Another Quick + Easy Weeknight Recipe

[thebookpile]

Tonight I made a new recipe that was a hit with The Missus and her mother. I got it from an issue of Fine Cooking magazine from last year.
Took a bit of time in the oven, but prep was easy as can be - very few ingredients and very little chopping.

Chicken with Lemon and Green Olives

Ingredients:

• 6 chicken legs (quarters, not just drumsticks)
• Olive oil
• Salt, Dried Thyme, Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2 cup green olives, unpitted
• 1 lemon

1. Heat oven to 425 F (recipe calls for 450 F, but it doesn't call for a glass dish, which I used. I find glass dishes heat the food a bit more quickly, so I lowered the temperature slightly).
2. In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. This is the marinade.
3. Lightly coat a 9 x 13 inch glass dish with olive oil (only need a very little bit - the marinade will compensate).
4. Place 6 chicken legs in dish and rub marinade (Step 1) on the chicken legs with your hands.
5. Place chicken in oven for 20 minutes.
6. While chicken is in oven, put 1/2 cup of unpitted green olives in a small bowl.
7. Slice the ends off the lemon, cut in half, then slice half-moons of roughly 1/8 inch thick (I sliced mine a little thicker). Add to bowl with olives and mix with a touch of olive oil.
8. Once chicken has been in oven for 20 minutes (Step 5), spinkle olives and lemons into dish. Don't let them sit on top of the chicken; force them between the pieces. Try to keep the lemons away from the edges of the dish, as they may burn.
9. Put chicken back in oven for roughly 20 minutes or until chicken is done (ours took about 25 minutes post-olive+lemon addition).
10. Remove from oven, plate, and serve with a nice dry Riesling (and, in our case tonight, some lightly curried couscous with currants). Let guests know that the lemon rinds are edible and warn them that the olives are pitted.