Posted: April 3rd, 2010 | Filed under: Chicken, Entree, Vegetables | Tags: Roasted chicken, roasted chicken with sourdough bread, roasted root vegetables | 3 Comments »
We really like roasted chicken. Our favorite is from this great little restaurant in Dallas called Toulouse. So I have been trying to recreate it ever since. And roasted chicken is simple, inexpensive, and versatile. And its heartwarming. I can’t explain how heartwarming it is to see the golden roasted bird coming out of the oven surrounded by tasty onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, and sourdough bread. Dripping with juices and herby and warm and oh my goodness. I love a well roasted chicken. This is my favorite one so far. Everything was perfect and I took a hint from Martha Stewart (she recently had an article saying to toast crusty bread under the chicken. I took it a step farther and used a some delicious crusty sourdough chunks under the bird and scattered around with the veggies. Something beautiful happened. The chunks got nice and crunchy on top and soaked up all of the juicy goodness and oh my. Well, lets just say it was amazing. You will not regret this one…. and don’t be shocked if I keep toying with roasted chicken some more. I’m just enjoying this way too much.
Happy Roasting!
Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables and Sourdough
1 3-4lb whole chicken, rinsed, dried, at room temperature
(Note, when I buy a chicken I buy it cleaned fully with no gibblets or neck, completely ready to go)
3 large carrots, peeled
1 lb red potatoes quartered
2 large yellow onions cut into wedges
1 large lemons cut in half
2 pieces of applewood smoked bacon
2 heads of garlic un-peeled and cut in half
1/2 loaf of crusty sourdough torn into large chunks
3 tbsp butter at room temperature
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
Fresh salt and ground pepper
Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees. In a shallow pan or dish place all your onions, carrots, potatoes, sourdough, and garlic. In the chicken, (yes, inside), line the cavity with bacon and put in the lemon halves. On the chicken, spread the butter and half of the herbs, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the remaining herbs and salt and pepper on the veggies. Place the bird on top of the pan full of veggies and bread. Pop in the oven for an hour and a half. The skin should be a nice golden brown and the meat opaque all the way through. Let the chicken rest for atleast 5 to ten minutes before carving. Serve the chicken carved with a helping of veggies and sourdough with the pan juices spooned over. Enjoy!
Posted: January 13th, 2010 | Filed under: Chicken, Vegetables | Tags: Chicken, Easy, herb potatoes, lemon chicken, Potatoes, quick, Red potatoes, Roasted chicken, Roasted potatoes | 3 Comments »
There are a few dishes I would like to work on perfecting this spring… one of those things is a roasted chicken. Simple, unassuming, unpretentious, and just right. Full of flavor, even with only a few ingredients, a really good roasted chicken is an almost intimidating dish. I don’t want fancy rubs or sauces. I don’t want fruity glazes or spicy gravies to go on my dinner plate. I wanted something that was just surprisingly simplistic and delicious. And so I did. I roasted chicken. It was inexpensive. It was easy. It was moist. It was a little comforting, especially with the cold still here. It was a great meal for the middle of the week.
To keep things easy and roasted I paired the chicken with a side of roasted red potatoes… a favorite of mine, and if you’ve known me long enough… chances are you’ve had them once or twice.
Incredibly easy, and always a crowd pleaser, try these for your next pot luck or dinner gathering. Who’s ready for dinner now?
Roasted Chicken
1 3-4 lb whole chicken (neck and giblets removed, chicken rinsed and pated dry)
5-10 cloves of garlic (depending on how much you like garlic) peeled
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
2 tbs Olive oil
2 tbs dried rosemary
1 tbs dried basil
1 tbs dried thyme
2 lemons (1 cut in half, 1 cut in quarters)
3/4 c chicken stock
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Place the chicken on a roasting pan, rack, or in a dutch oven. Coat the exterior of the chicken with the olive oil. Sprinkle with the dried herbs and a good amount of salt and pepper. Squeeze the juice of the halved lemon over the chicken. Place the garlic and the quartered lemon around the chicken. Place in the oven and roast for 3o min uncovered. After 30 min, take out of the oven and pour chicken stock over the chicken. Continue roasting the chicken uncovered and basting with its own juices every 15 min for another 45 min. Remove from the oven and let the chicken rest with foil lightly draped over it for 15-20 min. Carve and enjoy.
Roasted Potatoes
2 lbs red potatoes washed and quartered
2 tbs olive oil
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 tbs dried rosemary
(I usually roast these at 400 degrees F, but since the chicken is already in the oven… you can just shorten the time)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper toss your potatoes in the olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Roast for 15 min, flip the potatoes and continue roasting for another 15 min.
Posted: January 3rd, 2010 | Filed under: Chicken | Tags: chicken noodle, chicken soup, comfort foods, easy comfort foods, Noodle soup | 3 Comments »
So we really haven’t been home for more than a few days here and there for the last couple of weeks. Even when we have “been home” things have been so busy with work and what not we have spent very little time actually at home. So to say the least… as nice as our holiday has been, and wonderful as staying in a great hotel was last weekend… I am just a little exhausted. So when I got home today I had a little cooking to do, and a very large grocery list for us since we hadn’t actually gone grocery shopping in probably three weeks. I love making lists and grocery shopping and picking things out carefully, but today, I was just ready to be home. So when I got home, I decided to make one of my favorite comfort foods… chicken noodle soup. I can’t stand canned chicken noodle, it just doesn’t ever taste right… (I’m sorry if you dislike me for that, consider yourself lucky you can pop a can and warm it up and be done.) So I went ahead and made a big pot, and froze half and portioned out the rest for the week… so comforting to know its all done, that its delicious, its flavorful… and its not too far off track from my New Years resolution.
Chicken Noodle Soup
3 skinless boneless chicken breasts (or 1 lb. chicken of your choice)
2 lemons
6 large carrots peeled and sliced into 1 in pieces
1/2 small yellow onion diced
2 cloves garlic diced
32 oz low sodium chicken broth (I use Swanson)
4 c water
1/2 small box of angel hair pasta
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat your chicken with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and place in a small baking dish. Slice the lemon in half, squeeze over the chicken, and place the lemon pieces along side the chicken in the baking dish. Roast the chicken until done (opaque all the way through) about 20 min. When your chicken is done, remove from the oven and let it rest while you prepare the broth.
In a large pot pour about 2 tbsp olive oil, add your onion, garlic, a few good grinds of salt and pepper (or dashes if you don’t grind fresh) and your herbs. Cook over medium high heat until onions are clear. Add your chicken broth, water, carrots and pasta to the pot and cook until the broth boils. Dice your chicken into 1/2 in pieces while your broth is coming to a boil. Add your chicken and chicken drippings/juices to the pot. (Discard your lemons… please don’t add them to the soup… that would be weird.) Reduce your heat to low and simmer for 30 min. Turn heat to off when you are ready to enjoy.
Freeze for up to three months.
*This took me just over an hour to prepare and finish, and made a large amount, probably enough for 4-6.
And don’t worry… I do have a pic of Ryan and I from the weekend… here we are in front of the Dallas Museum of Art on our trek around the newly updated Dallas Arts District… We had tons of fun… and too much good food… I ate a lot of french fries… and now I am glad to be home.
