Skillet Rosemary Chicken

I saw this delicious recipe in the May, 2010 Food Network Magazine.  The chicken was very juicy and had lots of lemon flavor.

Active time: 20 min, Total time: 40 min

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3/4 lb small red-skinned potatoes, halved, or quartered if large

Kosher salt

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus 1 tablespoon leaves

1 clove garlic, smashed

pinch of red pepper flakes

juice of 2 lemons (squeezed halves reserved)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each)

10 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Cover the potatoes with cold water in a saucepan and salt the water.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until tender, about 8 minutes; drain and set aside.

2. Pile the rosemary leaves, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and the red pepper flakes on a cutting board, then mince and mash into a paste using a large knife.  Transfer the paste to a bowl.  Stir in the juice of 1 lemon and the olive oil.  Add the chicken and turn to coat.

3. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken, skin-side down, cover and cook until the skin browns, about 5 minutes.  Turn the chicken; add the mushrooms and potatoes to the skillet and drizzle with the juice of the remaining lemon.  Add the rosemary sprigs and the squeezed lemon halves to the skillet; transfer to the oven and roast, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.

We didn't include any mushrooms and we used skinless chicken breasts.  To make them crispier, we turned on the broiler for an extra 5 minutes.

Don't want to spend money for the pepper flakes?  Not a problem.  We used a packet that we got from a pizza joint.