This one’s from Eat Something Sexy creator Amy Reiley’s family recipe file. For more than 5 decades, her family has served some variation of this dish at their annual Labor Day reunion. An easy, light and delicious addition to any holiday party or picnic, we thought we’d share it with you in time for your weekend plans.
serves 8-10
4 bone-in split chicken breasts (with skin)
1 small lemon, thinly sliced into 8 rounds
1 tbsp various fresh herbs, roughly chopped (such as sage, thyme, tarragon, rosemary or basil), optional
salt and pepper
1 small sweet onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 tbsp capers, drained
1 c grapes, washed and sliced in half
1 tsp fresh tarragon, finely chopped*
2-4 tbsp light mayonnaise
1-2 tsp dijon mustard
salt to taste
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Remove excess fat from each chicken breast and pat dry. Slide 2 lemon slices and assorted herbs (optional) under the skin of each breast. Season each breast with salt and pepper and place, skin side up, in a 9×13 baking dish.
Cover pan with foil (try to make sure foil is not touching the skin) and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Remove foil and allow chicken to brown for an additional 15 minutes of cooking. (The chicken should be just cooked through and the bones will still have pink, even red. Once the bones are brown, the breast is overcooked.)
Remove chicken from pan and allow it to rest until cool enough to touch.
Remove and discard the chicken skin. Pull the meat from the bones into bite-sized pieces. (This is the only time-consuming part of the recipe!)
Cool chicken completely before making the salad.
In a large bowl, combine chicken, onion, celery, capers, grapes, tarragon, 2 tbsp mayonnaise and 1 tbsp dijon. Mix ingredients and add additional mayo and mustard to taste. Season with salt before serving with a loaf of great bread, a green salad and a side of the season’s finest fruit.
*For an aphrodisiac variation, omit the tarragon and add a pinch of curry powder to taste.
