Sticks and Snakes: Stop the presses...

...I made dinner last night! Using my oven! And chicken!

I live alone and work pretty irregular hours. That, combined with my lack of culinary experience, means that most of my dinners involve "fixing/preparing" rather than actual "cooking." Salads, soups, the occasional Lean Cuisine...these make up my usual dinner routine. Not so last night!

Last week my friend Lainey made us this beautiful chicken in onions and cream (a la Julia Child!) when we got together for our regular Gossip Girl viewing. Her hospitality and poultry-bravery inspired me to return the favor and make a dinner to precede this week's teen drama.

I saw this recipe for roasted chicken with tomatoes and olives in last month's issue of Real Simple, and knew that I wanted to try it. It was sooo easy. The whole meal is made in one roasting pan and cooked all at the same time, which made clean up a snap. The chicken was moist, the cherry tomatoes were roasted all the way through but still managed to pop in your mouth, and the olives added a great savory-ness. Whole cloves of garlic made the apartment smell delicious and also made my breath stink for a full 24 hours (sorry co-workers!). Finally, lemon skin and fresh rosemary rounded out the flavor with some nice aroma.