Thursday, November 4, 2010

And yet another roasted chicken!

I buy cookbooks to read, like a novel. And to look at the beautiful pictures, hopefully get some ideas now and then. I don't always follow the recipes and while I have a really nice-sized cookbook collection, there are plenty that I just never use the recipes, I just liked to look through them. So I'm kind of surprised that I'm on my second recipe from Ina Garten's new book, Barefoot Contessa: How Easy is That?  and never really cooked all that much out of her other ones, as nice as they are.  And she's right, with this one, so far, the recipes have been very easy. Except when I dropped the Roast Chicken in the pan I was using to make the gravy. That was my fault. I used a skillet to make the gravy and it would have been smarter to follow directions and put the chicken on the platter first. But mess and screw ups are a given with my cooking.

Ina writes "good olive oil" in the list of ingredients, got me thinking, does she really think I'd use crappy oil? At least not intentionally :) Reminds me of my mom, who ALWAYS asks the waitress if the shrimp salad is fresh. Never asks that about shrimp scampi or shrimp parmigiana. That always brought up the conversation, would they actually sell it if it was bad? Have yet to hear a waitress say, "No, please don't order the shrimp salad, it's disgusting today." So anyway, I'm using a pretty good olive oil. At least I think it is.

But in the end, it looked pretty good and tasted even better. This Roast Chicken was easy to prepare, easy to cook, and really did come out very moist and extremely tasty! It was delicious. I'll be making it again for sure! I served it with Roasted carrots, that took too long, I ran out of time and ended up throwing them in the microwave with some orange juice, about a 1/2 tablespoon of butter and a drizzle of honey. Then I nuked them til they were soft. OK so one or two of five were shriveled, but they tasted great for a mistake :)







Jeffrey's Roast Chicken
Source: Barefoot Contessa: How Easy is That? by Ina Garten, 2010
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

1 (4-5 lb) roasting chicken
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 lemons, quartered
1 whole head of garlic, cut in half cross-wise
good olive oil
2 Spanish onions, peeling and thickly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 425°.

Remove and discard the giblets. Rinse and pat the chicken dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Place two lemon quarters inside the cavity along with the garlic. Brush the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. (I also put a bit of tin foil on the tip of the leg if I see it's starting to burn!) Place the chicken in a small (11x14-inch) roasting pan. (If the pan is too big the onions will burn.) Place the reserved lemons and the sliced onions in a large bowl (I used a ziploc baggie!) and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1.2 teaspoon of pepper. Pour the mixture around the chicken.

Roast the chicken for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and a thigh. (Mine took much longer, and I used a thermometer - 165°!) Remove the chicken to a platter, leaving the lemons and onions in the pan. Cover the chicken with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce.

Place the pan on top of the stove over medium-high heat. Add the wine and stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits. Add the stocks a and sprinkle on the flour, stirring constantly for a minute, until the sauce thickens. Add any juices that collect on the platter under the chicken and taste for seasoning. Carve the chicken onto the platter and spoon the onions and sauce over it. If the lemons are tender enough to eat, serve them, too. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot or warm.



Joining Suzy at Kitchen Bouquet for another Flashback Friday.

Flashing back to more Roast Chicken recipes from There's Always Thyme to Cook!

This one my son gave it that name, "Lemon Up the Butt Chicken" when he was younger and it stuck. It's exactly as he called it, and it's a very simple and delicious roast chicken! And it's not lemony, the lemons just keep the chicken moist without basting! Doesn't get any easier or any more delicious than this one. Simple. No kidding!

Roast Chicken with Orange, Lemon and Ginger was very good, very flavorful and next time I make it, I'd like to try it with pomegranate juice as a sub. But we did like it as is, just have to watch that it doesn't burn, story of my cooking life!

If you like a sweet roast chicken then check out "Roast Chicken with Black Pepper and Maple Glaze" and you won't be disappointed. This one was super! Not overly sweet at all, with a hint of pepper and sweet maple flavor. We loved this one!

