Herb Goat Cheese Chicken from Ina
Night before last I wanted to make a special weeknight dinner as a surprise. As usual, I turned to the domestic goddess, Ina Garten, for some inspiration. If you follow her show, you know that she focuses a lot on chicken as a primary ingredient. I like this because it’s a really easy way to start a meal and she has so many ideas on how to make it different each time. Browse her top 100 recipes on the Food Network and you’ll see what I’m talking about; there’s a lot of chicken to be found!
For my menu, I chose her roasted chicken with herb goat cheese. I have really been in love with goat cheese lately and this recipe has received so many great comments on the site. It was delicious and so, so easy.
This was really a victory for me too. You might be surprised to find that, despite my love of cooking, I really hate handling meat. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve compromised a recipe by substituting whole or split chicken on the bone for boneless, skinless chicken breast. In my book, the less it resembles an animal, the better. However, I’ve really come to see this as a mini-food tragedy. Chefs go on and on about how roasting with the skin on leaves great flavor, that the bone keeps so much moisture in, so on.
So, slowly I’ve been working over that ooky feeling and this recipe was a big step. LOOK AT THE DIRECTIONS. Oh, yeah. It involves putting your hand underneath the skin to stuff it. You’re just there…touching meat. Whether or not this is a big deal to you, it shouldn’t matter because this chicken is awesome and so worth it.
(Oh and I promise, the next recipe will not be an Ina one. I do need to add something else to my repertoire!)
Chicken With Herb Goast Cheese from Barefoot Contessa
3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on
12 oz. goat cheese with garlic and herbs
Fresh basil leaves
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers, leaving one side attached.. Cut 12 thick slices of the Montrachet and place 2 slices plus a large basil leaf under the skin of each chicken breast. Rub each piece with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Bake the breasts for 35 to 40 minutes, until just cooked through. Serve hot or at room temperature.
yum this looks fantastic! i love goat cheese and basil. plus you got some asparagus goin’ on there, somethin in a little dish, very nice!
good job braving the meat situation.
snooorrrrlllaaax
Yeah, this turned out great. I love cheese on anything! Especially goat cheese.
I’m going to have to try this. It looks easy and tasty! I’ve got this basil plant out back that’s going crazy. I need to put it to use.
My husband isn’t a big meat toucher. Especially when it comes to mixing up a meatloaf or something like that. I usually end up with that job.
What’s in the little ramekin?
i made a “fancy” mac and cheese… gruyere, goat cheese, sharp cheddar, and bacon with a bread crumb topping. it wasn’t bad, but not excellent. i think cooking it in the oven to crisp the topping dried it out a little… something i’ll want to revisit.