Roasted Lemon Chicken and Tomatoes

On Sunday I decided I really wanted to cook after watching several episodes of Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa. She is my absolute favorite. Not only does she love her food, but she is an untrained chef who just loves what she does. Always fresh ingredients and always lots of butter! Can't beat that! So I roasted the tomatoes according to Ina's roasted tomato caprese recipe:

Ingredients:

• 12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeds (not cores) removed
• 1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 12 basil leaves (julienned)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

1. Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer.
2. Drizzle with olive oil and the balsamic vinegar.
3. Sprinkle with the garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper.
4. Roast for 45 minutes until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to caramelize.
5. Sprinkle them with basil and Parmesan and serve. Enjoy!

For the Chicken I was also inspired by Ina, but I took my own route. I decided to use a lemon pepper on the chicken to give it a little more flavor. It worked out. One thing I want to reinforce that Ina swears by, is using chicken breasts (thighs, etc) that still have the bone and skin on. Though I end up pealing the skin off at the end if really keeps the moisture locked into the chicken during the roasting process.

Ingredients:

• Chicken with bone and skin (1 to 2 pieces per person)
• Lemon pepper
• Cracked black pepper
• Salt
• Olive Oil

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Place chicken on baking sheet, skin side up
3. Generously cover chicken with olive oil, lemon pepper, salt and pepper
4. Roast for 35-40 minutes
5. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin.

My pictures doesn't give this meal justice, I need to work on my lighting and presentation!

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