A Good Place (and Perfect Roast Chicken)

I had my high school reunion this past weekend.  It started a bit awkwardly with hugs outside of the high school football stadium.  I found myself feeling a little anxious--the same way I used to feel when I was going on a first date.  When I hugged a former classmate hello and smelled beer on his breath, I honestly thought to myself, "Maybe I should have had a drink before coming to this."

After a couple of how-ya-beens and what-have-you-done-with-your-lifes, I realized I didn't need that drink.  It turns out that ten years isn't that long to go between conversations with old friends.  We laughed about trouble we used to get into, and the commiserated that we weren't such bad kids after all.  Nearly everyone who attended already had one or two of their own kids (or maybe thinking about having some in the future) so we are starting to understand why we had early curfews, strict parents, and nosy teachers.  They, the older and wiser generation, had a better idea of what was ahead of us than we could ever have imagined.  I wish I could say thank you to them.  If you're out there reading this:  thank you. 

I also think I had a nice time because I'm in such a good place in my life.  Married to a handsome, kind man, working a job I enjoy, helping to raise a daughter, and carrying out the vision for my "victory lap" year.  I've lost a little weight.  I've made some new friends.  I'm focused on improving my overall health.  I'm happy.  How many people can say that about their lives?

It may sound corny, but I'm certain my happiness has spilled over into the way I cook.   I buy healthier foods and prepare them more thoughtfully.  I research recipes more thoroughly but still feel follow my instinct in the kitchen.

Take chicken for example.  Offensive things are done to what could be a lovely, flavorful meat.  Just this afternoon on the Cooking Channel, I witnessed the host of a show making Pizza-fied Chicken.  It was a bit ridiculous.  She put string cheese on it, for goodness sake.  Do we have to trick ourselves into thinking chicken is pizza in order to enjoy it?  Can't we just leave pizza and chicken in different categories altogether?  Perhaps I'm alone on this one, but is it so hard to just season it, roast it, and eat it.  Is that so difficult?  (That kind of common sense would probably put some cooking shows out of business!)

I don't say this often, but I've recently come upon the most perfect roast chicken recipe.  So simple and delicious that a novice could master it with only a handful of ingredients and a hot oven.  The chicken is juicy with incredible flavor and reheats in the oven for wonderful leftovers the next day. 

And if I had to recommend a must-have kitchen item for a home-cook,  I would most emphatically say a meat thermometer.  There is absolutely no way to tell if a bird or roast is cooked to the desired doneness without it.  So go get one at once if you haven't got one already.

And then make this roast chicken.

A quick note before you get to the recipe:  don't forget that Monday, October 31 is the day to submit your Culinary Smackdown: Battle Winter Squash entry.  I will put up a "host post" here on my blog on Sunday with my own winter squash creations and you can link to your entry from there. 

Spatchcocked Roast Chicken
recipe slightly adapted from food52
serves 4 to 6

In a pinch, I've found that a quick zap in the microwave at 10 second intervals will soften butter up.  If you go too far in softening it, toss it in the freezer for a minute or two and it will quickly solidify.  Also, an organic or natural, hormone-free chicken will always taste better than a conventional supermarket chicken.  It's worth the extra investment. 

Ingredients
4 tbsp butter, softened
Zest of one small lemon
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp fresh thyme
1 3-4 lb whole chicken
salt & pepper

In a small bowl, combine softened butter, lemon zest, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, and a pinch of each salt & pepper.  Set aside.

Discard any neck or gizzards from the chicken.  Pat dry with a paper towel.  Set the chicken, breast down, on a cutting board.  Using kitchen shears, start at the tail end of the bird cut along each side of the backbone to remove it.  This should expose the inside of the chicken.  Press it open slightly and sprinkle the cavity of the bird with salt and pepper.

Flip the bird over so that it is breast side up.  Press down between the breasts with your hands so that the bird lies flat.  Trim away any excess fat and skin from around the cavity of the bird.  Then gently slide your fingers under the skin of the breast and legs to loosen it from the meat.  Smear 2/3 of the compound butter under the skin of the bird.  Spread the leftover compound butter over the outside of the skin and then sprinkle the bird with salt & pepper.

Lay the chicken in shallow roasting pan, such as a 9 x 13 casserole dish, and put it in the refrigerator uncovered for 1 to 2 hours.  When you're ready to roast the bird, heat the oven to 425 degrees F and remove the chicken from the refrigerator.  Roast the chicken at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes, then baste with the accumulated juices in the pan, and reduce heat to 375 degrees F.  Roast for another 15 to 30 minutes, basting at least once more during the cooking time, until the thermometer when inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 165 degrees F.  Remove from oven and allow to rest, tented with foil, for at least 10 minutes before carving. 

