Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Rosemary Chicken Cooked Under a Brick..

...or in my case on, and under, a cast iron skillet. I found this recipe while reading a tweet by Jessica Seinfeld. Jessica is also committed to cooking wholesome food for her family, and I have visions of her hovering over the stove while Jerry is in the background spitting out hysterical one-liners about the more banal aspects of our lives.


There's a great video on her blog, and I pretty much followed her recipe, except for a little addition at the end to deglaze the pan.

Rosemary Chicken Cooked Under My Skillet 
(recipe adapted from Do It Delicious)
2 packages of boneless chicken thighs (Trader Joe's has free range, antibiotic free that are nice)
Fresh rosemary (about 3 sprigs)
Salt and pepper
1/2 lemon
2-3 tbsp of white wine
2 tbsp of butter or Earth Balance

Place the chicken thighs in a bowl, or on a plate, and salt and pepper on both sides. Remove the rosemary from the stems and sprinkle over the chicken breasts.


Place your skillet, or frying pan, on the stove over medium heat. Add about a 1/2 tbsp of good olive oil. I got this wonderful cast iron skillet at Marshall's and couldn't wait to get home to use it. Actually it appears to be a cast iron pizza pan, but it worked well for the chicken. Note to self: Try pizza next.


Place the seasoned chicken thighs on the skillet once the oil is heated. Then cover the chicken with another heavy pan, or skillet. I guess you could use a brick if you have one handy.



Allow them to cook for about 15 minutes. Then turn them over and cook for another 5-8 minutes, or until cooked through.



Add the lemon juice, wine, butter, or Earth Balance to the pan and deglaze. Deglazing basically means adding some liquid to the pan to melt the small bits of caramelized food  that remain after cooking. Those little bits are chock full of flavor, and will create a nice light sauce. Remove the excess rosemary and pour over the chicken. Serve with a mixed green salad. The chicken will be tender, juicy, and delicious. Enjoy!

Note: Bone in thighs are fine, too. That's what Jessica uses in her recipe. I opted for boneless as they seemed to appeal to my teenage daughter a bit more. She loved them, so I guess it was the right choice.

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