Work is threatening to eat me alive. I don't seem able to do much more than stew some canned beans for dinner, or pour myself a bowl of cereal. And so, in order to feed myself something a bit more interesting, I resorted to a source I've usually turned my nose up at. Desperate times call for desperate measures, or so I thought.
You see, I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to food. Well, you knew that already, right? A snob to some, a principled eater to others. When it comes to food magazines, there are only a few that print recipes I find appealing, and Bon Appetit always seemed a little too reliant on packaged foodstuffs to whet my appetite consistently (though it does have some damned fine contributers: Dorie Greenspan and David Lebovitz, I'm looking at you).
But then Bon Appetit went and issued their 50th anniversary cookbook, and Leslie Brenner at the LA Times had lunch with Barbara Fairchild and forced her to name her favorite recipes. And lo, Barbara listed a dish of roasted bone-in chicken breasts with cherry tomatoes (is there a better tomato?) that sounded absolutely luscious (don't even get me started on the chocolate-toffee cookies named in the article - don't you worry, they're next. I went to five different stores last night seeking Skor bars.).
And Barbara was absolutely right. This is one delicious dinner dish. You take bone-in chicken breasts, plop them on a rimmed sheet, and top them with cherry tomatoes that have been slicked with oil and sprinkled with fresh marjoram (I didn't have any, so I went with the dried rosemary from my grandfather's garden that my mother wrapped up in newspaper and I smuggled across the Italian ocean - shhh). There are some crushed garlic cloves in there as well, and then a judicious sprinkling of salt across the top.
In the hot oven, the chicken crisps and blisters deliciously, while the tomatoes shrivel and caramelize and their sweet flavor intensifies. The rosemary scent blooms and the garlic toasts and the whole thing smells maddeningly good.
It also tastes fantastic, and is so easy that you don't even really need the recipe once you've made it for the first time. I halved the recipe, because I was cooking only for myself last night, and now I've got glorious leftovers for lunch. (Oh, and if you steam up a pile of green beans to round out the meal, dribbling them with the pan juices is a lovely way to dress them. The fact that your dressing is partially made of chicken fat is completely beside the point. The salty, herbal, pungent drippings make for a delicious green-bean dunker.)
I'm not signing up for a Bon Appetit subscription any time soon, but this dish is going in the vault.
Spicy Roast Chicken
Serves 4
24 ounces whole cherry tomatoes (about 4 cups), stemmed
1/4 cup olive oil
5 garlic cloves, pressed
1 1/4 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram, divided (or 1 tablespoon dried rosemary, and none for garnish)
4 bone-in chicken breasts (10 to 12 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, crushed red pepper and 1 tablespoon marjoram in a large bowl to combine.
2. Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the tomato mixture over the chicken, arranging the tomatoes in a single layer on the sheet around the chicken. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the tomatoes are blistered, about 35 minutes.
3. Transfer the chicken to plates. Spoon the tomatoes and juices over the chicken. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon marjoram and serve.
Gulp! I'm being watched?
Posted by: David | September 20, 2006 at 11:57 AM
I love Bon Appetit magazine! I think it may have changed significantly from the last time you read it, the recipes really don't utilize packaged food much if at all. I find it is very focused on entertaining (which in my tiny apartment is damn near impossible)
Posted by: Amy Sherman | September 20, 2006 at 12:04 PM
Ooooh oooh! Between this recipe and the gray, drippy skies in Seattle today, I'm starting to think that it may be time to roast my first chicken of the season! I had given the oven a break from chicken fat splatters for a few months, but by god, it's time again. Thanks for the inspiration, ma cherie - as always! xo
Posted by: Molly | September 20, 2006 at 12:05 PM
David - yes, sir ;)
Amy - A lot of people love Bon Appetit! I'm just saying that I don't... there's something about it - each time I leaf through the copies that my stepmother has at her house, I find myself completely uninspired...you know? But that's okay - this recipe more than makes up for all of that!
Molly - well, it's also a nice way to ease back into fall roasting, since it's just a few breasts and they cook up so quickly. The best thing about this is listening to not only the glorious chicken spatter, but also those little tomatoes...I'm off to eat the leftovers now, yum.
Posted by: Luisa | September 20, 2006 at 12:13 PM
Luisa, I feel the same way you do about Bon Appetit. For some reason I find it sort of pedestrian. It's like where people go when they gradate from Rachael Ray but are scared of Gourmet. What do you think about Food and Wine?