The Basics: Homemade Chicken Stock

Have you ever watched a cold front blow in?  The back of our house faces west and I can see the dark clouds creeping closer, dragged by chilly winds, from the window over the kitchen sink.  It's an incredible view when the front is bringing with it a thunderstorm; lightening lights up our entire kitchen and west-facing bedrooms.  I equally enjoyed watching today's gray, blustery cold front work its way our direction, pulling leaves off  trees in the back yard with big mighty gusts.  It just feels like fall around here.  I kind of like it.  

I'm sure you're tired of reading about *pumpkin recipes, so I have something else in mind for today's post: chicken stock.  It's the backbone for so many wonderful recipes.  Shouldn't it get some attention, too?

I don't necessarily think that making your own stock is a requirement for great cooking, but there are many reasons why it is important to me.  First, and honestly foremost, is that commercially produced stock is often hard on my stomach.  I'm sure it has to do with the preservatives required to make the stock shelf stable, whether it be in a can, box, or even a powder base.  I just don't feel good after I eat it, and that's reason enough for me to make my own.

There's also flavor to consider.  If you're not convinced that homemade stock tastes better, I suggest a little (un)scientific study.  One of my favorite podcasts, Spilled Milk, hosted their own chicken stock taste test.  You can listen to the podcast straight from their website or by downloading it for free from I-tunes.  Spoiler alert: Molly and Matthew concluded that while there are some decent store-bought options, homemade chicken stock was the winner.

Now, I know there is some confusion about stock vs. broth.  What's the difference?  Are they interchangeable?  How do I know what to make?  The answer to all of these questions is the same--there does not appear to be a single source with an end-all-be-all answer to this question.  The general consensus seems to be:  when in doubt, choose stock over broth.  Stock is generally made from the bones of chicken which gives the liquid a thick, juicy quality that you cannot get from only the chicken flesh.  Also, a well-made stock that is allowed to cool to room temperature may have a slightly gelled quality.  While this may be off-putting at first (it was for me), the gelling means that your stock is packed full of nutrients that are holding the liquid in this form.  It means it's good for you.

And the most fundamental reason for making my own stock is because I believe it's the omnivore's duty to consumer the entire animal.  While this is a much bigger discussion than I'm going to enter in today, I think the best way to thank that animal for feeding you is to purchase poultry that is humanely raised and make excellent, high quality foods with every part of it.  We generally buy whole chickens, and if we buy pieces it is always on the bone, and after we cook the meat I save the bones in a zip lock bag in the freezer, labeled with the contents and the date.  You could make stock with whole, raw chickens, but I have never found that my stock is lacking from not being simmered with meat. 

It may take a little trial and error.  Before you start, you'll want to decide if you to keep it simple or add additional ingredients.  You can go either way--bones+water only or bones+water+vegetables+herbs+seasonings.  I prefer the latter; I've never found that adding more flavor to my stock detracted from using the stock in future dishes.  In fact, it likely saves me from having to adjust the seasoning when I use it in recipes. 

You'll thank me when a cold front blows your direction that you have this stock ready to go.  It makes chicken noodle soup a cinch to throw together and it's a great base for any other soup or sauce you crave to warm you up this fall.  

So here is where I try to tell you a great method for making stock.   I'll do my best, but feel free to consult other sources for great ideas in stock-making as well. 

Making Homemade Chicken Stock

Start with a large pot.  When it comes to choosing a great stock pot, depth is more important than width, so use one that is 16 inches or so deep. 

To the pot, add enough bones (previously cooked or raw/uncooked) to equal as about as many bones as you would have from two 4 lb chickens.  This may be a variety of bones from an entire roasted chicken carcass, the unused backbone from a spatchcocked bird, or leftover cut up chicken pieces (like wings, which are often unused in recipes).  Also add to the pot two unpeeled, halved yellow onions, two or three celery stalks, torn in half to fit in the pot, two or three whole carrots, scrubbed well and either peeled or unpeeled, a whole head of unpeeled garlic sliced in half horizontally, a halved lemon, a small palmful of peppercorns, a few sprigs of fresh thyme, and a small bunch of fresh parsley. 

Fill the pot with enough tap water to cover the ingredients by three or four inches.  Set on the stove over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered, only checking every half hour or so to skim off any gray or cloudy foam that may rise to the surface of the water.  Let your stock simmer on low heat until it reduces by 1/3.  This may take 4-6 hours.  Occasionally taste your stock, checking for richness and flavor--you are looking for a distinctly chicken-y flavor--and near the end of cooking I stir in 2 or 3 tablespoons of kosher salt.  You can omit the salt if you'd rather add salt when you use the stock later. 

