There’s nothing like the gathering of friends and family around the dinner table. It is a bonding experience like no other and it creates many lasting memories. Don’t let those memories be soured by the quality of the food you serve.

This chicken dish is so incredibly easy to prepare and bake, yet it makes quite an entrance when brought to your table. Make Sunday dinner at your house a noteworthy event.  It is quick enough for a weeknight dinner, too.

This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled (or made in huge quantities) to feed a crowd at a pot-luck, family reunion or any type of social gathering. You are limited only by the size of your pan(s) and the size of your oven.

 

INGREDIENTS

4 chicken thighs, 4 ounces each, bone-in with skin

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup dry Marsala wine

1 Tbsp. honey

2 large apricots chopped

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

Barley:

3 cups water

1 cup barley

1/4 tsp kosher salt

 

DIRECTIONS

Combine chicken stock, Marsala wine and honey in a small mixing bowl. Pit and dice fresh apricots. Set aside.

Coat baking dish with cooking spray or a little oil. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Arrange chicken, skin side up on a baking dish. Add chopped apricots around chicken and pour stock mixture over all.

Bake in 375°F oven for 30 minutes. Baste chicken with sauce and bake another 20 minutes until skin is crispy and apricots roasted. Chicken will be done when thermometer inserted near bone reads 165°F. This will take about an hour of total cooking time.

While chicken is baking make the barley. Combine water, barley and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer 25 minutes or until tender. Drain if there is excess liquid.

Serve chicken thighs with apricots, pan juices and basil over barley.

 

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Quick Tip:  Bone-in chicken thighs with skin will need to bake at 375°F for close to an hour. Although bone-in chicken with skin intact results in a more flavorful, moist dish, if you don’t have that amount of time available, you can use boneless, skinless chicken, which would need to bake for only 20-25 minutes.

Attribution:  Recipe and photo courtesy of Kevin at keviniscooking.com