Oven-roasted chicken drumsticks and potatoes

Today, I realized that chicken drumsticks and potatoes both benefit from roughly the same time in the oven at the same temperatures, so I put them together with success. In the process, I began to feel a bit less Northern.

Here's what's required for this particular incantation:

• 4 medium-sized potatoes: these were from the Whole Circle Farm CSA. They look like white new potatoes to me. Don't peel them, if you know what's good for you!
• 2 chicken drumsticks: leave the skin on, of course!
• olive oil
• rosemary
• 4 garlic cloves
• salt, salt, and more salt
• pepper
• lemon juice

About 4 hours prior, I put the rosemary into a mortar and bashed it up a bit, then added some salt and bashed a bit more. Then some olive oil and mashed everything together, and then added some pepper and a few squirts of lemon juice. This mixture went in a Ziploc bag with the drumsticks, was rubbed all over the drumsticks, and put in the fridge for 4 hours.

When ready, I pre-heated the oven to 425F with a cast iron skillet inside and boiled enough water for about 4 medium-sized potatoes at the same time. I cut the potatoes into wedges that were roughly 3/4" thick at the thickest part of the wedge. I put these in the boiling water for about 10 minutes. While this was doing, I peeled 4 whole garlic cloves (leave them whole).

Once the potatoes were boiled, I drained them. I took the skillet out of the oven, added about 3 tbsp. olive oil, and put the potato wedges into the skillet. Then, I threw in the garlic cloves and tossed everything in the skillet, seasoned the wedges with ground pepper, and then tossed again.

Next, I pushed the potatoes to the edges of the skillet to make a space in the middle for the chicken. I put the two drumsticks with at least a small gap in between them in this space in the middle (try to put as much as you can in direct contact with the skillet, but the potatoes may stack a little bit due to space limitations) and put the skillet back in the oven.

These should cook for 25 minutes in total. After 15 of the 25 minutes was up, I took the skillet out and turned the drumsticks and disturbed the potatoes.

After the whole 25 minutes was up, I removed what you see in the above picture from the oven and ground some salt over the potatoes.

You might want to take the salt cellar with you when you eat -- the potatoes will need a bit more salt now and again. Otherwise, this seemed to turn out really well from my perspective, and because the cooking times are similar, it doesn't really take that much attention once it's in the oven.

Technorati: chicken drumsticks, potatoes, recipe