Lemon Chicken Breasts

I am a big ban of Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa cookbooks, and have been since mother-in-law bought me my first one back in 1999.  I was instantly enamored with the beautiful photography and her no-fuss approach to entertaining.  I find that her recipes are focused on fresh flavors that are easily developed in simple preparation.  I rarely have to change a thing when preparing food from her recipes and I consistently reach for them when I need a winning dish.  Needless to say, I was thrilled when my sister-in-law topped off my collection this Christmas and gave me her most recent cookbook How Easy is That.  This is the first recipe that I tried and I absolutely love it.  I have prepared it with chicken breasts and with chicken pieces as well.  It turned out beautifully both times.  The split chicken breasts at my grocery store are quite large, so I cut them off of the bone and then in half.  For that reason, I decreased the cooking time to 20 minutes.  My advice, since we all have different ovens and different size chicken....invest in a digital thermometer and take the guess work out of it!  The trick is to take the meat out early and cover it with foil for 10 minutes to let it finish cooking slowly.  This is the best way to ensure that your meat is not overcooked.  Chicken breasts should be taken out at 160 degrees (served at 165- after resting) and thighs, legs and wings should register 165 degrees before removing from the oven to rest.  

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Lemon Chicken Breasts
Barefoot Contessa 2010
Serves 4

1/4 cup good olive oil 3 tablespoons minced garlic (9 cloves) 1/3 cup dry white wine 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons) 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 1½ teaspoons dried oregano 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 boneless chicken breasts, skin on (6 to 8 ounces each) 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don’t allow the garlic to turn brown. Off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt and pour into a 9 X 12-inch baking dish. Pat the chicken breasts dry and place them skin side up over the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and the skin is lightly browned. If the chicken isn’t browned enough, put it under the broiler for 2 minutes. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the pan juices.