Braised Chicken with Lemon & Green Olives

So another fantastic gift we got for Christmas was a 5-quart Dutch Oven. I'm in love with this thing. I've been looking for recipes specifically so I can use my new toy. One of my favorite food blogs to get ideas from is Good Things Catered. I saw this fantastic recipe and just had to try it! I didn't have the amount of chicken pieces it called for, and only used 2 HUGE bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. I left all the ingredients the same though just to make sure it turned out. It was great...and such unique flavorings. Enjoy!

8 mixed chicken pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup Chardonnay
30 green olives - I used 15 BIG ones, but in half
1 lemon, sliced 1/8 inch thick
2 bay leaves
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp. sifted flour

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large braiser over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil until almost smoking. Working in batches, brown the chicken on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Transfer to a plate. Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, for 15 seconds; do not allow it to burn. Add the Chardonnay wine reduction and cook, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the pan bottom, about 2 minutes. Add the olives, lemon slices and bay leaves and cook, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes. Return the chicken to the pan, add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the chicken is very tender, about 1 1⁄2 hours.Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Garnish with the parsley and serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.



Here's another picture once I remembered to put the parsley on


I served it with some roasted potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika and crushed red pepper flakes on them.