Company Baked Chicken
with Roasted Tomatoes and Basil
Your house will smell amazing!
Ingredients:
2 chickens, cut in eighths
2 large beefsteak tomatoes, cut into large chunks (I like the ones from TJ's)
1 (8 oz.) bottle Italian dressing, such as the Wish-Bone "Robusto" brand
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves (also at TJ's)
4 cloves fresh garlic
5 sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
fresh basil leaves, for garnish
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Place the chicken pieces in single layers, skin-side-up, into two 9-by-13-inch baking pans (or if you have a heavy metal cookie sheet, I like to use that so I have one less thing to wash- two chickens fit perfectly in that size). Set aside.
Place the chunks of tomatoes into a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse to chop. Add the dressing, basil, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes. Pulse to puree and emulsify.
Pour the tomato-basil dressing evenly over the chicken pieces.
Bake, uncovered, for one hour and 30 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked and no longer pink.
(Baking it uncovered will allow the chicken to get a beautiful, crispy red finish. After the 1 1/2 hours, if you keep it tightly covered at 200 degrees, I'd say for up to two hours, it would stay perfectly moist and piping hot).
Transfer to serving platter. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.