Sautéed Chicken with Roast Garlic and Candied Lemon

  Posted on May 17, 2012  by Leslie Blythe  No comments

Back in the 80’s, New York had Donald and Ivana, and Los Angeles had Trumps Restaurant on Melrose Ave.  It was one of the coolest, most cutting edge restaurants at the time.  At lunchtime, 7 people out of 10 had a script under their arm.

It had a Southwestern facade, minimal art gallery interior and ascetic concrete dining tables bearing tiny exotic succulents.

Trumps helped define Los Angeles as a stylish city and was a backdrop for the famous, creative and successful citizenry of West Hollywood and beyond. Eddie Murphy and his bodyguards dined there en masse, and Sam Shepard regularly ordered bourbon at the bar. Sally Field had a baby shower there. Big-ticket artists like David Hockney and Ed Ruscha were regulars, as were famous chefs like Julia Child and James Beard. Jerry Brown was a habitue when he was governor, and Sen. Edward Kennedy entertained there when he came through town.

Trumps was an icon in Los Angeles.  I went there many times and always ordered the chocolate cake with the chocolate granache frosting.  It was a big deal at the time.  Here is one of the only recipes I could find.  I would kill of a copy of an old menu.  It would be wonderful to recreate an evening at Trumps.

Sautéed Chicken with Roast Garlic and Candied Lemon

Serves 2

1 chicken, quartered and boned, skin on
1 large head garlic
2 to 3 Tbs olive oil
1 cup chicken stock
2 to 3 Tbs lemon juice

Candied Lemon Rind
zest of 2 lemons*
2 Tbs sugar
1 cup water
Separate head of garlic into cloves, leaving skin on.

In a skillet, add olive oil and brown garlic and chicken, about 5 minutes.

Add chicken stock and lemon juice. Bring to boil, place in 400 degree F oven and cook 20 minutes or until done.

In a separate skillet, place lemon zest, sugar and 1 cup water. Cook until zests are candied and start to look a little transparent Drain and reserve for later use.

When chicken is done, remove from cooking liquid and arrange on platter. Reduce, if necessary, the cooking liquid until it coats a spoon and looks glossy. There will not be a lot of sauce. The garlic cloves should be soft inside skins. Pour garlic and sauce over chicken. Arrange candied lemon zest on top and serve.

*If you do not have a zester, prepare candied lemon peel by using a vegetable peeler. Remove the lemon rind with the peeler, cutting the strips into very thin pieces, approximately 1/8 inch by 3 inches.