Cold Roast Chicken with Rosemary and Bread Salad

Remove as much fat as possible from chicken pieces, wash and pat dry; cut into pieces. Rub salt onto all exposed skin and refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450F. Heat 3 T butter over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken pieces dry again, throw some black pepper over them, and brown quickly in the butter on all sides. Remove the chicken to paper towels to drain. Chicken should have some color, but not too much.

Place a wire rack over a large oven-proof skillet. Place the chicken on the rack so the skillet will catch the drippings (skin side up for breasts and thighs).

Top the chicken with a generous amount of rosemary. Roast at 450F for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350F, and roast an additional forty minutes or so, turning once during the roasting. Remove chicken, drain, cool, and refrigerate over night. Do in batches for large quantities. Pack up in a cloth lined basket in the morning and go watch FOOTBALL. Serve with:

Bread Salad:
Serves 6-8

1 lb. tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 medium red onion, diced
1 cup pitted Kalamata black olives, chopped
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp capers
4 hard boiled eggs, diced
salt and pepper
1/2 lb heavy bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup fresh mint, coarsely chopped

Combine tomatoes, onion, olives, lemon juice, olive oil, s&p, capers, and eggs. Refrigerate overnight. Serve over the bread, and garnish with the mint just before serving.

Have a great tailgate...

stu