Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

What a description, huh?  Nothing hard to figure out with this one.  It's chicken.  It has garlic.  Lots of it.  You can't deny that it sounds goooooood......

Abe loved it.  That's all I have to say.  It's easy to make too.  If you don't have a dutch oven, which I am thrilled to say I finally got mine from Ikea ($50!), you can brown the chicken in a pan and transport to a casserole dish to bake in the oven.  Of if you're using a pan that is oven-safe, you're good to go.

I didn't actually use 40 cloves... I took a tip from one of the reviewers and used 20 cloves that I cut in half.  I just didn't want to deal with all of the cleaning, but if you're brave enough to, go for it.

I used chicken thighs instead of the whole chicken. If you're using pieces like thighs or breasts, make sure you check doneness before the time is up, as pieces cook faster than the whole bird.

I served it with mushroom risotto and warm spinach salad.

I got the recipe from Allrecipes.com.

Enjoy!

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic
Serves 4

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 whole chicken
• 40 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the Dutch oven and brown on all sides in the butter and oil, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the chicken to a cutting board.
3. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of liquid from the pan; stir the garlic cloves into the reserved liquid. Return the chicken to the pan; sprinkle the water, lemon juice, salt, thyme, and black pepper over the chicken; cover tightly.
4. Bake the chicken in the preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 90 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove the chicken from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 10 minutes before slicing.