Thursday, August 28, 2008

Barefoot Thursdays: Garlic and Rosemary Chicken Tenders with Grilled Lemons and Roasted Bell Pepper Salad

The Contessa is in charge of dinner tonight. It's Barefoot Thursdays, so grab a fork and join in. This week, our job was to butterfly a whole chicken and smother it with lemon, garlic, and rosemary. The first problem for me was that I had just done about the same thing only a couple nights before, only with chicken tenders and sweet little slices of grilled lemon to squeeze atop. Should I have made it again for authenticity????
Between you and me, I don't relish the idea of butterflying a chicken. It sounds like something you might get arrested for doing. I've done it before, but I was younger and invulnerable then.
Since I'd already made some sensible and sumptuous chicken tenders, I'd already made a perfectly companionable side dish, too. The marinade for the chicken will do double duty as a dressing for a tri-colored roasted bell pepper salad, sprinkled with feta and a smidge of fresh basil. Roasting peppers is a snap; peeling them is another story. It's not pretty or fun, but the reward is a toasty, smoky sweet bell pepper. Check out the real chicken recipe here; for my version, boogie on down.
Money Saving Tips: Late summer is the best time to find a good deal on bell peppers. If you can find them for less than a dollar a piece, buy up the lot. Use any boneless, skinless chicken you can get for a good price. You should be able to find great meat and poultry deals this week for Labor Day. Swap out fresh basil for extra rosemary, or feta for parmesan, according to what you have on hand.
Garlic, and Rosemary Chicken Tenders with Grilled Lemons
and Roasted Bell Pepper Salad
Estimated Cost: $10.00
Notes: I estimated the cost a bit high, but that's assuming you have to pay for your fresh rosemary or can't get peppers for a great price. Hopefully you can get these items from the garden for free.
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice, plus one lemon, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1 lb. chicken tenders or other boneless, skinless chicken
10 small fresh rosemary sprigs, plus more for garnish
3 bell peppers, preferably of different colors
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or flat leaf parsley
1-2 ounces crumbled feta cheese
In a small bowl combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt and pepper. Set aside 3 tablespoons of olive oil mixture in a small bowl. In a pie dish, place chicken. Pour marinade over the top. Poke in sprigs of rosemary all around the chicken. Cover and refrigerate, turning often, for at least one hour and up to 24 hours. Prepare grill for medium hot cooking. Grill chicken tenders for about 3-4 minutes per side. Grill lemon slices also, for about 1 minute per side, until slightly charred in places. Let chicken rest for five minutes before serving. Serve with fresh rosemary sprigs and grilled lemon slices. Meanwhile, char peppers over gas flame or broil in the oven on foil lined baking sheet until mostly blackened. Place in paper sack for 10 minutes to steam. (This will make it easier to remove the skin.) Peel peppers as best you can, scraping with a paring knife, discard seeds and core and slice into thin strips. Toss with reserved 3 tablespoons lemon dressing and chopped basil; season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with feta before serving.
I know they look a bit homely, but these ugly ducklings grow up delicious.
Coming Tomorrow:
Salsa Verde Turkey Burgers with Creamy Avocado Sauce

50 comments:

Marie Rayner said...

Yummo Erin!! You can't beat the Barefoot Contessa!

Clumbsy Cookie said...

I'm not for butterflying chichens as well! My mom does a chicken with the same flavours you used but a whole chicken. She sticks a whole lemon on the chicken cavity and calls it... "the gay chicken"!

Suzie said...

I love the look of your pepper salad - what a great complementing flavour for the chicken. And so pretty too.

The Blonde Duck said...

I can't wait for the turkey burgers. I LOVVVEEE turkey burgers. I love any burgers, actually. Except veggie. Never had veggie. I've already told my mother that when we go to Austin for Labor Day that we're cooking burgers--no arguments!

Yes, I can dominate other people's kitchens. I am the Blond Duck.

NKP said...

Tenders would be great with this recipe. I didn't debone either.
The tricolour pepper salad is a perfect accompaniment.
Cheers.

Kirsten said...

I wasn't up for deboning either, my husband tackled that part. Your pepper salad looks wonderful! I love the smell of roasting peppers.

Laura said...

Can't wait to try out that bell pepper salad - my neighbor was just offering me a bunch of her yellow and green ones. Yummmmm!

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Another very appetizing recipe for chicken. Lemon and rosemary are fo yummy together. The colors of ther chicken and peppers on your salad are so appealing.

Mary Ann said...

Oh, Prudy- if only I would have seen your solution to the whole butterflying chicken thing, I might have gone ahead with this one. There is just too much going on around here. We are going to have your tri-tip steak tonight because my brother-in-law flew in last night. Those peppers look delicious, as do the chicken tenders. My son would love them. Looks yummy!

