Yes! Yes! My first time roasting a chicken and it came out wonderfully! Yippy! I basically followed what I described in my last post. I chopped up sage, rosemary, parsley, and thyme and mixed them with softened butter, a bit of lemon juice, and lemon zest. After I loosened the chicken’s skin (very, very odd feeling), I shoved the herb butter all up in there and then all over the entire bird. Then I sprinkled it with a lot of salt and pepper. After that, I shoved what I could fit in its tushy: one whole, squeezed lemon cut in half, a handful of garlic cloves, salt, a sprig of rosemary, and a few sprigs of thyme. Next, I tossed a ton of carrots and a couple of quartered onions on the bottom of the tray along with about 1/2 inch of chicken stock and the juice of half a lemon (this became the key to my amazingly roasted pan veggies, whodathunkit!). Handcuffed that bad boy with some cotton string and into the 450 degree oven it went for 20 minutes, then 1 hour (it was a small chicken, 3.3 lb free range-r) at 375. The thermometer registered a perfect 175 when I pulled that sucker out and let it rest for 40 minutes. I would have wanted it to rest for only 25-30 minutes but my side-dish delinquent of a sister, Jeannie, took so damn long making the sides that we were a little delayed.
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of deliciousness…
Right before it entered the fiery inferno
And after!
It came out so moist and flavorful, I couldn’t believe I didn’t follow a recipe! This gave me a little renewed faith in myself as a cook after the whole pie dough fiasco of Thanksgiving 2007. Next time I might use fewer herbs though, there were so many and so much that they seemed to be competing with each other a little bit.
The best part truly was the roasted carrots and onions underneath though. Not only were they sweet and caramelized the way roasted carrots and onions typically are, but they had this savory, bright tartness from the lemon juice and the stock that was OUT OF THIS WORLD. I am normally not a huge carrot fan unless it’s in stew, but these were honestly phenomenonal. Next time I’m gonna add other root vegetables (potatoes and turnips).
Those black parts are not burnt, they are the stuff dreams are made of
To make the gravy, after I took all the veggies out from the bottom of the pan, I put it (sans rack) on top of two burners on a medium-low heat. I deglazed the pan with more chicken stock and after I scraped up all the charred bits, I whisked in some flour and butter (about 2 tb of each). No salt needed. I had trouble skimming off the fat though so my gravy came out a little oily. You couldn’t taste the greasiness, you could only see it. Not the prettiest thing in the world, but it tasted grand. After everything was nicely reduced, I poured that sweet nectar through a strainer, e voila! Pan gravy! Sooooo simple. It also made the pan so much easier to clean and what’s better than that?
The calamari was a huge hit too. Every single ring and tentacle was eaten up. Honestly, these were so flavorful and tender that we barely even touched the tomato sauce I put out. To keep the batch warm, I kept the paper lined plate I was using on the burner behind the one I had my pot on (see below). It was warm enough back there to keep the calamari warm. But the great thing about this super light coating is that even if the temperature dips, it won’t get soggy!
See those black bits of seasoning? Delicious!
My sister (background) and I (foreground) in our teeny tiny little galley kitchen
Jeannie handled the brussel sprouts, wild rice, and parsnips. The parsnips came out very well. I had never had parsnips before, at least not to my knowledge. She just covered them with salt, pepper, and olive oil and tossed them into a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes. They came out nicely crusted and tasting like a starchier, smoother sweet potato. Wunderbar!
Unfortunately, Jeannie didn’t quarter or halve the brussel sprouts so they were a little undercooked and I don’t know what happened with the bacon, but it just imparted its flavor without making an actual appearance. I was too tired at that point to hover any longer. Plus, she started shooing me away. Overbearing behavior in the kitchen is something I totally got from my mom.
The wild rice was great in terms of flavor. She made it with chicken stock, mushrooms, and peas, but she didn’t realize that white rice and wild rice cook at different rates so we got really crunchy wild rice and too-soft white rice. It wasn’t bad though. To be fair, we really don’t work with wild rice ever.
Look at that beauteously well-balanced meal!
For dessert, bakers we are not, so we just bought a strawberry custard tart from a local gourmet shop. It was good, but the strawberries were a little too tart.
So that was my big Christmas Eve dinner! Tonight I might make some pasta or something else really simple. Ugh, the kitchen’s a disaster. Maybe I’ll just order take out….
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A HAPPY CHRISTMAS DINNER!
Naughty monkey Moo Shu was very upset that we didn’t give him any chicken. He kept crying and trying to jump up on the table while it was resting. When we chased him off he sulked in the corner behind our tree and refused to come out.
AfterTaste (by Sherry) 