Mise Recipe: Roast Chicken Dinner
I think of all the recipes I’ve played with the last few months, these have to be my favorites. I’ve made this chicken many times over the last few months, and it has been a hit with everyone. If you have never roasted a chicken before, now’s the time to try.
That why, even though these items don’t make their appearance in Mise for another chapter or so, I couldn’t wait to show them to you.
Major, major thanks to all of my LJ flisties who tried these recipes out and offered suggestions on how to improve the spinach - you guys rock. And cook!
Spicy Roast Chicken
Spice mix modified from Madhur Jaffrey; cooking method from Julia.
Ingredients
1 chicken
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne (the original said 1-1/2, which is what I used, and it was too much)
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1-1/2 tsp black pepper
3 tsp salt (or to taste)
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled & mashed to a pulp
6 tbsp lemon juice
If you'd rather not do a whole chicken, ladyprydian has modified the recipe for two boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can find it in the comments below.
Instructions
1. Clean the chicken. Reassure the chicken that it had a nice life and that you are sure it will be delicious. Call the chicken Harvey, because that is what all chickens ought to be called, unless it's Zimmer.
2. Pat Harvey dry, and place on a plate while you mix all the rest of the ingredients together to form a paste.
3. If you have latex gloves, use them. This is because turmeric stains everything within a five-mile radius yellow. Seriously, my fingernails stay yellow for a week.
4. Using your hands, rub Harvey with the mixed spice paste. Massage the heck out of the chicken, continually telling it what a good chicken it is, how much you adore it, how everyone is going to love it so much. Get under that chicken's skin (no, literally, rub the mix under the skin and into the meat itself). Love your chicken. Be at one with your chicken. Make Harvey feel really special. Rub the spices into every nook and cranny of that chicken, and when you run out of nooks and cranies, rub the extra spices into the body cavity, which is always a good idea in case the packing company left giblets or something in there, because trust me, you do not want to cook those with your chicken. Blech.
5. Place Harvey in your roasting pan, breast-side up. Cover with foil, loose plastic wrap, or failing those items, the roasting pan’s lid. Put the roasting pan in a cool place and let him marinate for at least three hours, covered.
6. Preheat the oven to 425F/225C.
7. Put the roasting pan, uncovered, in the center of your oven, and bake for 15 minutes.
8. Remove Harvey, and turn it to its side. Good chicken. Continue baking for another 10 minutes.
9. Remove Harvey, and flip to the other side. Very good chicken. Continue baking for another 10 minutes.
10. Now reduce the heat to 350. Bake for 45 minutes, while Harvey's still on his side.
11. Okay, here's where things get a bit dicey, because all chickens cook at different rates, depending on their size. You might want to have a thermometer handy. Pull Harvey out of the oven, check his temperature, flip him to the other side, and continue baking him for 20-30 more minutes.
12. Remove Harvey from the oven and turn him breast-side up again. Take his temperature - you're aiming for 165F. He should cook for at least 10-15 minutes breast-side up. Determine how long you want him to go, and get him baking again.
13. Once Harvey hits optimum temperature, remove him from the oven, place him on a warmed plate, and set him aside to rest for about 10 minutes.
14. Carve Harvey into delectable, delicious pieces, and eat him. Yum.
Notes:
I used a frozen Kosher chicken when testing this recipe, because that’s pretty much all I had available without going into scary-Dolly-Parton-style chickens. Excellent chicken, about five pounds, give or take. (I could never actually find a weight on the package, nor did I ever remember to weigh one until after I’d already starting baking.) Feel free to use whatever bird you prefer.
Salt-and-Pepper Potatoes
Ingredients:
Red-skin potatoes
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Why yes, that is the same temperature as the chicken after the initial browning. Aren't you clever. Here, have a gold star.
2. Chop the potatoes into 1/2" chunks. Place in baking dish.
3. Drizzle the potatoes with the olive oil.
4. Sprinkle the potatoes liberally with salt and pepper.
5. Gently mix the ingredients together.
6. Bake the covered potatoes for about 45 minutes. (Amazingly, the same amount of time as the end-stage of the chicken, because that's how I roll.)
7. Remove potatoes from oven. Eat. Yum.
Notes:
Best. Potatoes. Ever.
Spinach with Cinnamon, Raisins, and Almonds
Modified from this recipe
Ingredients:
one bunch spinach, washed and stems removed
100g seedles raisins
one orange, zested and juiced
40g sliced almonds
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
splash white wine
Instructions:
1. Soak the raisins in the orange juice and wine.
2. In large frying pan, sauté the almonds in 2 tbsp olive oil. Once browned, add the spices and the spinach. The spinach will cook down pretty quickly; once it's down, add the drained raisins. Add two tbsp of the juice and the zest.
