Roman-Style Chicken and Herb Roasted Potatoes

Installment dos of Mother's Day dinner.. readdyyy.. go! 

 TA DAAAAA... dinner!

I also just need to mention that in order to make this meal, I braved a trip to Wegman's in Cherry Hill on Sunday. alone. on a Sunday. Weggies is my all time favorite grocery store. I get butterflies the night before going. It's pretty sick how I'm. not. kidding. HOWEVER, in case you don't know, this is what Sunday at good old Wegs feels like:

So you can see how this is a pretty big deal and I had to brag about it. I made it out alive and you can all be proud! Thanks!


This chicken recipe (Roman-Style Chicken from Giada De Laurentiis) I have made a couple times now and I really love it. I don't change anything; it's pretty perfect as is. Giada's one of my favorites; the girl makes amazing food and she's fecking HOT (yea ok, a small part of me secretly wants to be her... I think I'm getting close). South Park did a pretty great parody of her last season: Perky Tats and Gigantic Head! in case you missed it. 


But ANYWAY, back to the CHICKEN breast... 


This recipe produces an incredibly moist piece of chicken and a dish that really has a great depth of flavor. The prosciutto and capers add a nice saltiness that is fairly balanced by fresh bell pepper and diced tomato. The thyme also adds a nice layer of flavor that really pops and compliments the other slightly more subtle seasonings nicely. The result is a great sauce, which is the real star, along with an amazing topping for the chicken. 


To accompany the chicken, I made herb roasted potatoes, which are easy to season and require little attention once in the oven. They roast for about an hour and the chicken requires a little more than 40 minutes, so the potatoes should go in oven just a bit before the chicken. 


Recipes for both, with my notes, are as follows.


Soundtrack: Minus the Bear - Menos El Oso (Although, I could really just listen to THIS SONG on repeat for an hour or so and be just as happy)


Herb Roasted Potatoes


Ingredients:


4-5 med red potatoes, cut into 1 in. cubes
Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
1 Tbsp. Rosemary
Salt and Pepper


Heat oven to 350 degrees.


In a large bowl, toss potatoes with enough olive oil to coat. Season to taste with Italian seasoning, rosemary, and salt & pepper. Place in greased glass baking dish and cook for 1 hour or until cooked through and starting to brown. Stir potatoes every 15 minutes until finished cooking for an even cook.

Seasoned taters! 

Roman-Style Chicken Breast


Ingredients:

• 4 skinless chicken breast halves, with ribs
• 2 skinless chicken thighs, with bones (I actually just used 5 breasts - Weggies club pack! - and this worked out well. I took the ribs off too, which apparently makes a weird cut of chicken.)
• salt and pepper 
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced (slice thin and cut slices in half lengthwise)
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced (slice same as red!)
• 3 ounces prosciutto, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves
• 1/2 c. chicken stock
• 2 tbsp capers
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

First, clean the fat off the chicken and season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. In a heavy, large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, cook the chicken until browned on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Keeping the same pan over medium heat, add the peppers and prosciutto and cook until the peppers have browned and the prosciutto is crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, wine, and herbs. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pan, add the stock, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes.

If serving immediately, add the capers and the parsley. Stir to combine and serve. If making ahead of time, transfer the chicken and sauce to a storage container, cool, and refrigerate. The next day, reheat the chicken to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the capers and the parsley and serve.

Prepping the thyme. Strip the leaves from the stems as seen above,
by running fingers down the stem to pull them off.

Prepped ingredients!!!

Tanning the chicken. Just like at the Jerzzz shore!

Remove chicken and sautee prosciutto and peppers.. Look
at those little Guido pieces of meat!

Add diced tomatoes and white whine! Peppers gettin crunk.. Jerrzzzz!

Definitely a delicious meal and absolutely worth the effort. See the happy family below for proof. Except Kevin, who actually might be sleeping. ;)