There are members of my family that are true recipe collectors. They know exactly what recipe made which memorable meal, where to find it, and refer to it again and again. They have full Pinterest boards inside their heads. Dinners – and even dinner parties – are easy because they know exactly where to find what recipe that suits their fancy for the evening. I do not have this particular trait. I open my fridge each afternoon at 4:00 p.m. to see what I can manage to turn into a passable dinner.

Last year my cousin came to visit and she brought with her this chicken recipe – a recipe that has wedged it’s way into my memory it’s that amazing.

We both love to cook and it’s a special treat for us to be in the kitchen together. Especially since we’re lucky if we see each other once a year. One evening she brought out this recipe for chicken roasted with black olives and garlic – and a cup of white wine. My first thought when I read the recipe was that the roasted black olives were a little bit odd. But, since I love kalamata olives and we bought a bottle of my favorite sauvignon blanc I knew it had be good.

This chicken is AMAZING! Rich, juicy and decadent – the saltiness of the bacon and the roasted kalmata olives are amazing contrast with the wine. It has since become my go-to anytime I need an easy, impressive, decadent meal. I’ve served it up for my in-laws, as a thank you to relatives for letting me stay with them, and it’s now my husband’s favorite chicken. I call it “Susan’s Chicken” and so does everyone I’ve ever made it for.

The original recipe from Epicurious is here. I’ve adapted it just a bit below and I always serve this chicken with either roasted red potatoes or my Roasted Turmeric Cauliflower & Potatoes to make it a complete meal.

**Currently I do not have a picture of this recipe to share as there never seems to be the chance for me to pull out my camera and ‘food-style’ this chicken when it comes out of the oven – hungry family members usually devour immediately.**

 [wpurp-searchable-recipe]Chicken with Wine, Bacon & Olives – This roasted, salty, briney, bacon-y, chicken is a wonderful combination of flavors all working together to make something quite luxurious out of every-day poultry. – bone-in chicken pieces (cut up a whole chicken, use a few split breasts (cut in half), or several bone-in chicken thighs), chopped fresh thyme, chopped fresh rosemary, kosher salt, crushed red pepper flakes, olive oil, to 10 peeled whole garlic cloves, of bacon cut into strips, good Sauvignon Blanc, kalamata olives, Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

; In a large bowl mix together the herbs, salt, red pepper flakes, and olive oil. Place the chicken into the bowl and coat the chicken completely with the herb and olive oil mixture.; Pour chicken, along with oil & herb mixture, into a roasting pan and arrange skin sides up. Place/sprinkle the whole garlic cloves and small strips of bacon all over the chicken pieces. ; Place pan in hot oven for 25 minutes. ; After 25 minutes, open oven and pour the wine over the chicken and then do the same with the olives. Close the oven and roast for an additional 20 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked through. ; Serve with the pan juices along side.; Recipe Notes:: It is fine to add additional chicken pieces without adding to the rest of the ingredients. You can add in up to an additional 4 chicken pieces using the same above measurements. You may have to cook for a little longer.; I have made this with boneless, skinless, chicken breasts. You can certainly do this but it's not quite as tasty.; – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]