Remove from heat, let cool for 20 or 30 minutes.  Pour stock through a mesh strainer into a large bowl or pitcher.  Allow to cool down to room temperature.  Stock can be stored in a variety of ways.  Store large quantities of stock (which I prefer) by dividing into pint-size or quart-size freezeable plastic containers or sturdy zip-lock bags.  Freeze.  Or pour stock into ice cube trays for smaller portions.  When frozen solid, put all stock-cubes into quart-size ziplock bags. 

Always label your stock and include the date.  Get into the habit of using the oldest stock first.  It is not true that once frozen, food is good forever.  While it breaks down much more slowly than if it were just in the refrigerator or at room temperature, even frozen food will start to lose its flavor and nutrients if left uneaten too long. 

*Don't forget--Battle Winter Squash will be hosted here on October 31!  Please join us!

Back to the Kitchen

It's cold.  Relatively, of course, because if this were March and the temperature climbed to 65 degrees I'd be frolicking outside in my sandals and sundresses.  But no, it's September; we are in the beginning slow descent to winter just after an incredibly hot summer.  We (Murray and I) sat at my desk today (he curled up on my lap) and looked outside at the dreary gray afternoon.  It's cold and ugly out there and we are warm and cozy in here.  How long ago summer seems after just a few days of this weather! 

This is all silly talk, of course, because summer food has not ended.  I still have tomatoes and eggplants doing their best to fatten up and tip my plants over with their weight.  Sadly we lost the our butternut squash and pumpkin plants to squash bugs--evil little creatures that steal the water from the vines until the plants wither away to nothing.  (I will be more prepared for them next year, if I decide to plant squash again.)  My herbs, especially the basil, oregano, and thyme, have stretched upwards and outwards.  I can't use them fast enough to control the growth.

Perhaps the garden story from this summer that I will forever remember pertains to the tomato plants given to us by my sister Amy and her husband Dustin.  They have a vegetable garden along the sides of their house and have been wildly successful growing tomatoes and summer squash.  The Roma tomatoes that they planted last year sprouted again, somewhat unexpectedly, and they didn't have enough room to keep them.  Dustin offered them to us, which we gladly accepted, and we planted them along the sunny side of our house.  We all thought that all five plants were Roma's until I noticed one of the plants had clusters of flowers in a much different configuration than the rest.

It was definitely not a Roma--and it turned out to be a red cherry tomato plant.  The funny part--Amy and Dustin didn't grow any cherry tomato plants last year.  We concluded that it must be a result of...well...bird poop.  I try not to think about it that little detail because this plant keeps on producing beautiful cherry tomatoes.  I have already decided next year I will focus more on cherry tomatoes in our garden plans because they are so incredibly useful.  We've tossed them in salads, on pizza (new pizza dough recipe coming soon!), and in my new go-to early fall dinner, Spatchcocked Chicken with Tomatoes.

This chicken is so incredibly simple; it's one of those throw-it-all-in-a-pot types where you can go back to the couch and drink a glass of wine while the oven does all of the work.  It's a quick meal too since you use the high-roast method, and the only other thing you need to do is make couscous or a green salad to go on the side.  Tim loves it because the cherry tomatoes mix with the cooking liquid to concentrate the flavor and end up tasting like little bites of fruity tomato sauce.

Truthfully, after a few months of fried egg sandwiches, grilled vegetables, clean-out-the-refrigerator salads, and carry out, I'm glad to be back in the kitchen with the oven on.  It feels good to be in a meal-time routine, to be feeding my husband, to be thoughtful about what we are eating.  And even though I've been complaining to Tim about the cold weather, I secretly like it.  It brings me back to the kitchen. 

Spatchcocked Chicken with Tomatoes
slightly adapted from Everyday Food
serves 4

For more information on how to spatchcock a chicken, read this article in the San Francisco Chronicle with images and instructions.  

No picture here of the final product (it was starting to get dark outside and the pic is dim), though you can see it over on my instagram feed if you are really curious.  Visually, you are looking for a crispy skin and the liquid to reduce down, but most importantly the chicken needs to reach the internal temperature noted.  And don't rush it to the table--it benefits greatly from resting.

Ingredients
1 three to four pound whole chicken, spatchcocked
3 unpeeled garlic cloves, smashed
1 pint cherry tomatoes (a mix of colors is prettiest, but not necessary)
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 dry cooking sherry or dry white wine
1/4 cup water
4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme or oregano
salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.  Season chicken with salt & pepper and place breast side up in a heavy pot like a dutch oven or a roasting pan.  Add garlic cloves.  With the tip of a paring knife, pierce the skin of the cherry tomatoes and add them to the pot.  Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes and season with salt & pepper.  Pour sherry and water into the pot.  Nestle sprigs of herbs around and on top of the chicken.

