ROSEMARY-SKEWERED CHICKEN

"Look like a pro without spending a lot of time in the kitchen with these pretty rosemary-skewered hors d’oeuvres. They have never failed to impress our guests, no matter what the season."

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into twenty 1 1/2-inch chunks
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup canola oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
20 rosemary sprigs, or long toothpicks

In a medium bowl, mix together the chicken, chopped rosemary, lemon zest and juice, 6 tablespoons of the oil, salt, and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

In a medium saute pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until smoking. Sear the chicken pieces for 1 1/2 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a platter.

Remove some of the leaves from the end of each rosemary sprig, then insert the sprig (or a toothpick) into each chunk of chicken.

Makes 20 hors d’oeuvres
Excerpted from The Summer House Cookbook by Debra Ponzek and Geralyn Delaney Graham
Copyright © 2003 by Debra Ponzek and Geralyn Delaney Graham. Excerpted by permission of Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.