A Few of My Favorite Things

Rosemary Chicken with roasted Lemons

Yield: 4 servings

Serve the chicken on a platter over arugula greens.

Ingredients

1. 4 skin-on boneless chicken breasts, about 6 ounces each
2. 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
3. 2 lemons, cut in half
4. A few sprigs rosemary

Instructions

1. Put the chicken breasts on a rimmed baking sheet – I use a 13 x 9 inch quarter sheet pan - and drizzle with some olive oil. Turn the chicken over to coat on both sides with the oil. 
2. Season the chicken on both sides with the salt. Let the chicken sit at room temperature 25 minutes, skin-side up. Strip the rosemary leaves from their branches and chop finely; scatter over the top of the breasts and rub into the skin. Arrange the lemon halves flesh side down around the chicken.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400 degrees. 
4. Roast chicken 12 minutes; baste with some of the pan juices. Crank up the oven temperature to 475 degrees and roast and additional 15 minutes, until the skin is golden brown and the pan juices are bubbling and dark brown. If your breasts are larger than 6 ounces they might need a few minutes more. Don’t overcook! (please).
5. Let the chicken rest about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate and squeeze the lemons over the chicken (one half per breast). Add a teaspoon of water to the baking sheet if necessary and scrape up the pan juices. Pour over the chicken and serve.

Stuffed Baguette 

 I used my homemade Pimento Cheese in the above photo, but this filling is delicious!

Ingredients:

• Baguette about 14-inch long

• 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 4 oz fresh goat cheese
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• ½ cup finely chopped red bell pepper (about 1 medium)
• ½ cup finely chopped sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
• 2 oz finely chopped spicy salami
• About 2 tbsp minced Italian parsley
• About 1 tsp minced fresh thyme
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt to taste (very unlikely since there’re plenty of salty ingredients)

Preparation:

Slice off both ends of the baguette. Using a long thin knife and working from the both ends, hollow the baguette out leaving about ½-inch thick crust all around.

Using an electric mixer beat the cream cheese until smooth and lump-free. Beat in the goat cheese and garlic. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Working again from the both ends, fill the baguette with the cheese mixture. Pack the filling tight. I like to use a slender tequila shot glass for pressing the filling in. Wrap the stuffed baguette very well in plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours and up to two days. Right before serving, slice the baguette into ½-inch thick slices and serve. For the most neat looking slices, treat it as a cheesecake – each time slice it with a hot dry knife.