Chicken and 40 Cloves

Chicken and 40 cloves is a very easy dish, and is great if you love garlic. 40 cloves sounds like a lot of garlic, but it doesn't turn out that strong. When you roast garlic for a long time, the garlic infuses into the oil, and the actual roasted garlic cloves end up extremely soft and sweet and can easy be eaten or spread onto bread or vegetables, like butter.

I first learned how to do this with Alton Brown's recipe when I saw it on Good Eats. (I later found it online)

Ingredients

• 1 whole fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons olive oil (regular, non-extra-virgin)
• 40 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 10 sprigs fresh thyme
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil to coat the chicken.
3. Brown the chicken on both sides in a large skillet over high heat. If you need to, you can do this in multiple batches.
4. Remove from heat, and put the garlic and thyme over the chicken. Cover everything with the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil.
5. Cover and bake for 1 1/2 hours.
6. Remove from oven, let rest for 10 minutes, and serve. Consider serving with vegetables or bread for the garlic oil and roasted garlic.