Baked Chicken - Easy - Stanley Turrentine

One of my Dear Readers writes an excellent music blog, mostly about jazz and blues.  We thought it would be to our mutual benefit (and by "mutual" I mean "my own") to do a cross-post, similar to the ones I did about Claude Monet and Georgia O'Keeffe.  This series will be about famous jazz artists. Today's post is about the great tenor-saxophonist Stanley Turrentine (1934–2000) from a food perspective.  Visit Music and More to read about the music he is famous for, including links to some of his great work.

During his early tours through the South in the 50s, many times along with Ray Charles, segregation prevented Mr. Turrentine and his group from staying in hotels. According to Jazz Cooks, sometimes they were allowed into the back of restaurants where the only food choices were, essentially, take it or leave it. When the group made their own dinner, meals consisted mostly of navy beans cooked with other inexpensive greasy items and eaten along with cornbread.

After a scary bout of pulmonary edema, Mr. Turrentine began to eat more healthy, avoiding the greasy, salty and fried foods he had lived on. The simple chicken dish below became part of his new dietary repertoire.

The sauce on this baked chicken is similar to my chicken and spaghetti with pine nuts recipe, but baked instead of simmered in a skillet.  Plus there's no pasta involved, unless you  make some as a side-dish.

Baked Chicken - Easy
Adapted from: Jazz Cooks: Portraits and Recipes of the Greats
Serves 4

1/2 cup bottled Italian dressing, regular or low-fat (not fat-free), divided
One chicken, cut into quarters or eighths
1/2 tsp. ground thyme
1/4 tsp. ground garlic
1/4 tsp. lemon pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
cooked rice and veggie of your choice

Preheat oven to 350F. Spread 1/4 cup of the Italian dressing evenly over the bottom of a rimmed large baking sheet or pan.   This is a brand-new non-stick baking pan, so the dressing refused to spread evenly.   Try not to be too jealous.

Place chicken pieces, skin side up, in a single layer in the pan.  Smoosh the chicken around a bit to make sure the dressing is spread around, especially if you have a brand-new non-stick baking pan.

Mix the remaining 1/4 cup of dressing with the spices.

Paint the chicken pieces with the dressing mixture.  There's plenty of it, so slop it on good.  Discard any leftover mixture.

Bake for 30-45 minutes or until chicken is nicely browned and juices run clear if pierced with a sharp knife.

Is this gorgeous, or what?

Serve with rice and a veggie.