Chicken Martini

gin	1/4 c
dry vermouth	1/4 c
distilled vinegar	1 t
juniper berries	15 whole
butter	3 T
white onion	1/4 c chopped
chicken	1 cut into parts
black pepper	1/2 t, to taste
dried lemon peel	1/4 t, to taste
salt	1/2 t, to taste
green olives	1/4 c, pitted (optional)

This began as a whimsical dish that turned out much better than I expected. The recipe calls for chicken cut into parts, but a whole small chicken or two Cornish hens can be used, and the birds stuffed with the green olives.

Mix the gin, vermouth, vinegar and juniper berries, cover and allow the mixture to sit for 15 to 30 minutes. In a casserole that can be covered sauté the finely chopped onions in butter. Wash the chicken and pat dry. Remove the sauté from heat, and coat the chicken with it, inside and out if whole birds are used. Add salt, pepper and lemon peel to taste, and the green olives if desired. Pour the martini mixture over the chicken, cover the casserole and cook in a 375°F oven for 50 minutes. Turn the pieces or baste the whole birds regularly. A caution — high concentrations of alcohol vapor in contact with the heating elements of electric ovens can produce carbon monoxide, so keep the room well ventilated whenever you open the oven.

This recipe is very loosely based on a recipe that appeared in The Washington Post, 17 June 1971.

Recipe from An Eclectic Cookbook (Copyright © 1987, John S. Garavelli), page 6–11.