Pop! Go the Tomatoes!

I was enjoying a new (to me) blog today, called The Wednesday Chef. Luisa states that her blog "was started in the summer of 2005 to find out if the newspaper recipes really work, which food writer has the best ideas, if the newspapers' feud for "Best Food Section in America" is just in Luisa's imagination, and which paper has a better test kitchen." I've found four or five recipes so far to try, and one of them made it to my dinner table tonight. I was drawn to the picture she posted of this dish, since I love grape tomatoes, and saw that this would be a quick and easy dish to make. The original recipe, from Barbara Fairchild of Bon Appetít, called for cherry tomatoes and bone-in breasts. I used grape tomatoes and boneless breasts. I cooked this in my convection/toaster oven, and was amused by the sound of popping tomatoes as it cooked. I'm glad they didn't pop all over the inside of the oven! The best part about this dish was the intense flavor of the roasted tomatoes with every bite of chicken.

Spicy Roasted Chicken with Grape Tomatoes
from Bon Appetít
12 ounces whole grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves, garlic pressed
¾ teaspoons dried crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 bone-in chicken breasts (I used boneless)
Salt and freshly ground pepper


1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, crushed red pepper and marjoram in a large bowl to combine.
2. Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the tomato mixture over the chicken, arranging the tomatoes in a single layer on the sheet around the chicken. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the tomatoes are blistered, about 35 minutes.
3. Transfer the chicken to plates. Spoon the tomatoes and juices over the chicken and serve.