This recipe sounds great. I love chicken cooked on the bone and the combination of roasted tomatoes and rosemary is great. I wonder if it's worth getting the Bon Appetite cookbook.
Posted by: Grant | September 20, 2006 at 12:41 PM
Okay, I've got to weigh in on Bon Appetit too! I subscribe, but I think it's only so I can flip through the pages and mumble to myself about what an insipid food publication it is. I mean, every recipe is so reliant on heavy cream and butter, it's obvious that there's no finesse to the recipes at all. It sure is fun to play the critic though!
This sounds like a fantastic and delicious treatment for everyone's favorite bird. I'm with you on the pan drippings too!
Can't wait to hear about those chocolate toffee cookies!
Posted by: Jessica | September 20, 2006 at 03:09 PM
Luisa - this is my kind of easy! What I've been doing lately barely qualifies as cooking - this looks great!
Posted by: Cathy | September 20, 2006 at 09:30 PM
This is the sort of thing I love -- very simple, few ingredients, but somehow together it becomes greater than the sum of its parts. And what a great sounding dressing for the green beans. Altogether a perfect, simple meal.
I'm also looking forward to the cookie recipe!
Posted by: Julie | September 20, 2006 at 10:26 PM
smuggling rosemary! the nerve!!!
Posted by: lobstersquad | September 21, 2006 at 05:27 AM
There was a review of the cookbook in the Washington Post food section yesterday. I think it was more or less positive although I have to admit I didn't really read it. It just didn't sound that interesting to me.
Posted by: eg | September 21, 2006 at 08:06 AM
Grant - I quite like Food and Wine, but I don't read it regularly. Their website's pretty great, too, though. To be honest, I don't get any food magazines anymore, because the newspaper recipes take up all my time.
Jessica - the chicken drippings (god, that sounds awful) tasted even better on the leftover beans last night... Now it's all gone. And yes, the cookies! Must get cracking.
Cathy - oh good, me too! This chicken also barely qualifies as cooking. But what a payoff. It's like a secret food weapon ;)
Julie - it's coming, I promise!
Ximena - completely scandalous, I know. Outrageous!
Eg - I'll have to go check it out.
Posted by: Luisa | September 21, 2006 at 09:55 AM
I'm definitely trying this recipe- I need simple chicken recipes that don't turn the breast into a dry lump of poultry...
Posted by: Kristen | September 21, 2006 at 07:01 PM
I found that recipe on www.epicurious.com (the online home of Bon Appetit and Gourmet) a while ago, and yes, it's wonderful, and so easy.
Posted by: Adina | September 22, 2006 at 01:21 PM
Oh please. Barbara Fairchild didn't come up with this recipe or the chocolate cookie one. It's from the test kitchen. Credit where credit is due.
Posted by: Karen O | October 08, 2006 at 08:55 AM
Just a note to say you have a great blog. I AM a food writer (L.A., New York Times, Newsday, Washington Post, Bon Appetit, etc.) and cookbooks and of course, my own site www.BetterBaking.com.
You might like my recipe cookie issue (Oct 2006) which talks about Levain cookies and ALL the chocolate cookies I have created or recreated in my work as a professional baker and writer. (Barbara Fairchild, btw, was my very first food editor).
Food is amazing and I salute you for sleuthing out great and inspiring recipes from the world of food writing.
Greetings from 'Wheatland' and betterbaking.com,
Marcy Goldman
Posted by: marcy goldman | October 13, 2006 at 06:07 AM
This recipe looks delicious!! Thanks so much!
Posted by: Chef TOm | February 03, 2007 at 02:08 AM
I love spicy and I love chicken! lol what a perfect combo! I'm going to try this over the weekend. thanks!
http://www.cheftomcooks.com
Posted by: Tom | March 09, 2007 at 11:14 PM
There is nothing like a good Chicken Recipe, Chicken is quite simply the best food in the world because of it's versatility. You can make thousands of chicken recipes and every one of them will be different and taste great. ENJOY!!
Posted by: Philnezz | April 16, 2008 at 11:39 PM
Just found this recipe while looking for something to do with my some chicken breasts and cherry tomatoes. Just popped it into the oven and looking forward to seeing how it turns out.
Posted by: Titus Ferguson | November 23, 2008 at 08:27 PM