Harvest Roast Chicken with Grapes, Olives, and Rosemary

Long time, no post! I haven't posted since Februrary, but at least I have a pretty good excuse for my absence. Over the past 5 months, a lot has changed in my life! I got married (and had the best wedding...EVER!), went on a fabulous honeymoon to South Africa and ZImbabwe, started a new job, and bought a new car! It has been a crazy and amazing couple of months, for sure, but things seem to be settling down and normalizing a little bit now with Shea and me. 

Speaking of normalizing, it only makes sense that my first recipe since a long hiatus is a Deb Perlman recipe. If you know anything about my cooking, you know that I consistently love any recipe that was created or posted by Deb Perlman. This recipe is no exception. 

When I saw this recipe, I immediately thought of Shea's mom's classic recipe for Chicken Marbella. Shea's mom makes Chicken Marbella for family parties and large groups in Chicago, and it is one of my favorite recipes to eat. It plays with sweet and salty flavors of olives and apricots and chicken by marinating the chicken overnight and then roasting it in the oven. 

This recipe from Deb Perlman plays with the same sweet and salty flavors with the chicken through the grapes and olives, but it takes only a fraction of the amount of time to prepare as Chicken Marbella. From soup to nuts, you will have a crunchy-skinned, juicey piece of chicken with a creamy and flavorful gravy in about an hour. Be sure to take your time crisping the chicken skin, and then you are basically home free with this recipe!

Before the recipe, here's pictoral proof of our wedding and honeymoon! 

Harvest Roast Chicken with Grapes, Olives, and Rosemary Recipe

Courtesy of Deb Perlman's Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 3 pounds (1 1/3 kg) chicken parts (thighs, drumsticks, and/or breasts), with skin and bones
• Table salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup (90 grams) seedless grapes
• 1 cup (130 grams) pitted Kalamata olives
• 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) dry white wine
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

Directions

1. 1.
   Preheat your oven to 450 degrees with a rack in middle. Pat chicken dry, and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat oil
   in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet (use a cast-iron skillet if you’ve got one) over medium- high heat until it shimmers. Working in two batches, brown the chicken, skin side down first and turning them over once, about 5 minutes per batch. I like to take a lot of care in this step, not moving the chicken until the skin releases itself and has a nice bronze on it.
2. 2.
   Return the pieces to the pan, skin side up, and surround the pieces with grapes, olives, and shallots. Roast the chicken in the oven until it has just cooked through and the juices run clear, about 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken, grapes, and olives to a platter, then add wine and chicken broth to the pan juices in skillet. Bring liquid to a boil, scraping up any brown bits, until it has reduced by half, for 2 to 3 minutes. Strain sauce, if desired, then pour it over the chicken. Garnish with rosemary and see how long it takes guests to offer to slurp the sauce up with a spoon.
3.