Rosemary Chicken with Brussel Sprouts and Chestnuts

This chicken is delicious. It goes well with the Brussels Sprout and Chestnut dish that I made as a side. Of course you don't have to make the same side dish but it's good together.

The first thing you do is marinate the chicken.
Marinade:
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
2 tablespoons agave nectar (or honey)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

Mix all ingredients together ( I used a magic bullet). Reserve 1 tablespoon of marinade to put on chicken when it's done cooking. Put chicken (I used boneless skinless free range chicken thighs about 1 and 2/3 lb) in a ziplock bag and pour marinade in and coat chicken. Put in fridge for 1 hour (up to 24 hours). You will also need half of an orange or lemon to add to the chicken when it's done cooking.

For the side dish you will need:
2 cups roasted chestnuts
2 lbs boiled brussel sprouts, halved
1 stick of butter
1 cup of thinly sliced shallots
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper

While the chicken is marinating, roast the chestnuts. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut an "x" into the flat part of the chestnut shell (with a very sharp paring knife). Now, the recipe calls for 2 cups, but you might want to make more since they are so fun to eat and are so good. They have a sweet meat inside and you can eat them right out of their shell with a little salt.

Next, spread the chestnuts out on a baking sheet and cook for about 15 minutes.

When you get them out of the oven, pour them into an old towel and squeeze the towel so that you hear the shells crackling. This will make them easier to peel. Let them sit about 10 minutes or until they are cool enough to handle. Peel the shell off and sprinkle them with salt. They should look like this. Cut them in half if they are whole.

Next, make the Brussels sprouts by boiling 4 cups of salted water and add 2 lbs of halved Brussels sprouts to the water. Cook for 10 minutes (this is vital to the sweet flavor you want them to have). After they have cooked for 10 minutes, strain them and rinse thoroughly with cold water to stop them from continuing to cook. They will still be bright green.

Then, after the chicken has marinated an hour, take the chicken out of the fridge. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the chicken on a baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes, then flip over and cook another 10-15 minutes. This will vary on the thickness of meat you have. Just make sure it IS NOT pink in the middle. After they have cooked, remove them from the baking sheet and place them onto some foil. Squeeze half of an orange (or lemon) onto the meat and close the foil and let sit for 5-10 minutes.

While the chicken is resting, make the shallot butter for the Brussels Sprout dish. Melt 1 stick of butter in a sauce pan and add 1 cup of thinly sliced shallots. Cook over medium heat until the shallots are limp and the butter turns a little brown. Then, add 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, fresh cracked pepper and kosher salt.

Combine Brussels sprouts and chestnuts into a large bowl and pour butter mixture over it and mix to coat. You can even add Parmesan cheese if you want.

After the side dish is complete, spoon whatever portion you want onto the middle of the plate. Take the chicken out of the foil and place it on the side dish so that it is draping down. Add a fresh rosemary twig and there you have it!