Roast Chicken

My friend Joel once told me that everyone needs to know how to cook a whole chicken. Joel is a smart guy so I took his words to heart. Turns out roasting a whole bird isn't as hard as I thought. I've tried several methods over the years, but this is still my favorite.

Pick your chicken

Get a roasting chicken. I prefer getting one with all the inside bits removed. I have no use for a chicken neck and never will. Aim for about 2 pounds a person, and remember that the bigger the bird, the longer the cooking time.

Special Equipment

Probe thermometer - if you don't have a meat thermometer yet, now is the time to get one. Invest in the leave in kind that just beeps at you when the bird has reached desired temperature.

Roasting pan with a rack - it's just easier if you have a pan with a rack.

Carving and boning knives - Learning to carve a whole chicken can be tricky. But with practice and the right knives, it's no big deal at all. Make your life easier and get the right knives. Yes, you do need a boning knife and a carving set.

Brining bags - giant ziploc type bags that are super sturdy. If you're going to brine, you need these bags.

Brine and Bird prep

I love brining birds! I do it for turkeys as well as chickens. It's pretty much the guaranteed way to end up with a juicy chicken. You can buy a premixed brine or make your own.

1. Boil whatever your brine mixture you use. I let it go until it reduces about half an inch to an inch down the side of the pot.
2. Let it completely cool! Put the pan in a bath of cold water and ice if you're in a hurry. You don't want warm brine water partially cooking your bird. 
3. Rinse your bird off. Pull anything out of the cavity (warning, the neck or guts might be in there) and rinse out the inside of the bird too.
4. Put bird in brine bag. Put bird/bag combo into a large container (I just use the roasting pan). Carefully pour the brine mixture into the bag. Go slow, and use a measuring cup with a pour spout if it's easier. Fill up the bag until the bird is covered. If you run out of brine mix, just add plain old cold water (or even cider) until it's covered. 
5. Seal the bag. Put the whole thing in the fridge for a minimum of 6 to 8 hours (I just do it overnight).
6. When you're ready to cook, take the bird out of the brine. Get rid of the brine. Rinse the bird again, very very thoroughly.

Cook the Bird

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Stuff the bird with peeled and smashed garlic cloves, quartered white or yellow onions, and lemon halves. Then throw a hand full of spices into the cavity (usually same blend used in the brine, no salt tho). 
3. Then butter the entire outside of the bird. I use a softened butter mixed with the same herbs I used previously. Just rub the chicken down with the butter-herb mixture. I even pull up the skin a bit and stick some butter under there. 
4. Put that sucker in the oven for a half hour. This is when your skin is gonna get nice and golden. I put it in upside down. 
5. After the first half hour, turn it over, and let it cook the rest of the way. 
6. Chicken is done when it's no longer pink- 165 degrees minimum. This will usually take nearly 2 hours for a 4 pound chicken. Use a meat thermometer to be safe. Cooking time depends entirely on weight of the bird!

If you don't have a rack in your roasting pan, you'll want to make sure there is at least a little bit of liquid in the bottom of the pan. Or you can do a layer of potatoes and onions and other veggies, then set the chicken on top of that.

If you brine your chicken, you shouldn't have to baste it or anything. Unless you want to. And you definitely won't have to salt it. Sometimes I toss a little white wine over it, just for fun.

If the bird gets too brown on the outside but still isn't done on the inside, make a tin foil tent- that will save it from burning the skin.

Garlic Roasted Chicken Breast

This recipe is one of my favorite weeknight dishes. It doesn't require a lot of ingredients, effort, or time. I love this recipe particularly because it's a meal for two. It can easily be doubled or tripled for a larger family meal. Just use a bigger pan, and make sure the chicken isn't crowded during the cooking process.
The recipe does call for a dry white wine. I'm usually a sweet wine person, but trust me, you want a dry white wine with this recipe. An inexpensive one will do. I usually use Barefoot Pinot Grigio because it's usually on sale.
Be careful when you remove the pan from the oven and put it back on the burner to make the pan sauce. I will forget that it has been in the oven, grab the handle, and burn myself. I can't tell you how many times I have done this, even though I know better. It's not fun, but will teach you a lesson in home burn care.


Special Equipment
A medium sized oven proof saute pan (or frying pan with a good sized sides). This means no plastic handles, no non-stick coating. Use a regular stainless steel pan.

