Honey-Lacquered Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary

I love when a recipe saves your culinary spirit.  After a couple of flops in the new-recipe-department last week, I was feeling a little low and upset about wasted time and ingredients.  Luckily, I found this recipe that saved me from a three strike failure. This easy-to-make roasted chicken is perfect for a cool, autumn evening.

The original recipe uses small, whole chickens but I used some large, locally-raised, antibiotic-free chicken legs instead because we love chicken legs. Since I wasn't stuffing whole birds with the lemon, garlic and rosemary, I placed them on the baking pan underneath the chicken legs.

The chicken parts are brushed with a honey/lemon/balsamic mixture and roasted in a hot oven to produce the beautiful lacquered skin and then finished at a lower temperature.  Chicken is so versatile that any side dish you like would be wonderful.  Roasted potatoes, squash, or grilled eggplant, which is what we had.  I found this beautiful, Italian eggplant at the Farmers' Market, which we sliced, brushed with olive oil, seasoned with some Italian herbs and grilled. 

So far, fall has been kind to us and I still have quite a few things blooming in the garden.  These photos were all taken in the past several days.

Two of my favorite fall-blooming flowers are the Colchicums, or autumn crocus, in the first photo along with Japanese Anemone and Tricyrtis or toad lily, above, with some favorite dahlias.   

How is Fall in your area?  Although the trees are changing color, we are behind in both color change and leaf drop compared to last year.

Honey-Lacquered Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary

Printable Recipe

*Please see My Notes below

1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or glaze
Whole chicken legs
Salt and Pepper
6 small rosemary sprigs
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1/3 of a lemon, cut into slices

Preheat the oven to 450°. 

Rinse with cool water and dry chicken with paper toweling.

In a small bowl, combine the honey, lemon juice and balsamic. Scatter the rosemary sprigs, garlic and lemon slices over a baking sheet. Set the chickens pieces on top of them. Brush two-thirds of the honey glaze over the chickens and season lightly with salt and pepper. Roast in the middle of the hot oven for 20-30 minutes, checking after 20 minutes. 

Reduce the oven temperature to 325°. Rotate the pan and brush with the remaining glaze. Roast the chicken for about 30-40 minutes longer, until the juices run clear when the thighs are pierced, basting with the pan juices at least twice. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before carving, and serve.

My Notes: I halved the glaze ingredients and used four whole chicken legs to serve two people.  The original recipe calls for soy sauce instead of balsamic vinegar and uses whole chickens which are stuffed with the garlic, rosemary and lemon.  Use 3 large sprigs of rosemary, 3 quartered garlic cloves, and 1/3 lemon if using whole chickens.  Increase roasting time if you are using whole chickens.

Recipe Adapted from Food and Wine

Roasted Chicken with Italian Seasoning

To me, there is nothing more delicious and satifying than a perfectly seasoned roasted chicken in the fall and winter....unless, it's a roasted turkey, of course, and Thanksgiving we be upon us before we know it!

I was recently contacted by a representative of the Ariosto Seasonings company in Italy who asked if I would like to use and review their seasonings.  Being a huge fan of traditional Italian seasonings I was more than pleased to say, Yes! How fun and exciting to receive an envelope postmarked from Italy.

I received several packages of Ariosto seasonings. One was for meat and poultry, one for tomato sauces, one for roasted or fried potatoes, one for fish, and one with garlic and chili pepper for pasta. Ariosto seasonings have been very popular in Italy for over 47 years.

For my roasted chicken, I used the seasoning for roasted meats and chicken and also used the seasoning packet for potatoes. The Ariosto seasoning for the chicken contains rosemary, garlic, sage, juniper, laurel, oregano, thyme, marjoram, basil and sea salt. The seasoning for roasted potatoes contains garlic, rosemary, sage, juniper, basil, marjoram, oregano, laurel, coriander, parsley and sea salt.

Before I added the seasoning blend to the chicken, I rubbed the chicken inside and out with the juice of a freshly squeezed lemon.  I then rubbed a teaspoon of seasoning all over the bird and added some to the inside also.  I then placed the lemon halves in the cavity and roasted both the chicken and potatoes for about 75-90 minutes in a 350F oven, or until the juices run clear when pierced with a knife.  I siphoned off the most of the fat as the chicken was cooking and used just a little to baste both the chicken and the potatoes.

In one word - DELICIOUS! 

I plan on using the same seasoning that I used for the chicken on my Thanksgiving turkey. Today, I also made a tomato sauce with the seasoning for tomato based sauces that I will be sharing in an upcoming post.

Note: If you unable to locate Ariosto Seasonings you could try making your own seasoning mixture using equal parts (about 1/2 teaspoon each) of rosemary, garlic, sage, juniper, ground bay leaf, oregano, thyme, marjoram, basil and sea salt. 

Ariosto seasonings can be purchased in the United States at these locations:

RANIERI FINE FOOD in New York
Telephone 718 599 9520

CAPRI FLAVOURS in North Carolina
Telephone 800-861-5440

SALUMERIA ITALIANA in Boston
Telephone 800-400-5916

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