So, the contessa still rocks.
I got her new cookbook for my birthday, but this one comes from her self-titled 1999 volume via our friends at the Food Network. Hmmmm, I may have to add that cookbook to my collection.
INGREDIENTS
•1 cup honey
•3/4 cup soy sauce
•1/4 cup minced garlic (8 to 12 cloves)
•2 small onions, chopped
•1/2 cup peeled and grated fresh ginger root (I diced mine)
•2 (3-1/2 pound) chickens, quartered, with backs removed
Cook the honey, soy sauce, onion, garlic, and ginger root in a small saucepan over low heat until the honey is melted. Arrange the chicken in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan, skin side down, and pour on the sauce. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 350º.
Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan, turn the chicken skin side up, and raise the temperature to 375 degrees F. Continue baking for 30 minutes or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh and the sauce is a rich, dark brown.
I cut the recipe in half to accommodate the two bone-in chicken breasts I had in the freezer, diced instead of grated the ginger, and reduced the sauce after baking to pour over the chicken and some arborio rice. Served with carrots Vichy and leftover green peas, it made for a truly fine dinner on a chilly fall evening.