Ingredients
2 boneless chicken breasts (skin is optional)
1 1/4 tsp rubbed sage
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 head of garlic, separated into cloves (about 15 pieces)
1/2 cup of dry white wine

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Pull chicken out of package and pat dry with a paper towel.
3. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with sage, salt, and pepper.
4. Heat the oil in the pan (on the stove top) over medium heat.
5. Add chicken and saute until brown. About 3 minutes per side.
6. In a saucepan, blanch the garlic for about 2 minutes. Rinse under cold water. You can skip this step and continue to the next step if you like. Or instead of blanching, use lightly roasted garlic cloves.
7. Take the garlic cloves and arranged them around the chicken in the saute pan.
8. Poor wine over chicken and garlic.
9. Cover the chicken, place pan in oven, and bake chicken for 10 minutes.
10. Uncover and baste the chicken. Continue baking chicken, without the lid on the pan, for another 8 minutes, or until cooked all the way through.
11. Pull the pan out of the oven. Use tongs to remove chicken and put on plates.
12. Put the pan back on the burner (use hot pads!!) and set it to high. Stir to scrape up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan.
13. Boil the pan juices until it's slightly thickened. About 2 to 3 minutes. Stir often, but don't get over aggressive about it. The liquid will reduce some as it thickens.
14. Taste the sauce. Add salt or pepper if you need more.
15. Spoon over chicken when ready.

The pan sauce the garlic and wine produces is amazing! The original recipe suggests using it as a gravy for mashed potatoes. I tend to roast fingerling potatoes and throw the sauce over them. It's good over broccoli rabe too. Actually, I haven't found anything that this pan sauce isn't good on. If you want to make more sauce, just add more wine during step 12.



Recipe Source: Epicurious.com "Garlic-Roasted Chicken Breasts" Appeared in Bon Appetit, March 1997. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Garlic-Roasted-Chicken-Breasts-3173

Pumpkin Pie Spice

Sure, you can buy that jar of pre-mixed Pumpkin Pie Spice. But wouldn't you rather make your own, using high quality spices? It's super easy. Once you get the basic ratio down, you can customize it to your own liking.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Ginger
1/4 tsp Clove
a pinch of Mace

This makes 1 Tbsp of Pumpkin Pie spice. Want more? Multiply!

2 Tbsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 tsp Ginger
1 tsp Clove
a bigger pinch of Mace

This should get you to 4 Tbsp (or 2 ozs) of PPS.

Mix together. Store in an airtight container, preferably a glass container.

Be sure you buy good spices! You'll notice a difference between what you get a specialty purveyor and what you get at the grocery store. I prefer to get mine from All Spice, because they're local and fabulous. Chances are you have a Penzeys near you. If you don't, you can always order online! High quality ingredients make a world of difference in every dish you make. Don't skimp on the spices!

Pumpkin Oatmeal

I usually can't wait for fall to start. Not so much because of the cooler temperatures, but because that means it's pumpkin season! I love just about anything pumpkin. Nothing is better on a cool morning than a bowl of this hearty pumpkin oatmeal.

Ingredients:
3 cups Oats (I prefer Old Fashioned, steel cut would be fine. NOT quick oats)
5 1/2 cups Water
1 to 2 tsp Vanilla
1 15oz can of pumpkin puree OR 15oz of homemade pumpkin puree
1 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie spice (buy it pre-mixed or make your own)
Brown sugar to taste


Steps:
1. Cook oatmeal according to stove top directions on the package. If it says to add salt, then add it. Stir well.
2. Once the oatmeal thickens and becomes almost the consistency you expect, add the pumpkin puree.
3. Lower the heat on the stove just a bit. Stir until the pumpkin is incorporated well with the oatmeal.
4. Add the vanilla and pumpkin pie spices and mix well.
5. Just before removing from the stove, add brown sugar to taste. You can skip this step if you prefer a healthier oatmeal. I usually add about a 1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar. Taste your oatmeal. If it's good, it's done!

I usually portion out the oatmeal into containers. You can toss it in the freezer or just keep it in the fridge. Two minutes in the microwave reheats the oatmeal perfectly. You'll notice that once the oatmeal is cold, the pumpkin has a tendency to make it kind of gelatinous. That's perfectly normal, so don't let it turn you off.

Finally

After much debate and a whole lot of talking, I have finally started my food blog. Yes, yet another food blog. I needed a place to post both pictures and recipes of what I attempt to create. Blogging seemed to be the next natural step. So here we are. We'll see how this evolves over time. Hopefully you learn along with me. Or at least attempt some new recipes yourself. My goal is to inspire you to cook.