25 comments:

  1. I've never been with someone who has asked something like "is the shrimp fresh" but I've heard about it and think it's funny too. That would have to be one REALLY honest waitress if it wasn't. Or would she really even know? Too funny!

    There is always time for chicken, we eat lots of it! Thanks!

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  2. Sounds like definite comfort food to me! Love the cute story about your mother worrying about the shrimp being bad.

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  3. Loved the story about your mom and I knew you wouldn't use 'crappy' olive oil - LOL!

    This looks like a delicious recipe and I'd love to try it. The onion sauce looks delicious! One question, does the recipe say to remove any excess chicken grease from the pan before making the gravy?

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  4. Thanks for the comments :)

    Susan, the recipe didn't say to remove any of the grease! Most of it splashed out on mine when the chicken dropped into the skillet though, LOL!

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  5. Now that looks yummy! A friend of mine just recently told me she adds white wine to her turkey and it makes it so moist! I'm going to try that! Hope you are having a great week!...hugs...Debbie

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  6. Intersting story! I love roast chicken. We've just had it the other day at my mom. Great dish and nice touch with the onion sauce.

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  7. Your roast chicken looks fantastic! Such a perfect comfort food.
    I love to look at Ina Garten's books, too. They are beautiful! Glad to know her latest has some good stuff...I haven't bought it yet.

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  8. I can't have enough of chicken recipes. Yes I know this kind of cooking. i do it very often at home and it is delicious.

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  9. I just watched Ina make a roasted chicken on today's episode. They sure do look good! But I am heading to check out the Lemon Up the Butt Chicken recipe :)

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  10. This could so be me! I have a zillion cookbooks and love to read them like novels! I also am famous for kitchen messes, like dropping the chicken in the gravy!!!

    Ina's chicken is one of the recipes I use for inspiration for roast chicken. Your chicken looks beautiful!!!

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  11. Roasted chicken is my favorite - even have my oldest boy making "Lemon Up The Butt" !! He was thrilled how good his first chicken turned out.

    Love your escapades in cooking..wouldn't be the same if there wasn't some kind of "OOPS"!!

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  12. The roasted chicken looks so delicious and something I have been thinking about making one day soon! I can certainly identify with the cookbooks!!

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  13. You are my taste test kitchen! A lot of variations roasting chicken. A friend of mine also used lemon grass. I would try adding ginger the next time I roast chicken.

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  14. That looks and sounds delicious!

    -----------------------------------
    My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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  15. Oh that Jeffrey! You guys really love chicken and banana bread! :)
    We had shrimp, I know, your can't eat it, so I ate yours!

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  16. This is great. This is my first visit to your blog, but I have to say, I LOVE the recipes and the many different ways to make chicken. This is great because we eat a looootta chicken! LOL! Thanks for stopping by my blog Mommy Fabulous.

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  17. This looks super easy a good. I love baked chicken and I'm still amazed at how easy it is. Great recipes to flashback too~! Thanks for joining this week :-)

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  18. got any left overs? maybe can post me some :D , as for reading the cook books like a novel i think its something even I do,

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  19. Roasting a chicken is practically mindless once you get it seasoned. And yes, lemons DO work wonders for the moistness of the meat! Love your son's description of "lemon up the butt" chicken. Out of mouths of babes.... LOL
    ~ Sue

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  20. I've used that recipe more than a few times - always to rave reviews!

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  21. I'm pleased to hear good reports about Ina's new cookbook. I'll put it on my wish list.
    Your mother's comment made me smile. Mine used to do the same thing!

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  22. thanks for sharing this recipe.. i love it...cant wait to try it out.

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  23. This would be great for Thanksgiving dinner. Looks so succulent and tender!

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  24. You can never have too many roast chicken recipes, especially when one is Ina's. Looks great!

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  25. I have a big Perdue Oven Stuffer chicken in my freezer so I'll come back to chose a recipe when it's time to defrost it for dinner. The maple glaze recipe sounds good!

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