Rustic Garlic Chicken

I could make up excuses for why I haven't posted in almost 2 months or I could dive right into this week's recipe!

Rustic Garlic Chicken (also available at http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/rustic-garlic-chicken)

1. 2 tablespoons cooking oil
2. 1 chicken (about 3 to 3 1/2 pounds), cut into 8 pieces (I bought a pre cut-up chicken)
3. 1 teaspoon salt
4. 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
5. 3 heads garlic, cloves separated
6. 2 tablespoons flour
7. 1 cup dry white wine
8. 1 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
9. 2 tablespoons butter
10. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 
11. 1 lemon, juiced and zested

1. Heat the oven to 400°. In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over moderately high heat. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Cook the chicken until well browned, turning, about 8 minutes in all, and remove from the pot (WATCH OUT! The oil will splatter!). Reduce the heat to moderate, add the garlic, and sauté until it is starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the garlic and stir until combined. Return the chicken to the pot, cover, and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165.
2. Remove the pot from the oven and place it on a burner. Remove the chicken pieces from the pot and set aside. Over moderately high heat, whisk in the wine and simmer for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth and a little salt and simmer until starting to thicken, about 3 minutes. Turn the heat off, whisk in the butter, lemon juice and zest, and pour the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with the parsley. 

We served this dish when we had a guest over for dinner this weekend though the recipe could easily be adapted for just two people by just using a couple of breasts and maybe 1 or 1.5 heads of garlic. I chose to use a digital thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken breast to determine when the meat was done. The garlic sauce that accompanied the chicken was amazing- make sure to serve mashed potatoes or rice with the dish to soak up some of the sauce! It is that good. 

We will be having this one again!!! Sorry there are no pictures- I'm not back in the groove yet! See you next week.