Roast Chicken
We had old friends over for dinner tonight with their son. Malcolm is as wary of unfamiliar fare as any other middle-school boy, and any fare I fixed was, by definition, unfamiliar. His mom had said her liked chicken, and I hadn't roasted one all winter, so I thought I'd do that. Being me (and not entirely satisfied--or maybe just bored--with my own recipe), and unable (owing to a chiro appointment) to flip the bird over every fifteen minutes or do a lot of basting, I went on-line and looked at roast chicken recipes.
And found The Perfect Roasted Chicken.
And it is. Furthermore, it took a flat 15 minutes to get ready to put in the oven (which Ellen did, while I was off getting the kinks wiggled out of my neck), and not much longer to finish off when it was cooked. And if that wasn't enough, the only sound to be heard from any of us for quite some time after I cut it up and served it was faint nomnomnom noises. In fact, my only complaints were not having put enough celery and carrots in the pan, or having a pan large enough to fit all the potatoes as well. Not that it really mattered, since I finished the potatoes in a little of the cooking juice. Oh, and I wish I'd had enough fresh rosemary, instead of having to piece out what I did have with dried. But other than that. . . . . Nomnomnomnom. Even Malcolm liked it, although he was deeply dubious about the winey gravy. Which, at his age, Is As It Should Be.
I'll be making this for Passover, you betcha.
In other culinary news, it's Shad Season. I'm planning a full-shad dinner (roe appetizer, fish main course) on Thursday, for the delectation of two self-professed shad lovers. I've decided to poach the roe in white wine and fish stock and shallots, to cut the richness a bit. But what to do with the shad itself? Poach? Saute? With or without sauce? Decisions, decisions. I know! Back to the Internet!
And found The Perfect Roasted Chicken.
And it is. Furthermore, it took a flat 15 minutes to get ready to put in the oven (which Ellen did, while I was off getting the kinks wiggled out of my neck), and not much longer to finish off when it was cooked. And if that wasn't enough, the only sound to be heard from any of us for quite some time after I cut it up and served it was faint nomnomnom noises. In fact, my only complaints were not having put enough celery and carrots in the pan, or having a pan large enough to fit all the potatoes as well. Not that it really mattered, since I finished the potatoes in a little of the cooking juice. Oh, and I wish I'd had enough fresh rosemary, instead of having to piece out what I did have with dried. But other than that. . . . . Nomnomnomnom. Even Malcolm liked it, although he was deeply dubious about the winey gravy. Which, at his age, Is As It Should Be.
I'll be making this for Passover, you betcha.
In other culinary news, it's Shad Season. I'm planning a full-shad dinner (roe appetizer, fish main course) on Thursday, for the delectation of two self-professed shad lovers. I've decided to poach the roe in white wine and fish stock and shallots, to cut the richness a bit. But what to do with the shad itself? Poach? Saute? With or without sauce? Decisions, decisions. I know! Back to the Internet!