The Canal House's Chicken alla Diavola

All week long, Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton of The Canal House will be sharing their recipes from last year's Canal House Cooking, Volume 8: Pronto! And we're giving away a copy every day this week. Open up a bottle of Sangiovese and follow along to bring a little Italy into your home.

Today: This crispy-skinned chicken delivers a flavor punch and a spicy kick.

Neither one of us particularly likes very spicy food. The intensity of the heat can get in the way of the flavor, and we're usually more interested in flavor than sensation. But there are exceptions, and this Italian classic -- devilishly spicy grilled chicken -- is one: It makes our lips burn and tingle, but the heat and flavor are balanced just right. It's the kind of food we crave when the weather gets hot. We wash it down with cold rosato. Bliss.

Chicken alla Diavola

Serves 4 to 6

One 3- to 4-pound chicken
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
Salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 to 2 lemons)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

We're giving away a copy of Canal House Cooking, Volume 8: Pronto! every day this week! To enter to win today's copy, tell us in the comments: What sort of food do you crave when the weather gets hot? We'll choose winners next Monday, July 28th.

Photo by The Canal House. Excerpted from the book Canal House Cooking, Volume 8: Pronto! by Christopher Hersheimer and Melissa Hamilton. Reprinted by permission of The Canal House. All rights reserved.