I enjoyed this chicken meal I made ages ago, while the air was still chilly and snow was on the ground. I made some changes to the original recipe, including adding sausage to the pot, and mushrooms and brussel sprouts. It’s a comforting meal, and I love the bright lemon and the warm rosemary, the dominant flavours. The sausage, of course, was a great touch too!

I definitely recommend marinating the chicken overnight, if possible. If not, then at least a few hours. I used skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs and thought the chicken and resulting dish was a bit too fatty. Next time, I would use chicken breasts, which would probably be a better cut for this dish. I did enjoy the crisp on the skin from cooking the chicken on the stove before popping the whole dish in the oven, where all the flavours melded together.

Rosemary Chicken and Sausage Skillet adapted from Food Network

3/4 pound small red-skinned potatoes, halved, or quartered if large
Salt
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus 1 1/2 tablespoons leaves
2 cloves garlic, smashed
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Juice of 2 lemons (squeezed halves reserved)
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (6 to 8 ounces each)
2 cups cremini mushrooms, halved
2 cups brussel sprouts, halved
1 large onion, sliced
2 italian sausages

1. Preheat the oven to 450. 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 let marinate, at least 30 minutes, better if it`s a few hours, or even overnight!

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. Remove chicken from pan.

4. Add the sausages to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove sausages from the pan.

5. Add the mushrooms, brussel sprouts, and potatoes to the skillet, place chicken over mushrooms and potatoes and drizzle with any marinade remaining in the bowl and the juice of the remaining lemon.

6. 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.

Yup, it’s been pretty quiet around here. As usual, we’ve been cooking lots and not finding any inclination or desire to write about any of it. I am happy that Android FINALLY got Instagram…maybe that will encourage me to post a little more?

We have been enjoying the new house, and love seeing how the spring is changing the place. Our backyard is getting tidier, we’ve gotten two new BBQs that we have enjoyed thoroughly, and we found out our front yard will be growing a surplus of oregano, mint, thyme and various other herbs we can pick whenever we like. In addition, two massive lilac trees adorn either side of our front door. Needless to say, we are happy to see spring come this way.

A little on some of our recent BBQ escapades…

For our very first BBQ in the backyard, we used the BBQ that Soli’s dad had given him, combined with grills from our hibachi. We picked up some tomatoes, endives, asparagus, onions and mushrooms to grill, coating them all in olive oil, lemon, oregano, salt.

To go with that, we bought some bison and some rabbit sausages from a butcher down the street, as well as some deer steaks. All were very wonderful, especially the lean deer. The bison sausages may have been just a little too rich and the rabbit sausage a little too lean, as it dried out quite quickly on the BBQ. We also grilled some thickly cut slabs of bacon.

Then, Soli’s Weber got delivered, and our first meal on that was a full snapper, stuffed with green onions and rubbed with lemon, salt and garlic. Again, some grilled bacon and some potatoes to go on the side. A perfect meal, the fish was amaaaazing!

As seen in the first photo, we also attempted BBQing some pork ribs, but that didn’t go quite as smoothly. The coals ended up going out, and while the texture of the ribs was perfect, and the sauce Soli made the best BBQ sauce ever, the ribs themselves were definitely a little too….gamey….

The other day, Easter Monday, we picked up some pizza and grilled that, along with mushrooms, onions and zucchini, but that’s a story for a different day.