It's been a cold and snowy week here in the Big O, and so I have been happy to stay home and cook, do some home projects and read. My poor pup is really sad though, it's been way to cold to go our for our normal walks.
The upside is that I got this week's recipe done on Thursday and got to enjoy a delicious dinner and leftovers! So, let's say we just jump right in!
This week's entry from "Eat Drink Shine" is page 108 - Whole Roasted Chicken with Maple-Roasted Vegetables. Man, oh man, does this look amazing! Cold weather comfort food, coming at'cha!
Starting with the Ingredient List:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- sea Salt
- 1 whole roasting chicken (the book prefers free-range, about 4lbs)
- 2 lemons, halved
- 3 cloves garlic
- 5 sprigs of rosemary
- 2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (optional)
- 3 medium apples (honeycrisp, fuji - I prefer Pink lady!), peeled, cored and cut into cubes
- 3 carrots, peeled, large diced
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled large diced
- 1/2 onion sliced
- 1/2 bulb fennel, sliced
So, because it was SO COLD, I didn't feel like going out to shop - and that worked out great since I had all of these items in my frig/pantry/freezer, except for the fennel. And here's why: I don't care for fennel. It has that licorice flavor that I don't like much. So, I modified the recipe and swapped the fennel for cumin.
I even had REAL maple syrup from an overnight oatmeal recipe I tried. I wish I had the good stuff from Canada... maybe I should see if the couple of native northerners I know could bring me some back...
Anyway! I was able to get this going without bundling up to go outside - winner winner, chicken dinner!
(Literally! HA! I'm sorry. I'm a huge dork!)
I preheated the oven to 400* F, got out my big roasting pan and pulled my thawed whole chicken out of the frig.
Let's get to the work:
- Rub the olive oil and a generous amount of salt on the chicken. Put the lemon, garlic and rosemary into the cavity of the chicken and set aside.
- In a small sauce pan, combine the vinegar, stock, maple syrup, butter and a healthy pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat until reduced by half.
- In the bottom of the roasting pan, arrange the apples, carrots, sweet potato, onion and fennel (or not. ;) ) to form a 'bed' for the chicken. Pour the chicken stock mixture over the vegetables and lightly toss to coat. Place the prepared chicken on top of the veggies.
- Roast the chicken until it reaches an internal temp of 165* using a meat thermometer.
- Transfer the chicken to a platter and let rest 15 minutes before serving with maple roasted veggies.
OMG - this was super easy! I mean, even I can handle this one, without any special kitchen utensils! In fact, I didn't even use the one the recipe technically called for - a peeler. Wanna know why? Sure you do: I try to, as often as I can, avoid peeling my fruits and veggies. So much of the "good stuff" is in the skin, that I feel like unless it compromises the texture or flavor of a dish, I'd just as soon leave the peel on. So, I did. And everything was delicious! (I do wash the bejesus outta everything first though!)
The toughest part was calculating the cooking time. The whole bird I had in my freezer was about 6 pounds, and I didn't want to over cook it. There's a TIP in the recipe that estimates 22-25 minutes per pound. I roasted my bird (nearly 6 pounds) for 2 hours and it was PERFECT.
Not only was this meal delicious, it was so pretty! The golden brown of the chicken with warm golden colors of sweet potato, onion, apples and carrots felt like one of those feasts you'd share with your family as the leaves turned in the fall, or something to brighten your corner of the world on a stark and cold winter day - which exactly what it did for me! The aroma of the chicken and veggies filled my house and I couldn't wait to eat. The 15 minutes of "rest" for the chicken was TORTURE!
I plated my chicken, veggies, half a pear and a strawberry for some sweetness to counter the savory chicken and veggies.
Next time I'll pair with a deep green salad of spinach and greens, cranberries and feta cheese and a light balsamic dressing. Oh, I can't wait to have this again!
I should warn you, if you're a foodie, and really enjoy savoring your food - this could get you into trouble at the table. I was having what I can only describe as a nearly orgasmic experience, a foodgasm? I dunno, but I was all, "oh, yum, mmm, this is... oh... so... good..." and my hubster was giving me the "are you kidding me" look through most of dinner. Sometimes he just doesn't get me... What can I say, I enjoy my food.
For my leftovers, I worked to get all the remaining meat off of the bones, I had quite a bit left. The recipe says this will serve 4-6. I think, even with my slightly larger bird, that this is a solid 4 servings.
If we decide that this recipe made about 4 servings, let's talk about the cost to make it, and how it reheated.
If you're a poor college student or bachelor with nothing but baking soda, beer, and leftovers in your frig, or pantries that are bare, this recipe could set you back a little. But for the average every day family, the ingredient list is full of pretty standard items. ( I suppose for some, beer and a box of baking soda is standard. Huh, that's weird.)
The following items I'm sure you have in your pantry or frig on the reg:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- sea Salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
- 5 sprigs of rosemary - I used dried rosemary.
The rest of these you may not have all the time, but they are plenty easy to get:
- 1 whole roasting chicken (the book prefers free-range, about 4lbs) - I found that this can very quite a bit - but I paid about $2.69 per pound. (10.76)
- 2 lemons, halved - $.89 each (1.78)
- 3 cloves garlic - Fresh garlic runs about $.50 per bulb. (.50)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup - Mine was $5.99 for the bottle, but remember, I had it on had from another recipe, and only used 1 1/2 table spoons, so I'll have plenty more to use later! (5.99)
- 3 medium apples (honeycrisp, fuji - I prefer Pink lady!), peeled, cored and cut into cubes - these run about $1.59 per pound. 3 apples is about a pound! (1.59)
- 3 carrots, peeled, large diced - about $2.00 per pound, 3 carrots was less than a pound. (2.00)
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled large diced - you can get a 3lb bag for about $3.49, with usually 4-5 potatoes (1.00)
- 1/2 onion sliced - my onion was good sized and cost me just over $1.00. (1.00)
- 1/2 bulb fennel, sliced - I skipped this in favor of cumin that I can in my pantry. Fennel runs just over $1.00 each bulb. (1.00)
So, you can see with a well stocked pantry, this recipe doesn't really require much that you wouldn't have on hand for a normal week of cooking. But if you had to purchase all these items, it would set you back $25.62. Still, divide that by 4 servings and you have a delicious meal for $6.41 per serving! not too shabby!
Leftovers are my life!
I enjoy most of what I cook several times, and usually have some to share. Things need to reheat well and/or freeze well in order for me to make it a regular in my rotation. This gem did not disappoint! I heated the chicken with the veggies and the juice from the veggies kept the chicken nice and moist. Moist. Does that word bother you? Not me. Moist, moist, moist. I love moist chicken. omnomnomnom...
Enjoy this flow chart from one of my favorites, The Oatmeal -->
and also, sorry...
Anywho - I loved this recipe and I hope that you'll give it a try! Let me know in the comments how you modified it, or if you made it as written. Did your family enjoy it? I'd love to know!
Here's to healthy meals, warm kitchens, and full tummies!
Until next week,
<3 jen
Enjoy this flow chart from one of my favorites, The Oatmeal -->
and also, sorry...
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