3. Once heated through, serve.
Notes: This recipe has gone through a couple of iterations, hence the multiple photographs. I’m not entirely convinced that this latest version is the most perfect, but it definitely gets the point across.
That why, even though these items don’t make their appearance in Mise for another chapter or so, I couldn’t wait to show them to you.
Major, major thanks to all of my LJ flisties who tried these recipes out and offered suggestions on how to improve the spinach - you guys rock. And cook!
Spicy Roast Chicken
Spice mix modified from Madhur Jaffrey; cooking method from Julia.
Ingredients
1 chicken
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne (the original said 1-1/2, which is what I used, and it was too much)
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1-1/2 tsp black pepper
3 tsp salt (or to taste)
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled & mashed to a pulp
6 tbsp lemon juice
If you'd rather not do a whole chicken, ladyprydian has modified the recipe for two boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can find it in the comments below.
Instructions
1. Clean the chicken. Reassure the chicken that it had a nice life and that you are sure it will be delicious. Call the chicken Harvey, because that is what all chickens ought to be called, unless it's Zimmer.
2. Pat Harvey dry, and place on a plate while you mix all the rest of the ingredients together to form a paste.
3. If you have latex gloves, use them. This is because turmeric stains everything within a five-mile radius yellow. Seriously, my fingernails stay yellow for a week.
4. Using your hands, rub Harvey with the mixed spice paste. Massage the heck out of the chicken, continually telling it what a good chicken it is, how much you adore it, how everyone is going to love it so much. Get under that chicken's skin (no, literally, rub the mix under the skin and into the meat itself). Love your chicken. Be at one with your chicken. Make Harvey feel really special. Rub the spices into every nook and cranny of that chicken, and when you run out of nooks and cranies, rub the extra spices into the body cavity, which is always a good idea in case the packing company left giblets or something in there, because trust me, you do not want to cook those with your chicken. Blech.
5. Place Harvey in your roasting pan, breast-side up. Cover with foil, loose plastic wrap, or failing those items, the roasting pan’s lid. Put the roasting pan in a cool place and let him marinate for at least three hours, covered.
6. Preheat the oven to 425F/225C.
7. Put the roasting pan, uncovered, in the center of your oven, and bake for 15 minutes.
8. Remove Harvey, and turn it to its side. Good chicken. Continue baking for another 10 minutes.
9. Remove Harvey, and flip to the other side. Very good chicken. Continue baking for another 10 minutes.
10. Now reduce the heat to 350. Bake for 45 minutes, while Harvey's still on his side.
11. Okay, here's where things get a bit dicey, because all chickens cook at different rates, depending on their size. You might want to have a thermometer handy. Pull Harvey out of the oven, check his temperature, flip him to the other side, and continue baking him for 20-30 more minutes.
12. Remove Harvey from the oven and turn him breast-side up again. Take his temperature - you're aiming for 165F. He should cook for at least 10-15 minutes breast-side up. Determine how long you want him to go, and get him baking again.
13. Once Harvey hits optimum temperature, remove him from the oven, place him on a warmed plate, and set him aside to rest for about 10 minutes.
14. Carve Harvey into delectable, delicious pieces, and eat him. Yum.
Notes:
I used a frozen Kosher chicken when testing this recipe, because that’s pretty much all I had available without going into scary-Dolly-Parton-style chickens. Excellent chicken, about five pounds, give or take. (I could never actually find a weight on the package, nor did I ever remember to weigh one until after I’d already starting baking.) Feel free to use whatever bird you prefer.
Salt-and-Pepper Potatoes
Ingredients:
Red-skin potatoes
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Why yes, that is the same temperature as the chicken after the initial browning. Aren't you clever. Here, have a gold star.
2. Chop the potatoes into 1/2" chunks. Place in baking dish.
3. Drizzle the potatoes with the olive oil.
4. Sprinkle the potatoes liberally with salt and pepper.
5. Gently mix the ingredients together.
6. Bake the covered potatoes for about 45 minutes. (Amazingly, the same amount of time as the end-stage of the chicken, because that's how I roll.)
7. Remove potatoes from oven. Eat. Yum.
Notes:
Best. Potatoes. Ever.
Spinach with Cinnamon, Raisins, and Almonds
Modified from this recipe
Ingredients:
one bunch spinach, washed and stems removed
100g seedles raisins
one orange, zested and juiced
40g sliced almonds
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
splash white wine
Instructions:
1. Soak the raisins in the orange juice and wine.
2. In large frying pan, sauté the almonds in 2 tbsp olive oil. Once browned, add the spices and the spinach. The spinach will cook down pretty quickly; once it's down, add the drained raisins. Add two tbsp of the juice and the zest.
3. Once heated through, serve.
Notes: This recipe has gone through a couple of iterations, hence the multiple photographs. I’m not entirely convinced that this latest version is the most perfect, but it definitely gets the point across.