Roast chicken until internal temperature reads 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh and juices run clear, about 30-35 minutes.  Let rest 5-10 minutes, then carve into four pieces (2 breast, 2 thigh and leg). 

Chicken, I Appreciate You

After college graduation, my parents encouraged me not to return home.  They knew that my big personality was not well-suited for small town life.  My little brother, on the other hand, was your typical cool-kid-in-high-school-quarterback-of-the-varsity-football-team who attends a small private college with the goal of being a teacher and coach in a small town.  For him, the more wide open spaces, the better.  When your name is Chip, you are destined for small town fame.

So I moved to Cincinnati in such a whirlwind that it was kind of like Hurricane Jen took over the city.  I took a job as a wine sales representative with a small distributor and drove around the east side of the city with a map spread out across my steering wheel.  At the end of each work day, after I had visited sometimes up to twenty locations across half the city, I would open the freezer, pull out a frozen boneless chicken breast, drop it into a greased pyrex dish, pour Italian dressing over it, and bake for 45 minutes.  Sometimes I would heat up a can of green beans or toss together a salad, but most nights anything else was just too much work.  I was barely on my feet financially, exhausted, renting an apartment that was in a very rough area east of downtown, and uninterested in eating anything that wasn't convenient.

That was five years ago and so much has changed.  I have found that having a husband to help with the day-to-day things has enhanced more than just my social life--it has revitalized dinner.  I am motivated when I get home to cook something that will satisfy both of us, and frankly, individually frozen boneless, skinless chicken breast just doesn't make the cut.  The times I've made them lately (at the request of my stepdaughter who turns her nose up at the sight of a chicken bone), the chicken is completely tasteless, no matter how much seasoning I add.

Maybe this makes me a food snob--but this is a blog about food--good food.  Indulgent food.  Food appreciation.  When I roast a whole 3lb chicken, I am saying to it, "Chicken, I appreciate you."

Just say no to tasteless chicken and try this method of brining a whole small chicken and roasting it at a high temperature to achieve a juicy, flavorful meat with a crispy skin.   The recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen.  The original recipe suggests adding 2.5 lbs russet potatoes to the roasting pan, presumably to soak up the juices and keep the drippings from smoking at such a high temperature.  We did not have any potatoes on hand and therefore we did have a somewhat smoky kitchen (now that I think of it--no smoke alarms went off--perhaps we should be checking the batteries), but the flavor of the chicken was not affected and the chicken was perfectly roasted. 

If you are intimidated by the idea of butterflying (or spatchcocking) a chicken, then I would like send you over to Youtube where you will find an abundance of how-to videos.  All you really need a some kitchen shears and a little confidence and you will be good to go.

High-Roast Chicken with Thyme, Mustard, & Garlic Butter 
recipe adapted from The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook
serves 3-4, depending on the weight of the chicken


Ingredients
1/2 cup table salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 (3lb-4lb) whole chicken, giblets discarded
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Pepper

Optional Ingredients
2.5 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and slicked 1/2 inch thick
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Disolve the salt and sugar in 2 quarts cold water in a large container.  Submerge the chicken in the brine.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees.  Be sure that the oven rack is on the lowest position.  Remove the chicken from the brine, rinse well, and pat dry.  Remove the backbone from the chicken and press the chicken flat, and, if needed, pounding it so that it is at a fairly even thickness.  Tuck the wings behind the back. 

In a small bowl, mash together butter, mustard, garlic, thyme, and a pinch of pepper. Use your fingers to gently loosen the skin covering each breast.  Place the butter mixture under the skin onto the meat.  Press on the skin to distribute the butter.  Rub the skin with the oil and season with pepper.  Place the chicken on the top rack in a broiler pan that is lined with foil in the bottom.

Optional:  Toss the potatoes with the oil, salt, and pepper.  Spread the potatoes over the foil on the bottom of the broiler pan.  If you do not do this, you will likely have smoke coming from your oven, but a good hood fan and ceiling fan will help control the smokiness.  It wasn't much of a bother for us and an hour later I can't smell it at all.  

Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.   Rotate the pan and continue to roast until the skin is brown and crisp and the thickest part of the breast registered 160 to 165 degrees on your thermometer.  The thickest part of the thight should be at 175 degrees.  The total cooking time will be around 40-45 minutes, give or take.  Transfer the chicken to a carving board and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

If you prepare the optional potatoes, using paper towels soak up any excess grease from the potatoes and transfer to a serving platter.