Allie said...

Yummy what a great looking meal. Love the freshness from the lemons and the bell pepper salad looks great.

Maria said...

Roasted peppers are my absolute favorite! And they are so cheap right now. We got four peppers for a dollar at the farmer's market in SLC last weekend. We are going back for more...so I will be making this salad!!

Unknown said...

Yumm . . I love the flavor of roasted peppers, I've never roasted bell peppers from home though. I do enjoy BC, I haven't watcher her show in a LONG time :)

Anonymous said...

At this point, I really wish that I had done boneless, skinless something. I totally creaped The Mother-In-Law (and myself out) with this stupid chicken! It was good, but I bet yours was better!
~Cat

Anonymous said...

Those look great! I want to join this group. How do I do it?

Pam said...

Wow. The tenders looks so good. I love that you roasted the peppers yourself - they are so much better than store bought. Great recipe.

vanillasugarblog said...

Oh those peppers look so good. I eat peppers & eggs almost every other day for a meal. I just love them.
The chicken tenders came out perfect Ms. Prudy.

Anonymous said...

That salad looks so good! I think my kids would love the chicken and I'm already pining for the salad.

Anonymous said...

Oh yes and I'm very glad you didn't have to defile a chicken!

Anonymous said...

I love roasted red peppers, but have never tried to make them myself. I think it has to do with the whole open flame and peeling thing. :-P

Unknown said...

I just stumbled onto your blog from the "blogging network" and Really love the recipes and fun things you make...I am looking forward to more prudy!!
oh- and I completely agree that butterflying a chicken sounds like something you could go to prison for :)

gigi said...

Oooo...Rosemary and Lemons
and Roasted Bell Pepper! Such a flavorful (sp) meal! Oh and the feta! Anything with feta is betta!

Dr. appointments have gone fine! Sure hope things go well over the hoilday weekend! I always fear the worse, when every DR. is out of town. Hope things are okay on your end! Had yall in my thougnts and prayers :)

Marjie said...

I love chicken with lemon!

Jenny said...

Another beautiful Barefoot recipe, looks fantastic! Nice for the summer, I need to fire up my grill this weekend!

Esi said...

Still looks great and I don't think many people followed the recipe the way it was posted. I sure didn't :)

Beth (jamandcream) said...

Im not into butterflying either. What do you mean by Chicken tenders - is it just chicken breast?? Don't hear that term in the UK.

Loving the Rosemary/Lemon combo. My Rosemary is doing pretty well at the moment so will bookmark this one

La Bella Cooks said...

OOh, yummy, i just roasted a whole bunch of peppers just the other day that I had picked up at the farmers market. I love their smoky flavor and use them in all sorts of dishes. I am not one for butterflying a chicken but Barefoot Contessa has some fantastic dishes. Yours looks delicious as usual!

Deb in Hawaii said...

No butterfly for me either! Yours looks yummy and love the sald choixce too!

Emily said...

The chicken sounds great.

I really like your burger though. Cheeseburger in Paradise.
Can't wait to see the turkey one.

Eleganza Strings/ The DeLadurantey Family said...

I love peppers! Especially roasted! And that chicken? mmm! It looks just a good!

MK and Co. said...

Everything looks perfect! I wish I was coming to dinner.

Veronica said...

I couldn't do the chicken butterflying thing either...I like the sound of the roasted bell pepper salad-so healthy. I went the more fattening route and served it with pasta-grin!

Heather B said...

yum! It all looks so tasty! Great job!

Prudy said...

Beth:
The tender loin is a long thin piece connected to the breast. It's tender as its name suggests and easy to work with. It does have tendon that runs the length of it, and sometimes I remove it and other times I'm just plain lazy. Hope that helps.

Sara said...

This looks like a yummy light summer dinner. Great job!

RecipeGirl said...

There isn't anything better than grilled lemons!! Love them! I'm all over those roasted bell peppers too. This looks like a must-make dish for me!

Lore said...

I've got my fork with me :) Does it matter that it's only breakfast time here? Did I hear a "no"? Well, I suppose you're right, we should forget about such boring details and enjoy your flavourful chicken tenders :D

Beth (jamandcream) said...

Thanks Prudy - that explains it.

Anonymous said...

Ooh, big flavors! Can't wait to try that salad with the chicken.

Anonymous said...

I love your take on this recipe! Looks great!

The Farmer's Wife said...

Yum! I am totally excited to have joined Barefoot Bloggers...I am going to being in September! Thanks for stopping by The Farmer's Wife///I love your blog!

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