.