Sunday Dinner: Roast Chicken and Brown Sugar Acorn Squash
(picture above is before roasting because I ate it too fast to remember to take a picture
AFTER roasting!)
September 23rd marked the beginning of Fall. I know this because I do the weather report with my little Kindergarten students every morning. We have been waiting for September 23rd for some time now. Fall means many things to me, but one of the things that I love most about Fall is Roast Chicken. Now you can make Roast Chicken every month of the year, but it just seems to taste better in the Fall. Maybe it is because of the comfort factor that a Roast Chicken brings or perhaps it is the way it fills the house with the smells of yummy goodness.
The fun thing about Roast Chicken is that you can make it a million different ways if you follow a few basic steps. Below is my recipe for a great Roast Chicken and also some variations you can apply according to your tastes and the season. I followed Thomas Keller's oven temperature and timing suggestions this Sunday and the results were wonderful. I feel that a Roast Chicken recipe does not and should not have to be precise. That is the fun of roasting a chicken. As long as you season generously and add a few flavoring agents, it will taste like home. This meal can bring the sunshine out no matter how cold it is outside.
My Go-To Roast Chicken
Ingredients:
One 4 - 4 1/2 pound chicken
Salt and Pepper
1 Head of Garlic
A few Sprigs of Rosemary
A few Sprigs of Thyme
1 Lemon quartered
Sprinkling of Paprika
Olive Oil
Some optional variations if you are feeling a little crazy:
- Add vegetables (whatever is in season and that can hold up to the roasting process) to the bottom of your cooking vessel (i.e. onion, carrots, turnips, leeks, new potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, etc.)
- Sometimes I like to rub garlic and herbs under the skin of the breasts to really help get the flavor into the bird.
- If you are out of fresh ingredients, season with what you have on hand (i.e. Lemon Pepper, Garlic Powder, Paprika, Salt and Pepper.)
- I have even marinated a whole roast chicken for a few hours before cooking, which is not traditional, but adds great flavor. The marinade I pulled together included chopped garlic, rosemary, thyme, olive oil, dijon mustard, salt and pepper.
- Fresh Sauce: After eating at Tyler Florence's restaurant in Napa (Rotisserie and Wine), I was inspired to re-create his "Salsa Verde" as a great sauce to pour over the roast chicken when serving. In a food processor add 2 tablespoons of capers, a handful of parsley, a few cloves of garlic, the juice of half of a lemon, 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, 1 tsp. of lemon zest, salt and pepper (to taste.) It is almost like a herby, lemony vinaigrette. Taste the sauce and adjust the ingredients according to your liking. If you don't like capers, leave them out. Be your own chef!
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 475 degrees.
Clean the chicken and remove any innards that are still in the cavity of the chicken. Pat dry. Season the cavity and the outside of the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Don't skimp here! Now stuff the bird with a head of garlic cut in half, the lemon (squirt some of the juice on the outside before adding it inside), and the herbs. I drizzle with olive oil, but you can spread with butter if you are feeling especially frisky.
You can cook a roast chicken in many different vessels. I have used a roasting pan on or off the rack. I have used a dutch oven (shown above) or simply a large oven-proof pan. If you have kitchen twine, this is a good time to tie up the legs. There are techniques if you want to be super fancy, but I like to easily wrap the string around the legs, so the legs are pushed together and simply make a knot or a bow if you are girly (insert wink.) If you don't have twine, skip that step. Place the chicken your cooking vessel and tuck the wings under the body.
Roast at 475 degrees for 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400 degrees and roast for an additional 45 minutes or until the temperature registers 160 degrees in the meatiest portion of the bird. I like to use a thermometer to help with the guessing game of whether or not it is done. If necessary, return the bird to the oven for more roasting - check every 5 minutes or so. Depending on the size of the bird, the cooking temperature varies. And the more you make Roast Chicken, the easier it will be for you to determine when it is done. You can cut a meaty portion of the bird (i.e. breast) and if the juices run clear it is ready, but I usually like to take the help of the thermometer. If you find that your bird is browning quickly during the second portion of cooking, simply add a loose layer of foil.
Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let rest for at least 10-15 minutes. You want all those juices to be able to
re-distribute into the bird. If you cut too soon, the juices that you worked so hard to create, will run out and leave the bird dry. Now if you are inclined to cut the bird into pieces and know how - more power to you! I usually like to take the easier route and do so by pulling the meat off the bones and arrange on a platter. I usually can get the breast off easily by sliding my knife under the breast and cutting into uniform pieces. The rest of the meat looks a bit rustic on the platter, but that was my goal all along!
Don't be intimidated! Roast Chicken is the most wonderful, comforting meal that stretches a buck and can provide the best left-overs. It does take a little extra effort, so I like to save this kind of a meal for a weekend or Sunday Supper.
Brown Sugar Acorn Squash
Ingredients:
1 medium acorn squash, halved and seeded (although this recipe works well with butternut squash and spaghetti squash as well but cook according to the sticker on the squash. Times may vary depending on the size of the squash)
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Place seeded and halved acorn squash side by side in a casserole dish, cut side up. Score the acorn squash by simply cutting down the insides of the yellow flesh a few times. This allows the butter/brown sugar mixture to get inside of the squash. Fill the dish half way up the squash with hot water. Divide butter and brown sugar evenly among the acorn squash and spread evenly among the yellow flesh. Bake for approximately 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes until you can easily pierce with a fork. I like to serve these as is. The acorn squash almost looks like a little bowl. You can easily scoop out the filling with a spoon and make sure to drizzle any additional butter or brown sugar that accumulates in the bottom of the squash to each and every bite!
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