Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables (Adapted from Thomas Keller)

One of my favorite things to do is to make a roast chicken on a Sunday evening. The leftovers are great for work lunches, it makes the house smell delicious, and just makes me feel like I'm putting myself in the right frame of mind to face the week. So, I'm always on the look-out for a new, tasty roast chicken recipe. 

This Thomas Keller Ad Hoc recipe does not disappoint. Full of flavor, some interesting new vegetables to try, and except for a lot of knife-work, one of the lowest-maintenance TK recipes you will ever attempt. There are no weird kitchen tools and the ingredients can all be found at a regular grocery store. He's very particular about the size of the vegetables you use, but I did not stick to those recommendations and found that as long as I chopped the vegetables to be approximate the same size, it didn't matter. Also, these are just the root vegetables I chose to use on this particular day, but I've used tons of other veggies, depending what I've had in my fridge. You can use parsnips, celery...pretty much anything that is a hardy wintery-type vegetable. 

The other note I want to make is that a lot of TK's recipes suggest that it is absolutely essential to bring your meat to room temperature before cooking, which I think discourages us working people quite a bit, as I don't feel comfortable leaving a chicken sitting out all day, and I don't want to wait four hours when I get home at 7 PM to make dinner. My general rule is--if I have time on the weekend to take the meat out and let it warm up a bit, then I do. But if I want to make a meal on a weekday, I just take the meat out of the fridge as my very first step and it will get as warm as it can while I prep the rest of the meal. It really doesn't ruin a meal. 

You can make this chicken in a roasting pan (without the roasting rack), or in a dutch oven type dish (I use my Le Creuset braiser because it's easiest to wash). 

Total prep time: 30 minutes (not including the time it takes to bring chicken and butter to room temperature)

Total cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes

What you will need:

4-4.5 lb whole fresh chicken, gizzards/parts removed
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
6 garlic cloves (you can use fresh ones if you have them on hand, otherwise, I use this minced stuff and it's fine)
6 fresh thyme sprigs
2 large leeks
1 rutabaga (TK calls for 3 tennis-ball sized rutabagas. My grocery store only has humongous, softball sized rutabagas so I reduced to 1).
2 turnips (TK calls for tennis-ball sized turnips. I didn't have a lot of options).
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally (I actually did not use carrots in this batch--see my note above about how you can use whatever veggies you feel like using)
2 small yellow onions, peeled and quartered
8 small red potatoes (golf ball sized)
1/3 cup canola oil
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

Preheat your oven to 475. Yes, you read that correctly. It's not going to stay there the entire time, I promise you.

If you want to rinse your chicken, go ahead and do so. TK actually says you don't have to because when you cook at that high of a temperature, it kills the bacteria, and you're only adding undesired water by rinsing. Whatever your choice, make sure you dry it very thoroughly with paper towels (both outside and inside--I typically stuff a few paper towels in the cavity and let them absorb for a few minutes). This is a super important step as it is the key to making sure you have roast, crispy chicken, not steamed uncrispy chicken.

After the chicken is dry, liberally coat with kosher salt and black pepper. Pour salt and black pepper in the cavity as well, and really, don't be shy with it. You want it to permeate the chicken and give it good flavor. You can rub some underneath the skin as well. 

Put 3-4 thyme sprigs in the cavity of the chicken along with three smashed or chopped garlic gloves. Now put your hand in there and rub all the seasonings and herbs along the inside of the cavity. It really helps get the flavor into the chicken. You can truss the chicken if you want to, but it's not a necessity.

Set the chicken aside and start chopping vegetables. For turnips, you have to peel the outside of the turnip. You can do that with a peeler, but I tend to just slice the outside of the turnip off with my knife, cutting off one end of the turnip to give me a steady base on the cutting board.

Once it's peeled, cut into approximately 1" cubes.

Once these are cut, put them into a large bowl where you will combine the rest of the vegetables. Make sure it's a big bowl, because these veggies take up some room.

Next, take your potatoes and either halve or quarter them, depending on how large they are. The key is to try to get them all to be roughly the same size or weight.

With the rutabaga, the strategy is much the same as it was for the turnip.

Next, make sure your leeks are thoroughly rinsed. Cut the dark ends off. Rinse again. Leeks are dirty little suckers.

I sliced the leeks diagonally into large chunks. They were tasty.

Peel your onions, cut off the ends, and quarter them into wedges.

Once you have all of your vegetables in your mixing bowl, add a generous amount of salt, black pepper, 1/4 of the cup of canola oil (set aside the rest to use on the chicken), and the rest of the garlic. mix well. I just stick my hands in there and toss.

Next, spread the vegetables at the bottom of your casserole dish/roasting pan. Rub the remainder of the canola oil on the chicken, then place the chicken in a "nest" of the vegetables. You don't want to put the chicken on a roasting pan for this one...you want the delicious chicken juices and fats to run directly all over your vegetables to give extra flavor. You can throw the rest of the thyme sprigs on top of the veggies at this point.

Put a couple of pats of butter on top of the chicken (you can skip this step if you're trying to make it kosher, just use a little extra canola oil on the chicken breast).

Pop that baby in the 475 degree oven uncovered for approximately 20 minutes.

You'll see that there's a delightful crisp skin forming on the chicken and you've given it a good jump start to the cooking process. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 and cook for approximately an additional 45 minutes. After about 30 minutes of additional cooking, I start paying a lot more attention to the chicken, and check the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh, waiting for it to register to 160 degrees.

Once the chicken is 160 degrees, remove from the oven and let it rest for at least 5 minutes before you start cutting. They say this helps trap the juices, but I'll tell you, it's really so you don't burn the crap out of your fingers trying to carve. Feel free to sneak a veggie or two while you wait.

Once it's not so piping hot, start carving and serve on a platter or just right out of the dish. Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas

So in my last post, I let you guys know how to make pulled buffalo chicken. You can use it in several different contexts: on salads, in sliders, and, our personal favorite, in quesadillas. They are quick and delicious for dinner, or for heavy apps for a tailgate party.

What you will need (sorry, no picture was taken)

a bowl full of the buffalo pulled chicken, slightly warm

1/2 bag of mexican blend shredded cheese (finer shreedded, the better)

flour tortillas (any size you prefer, but make sure it'll fit flat in the bottom of one your non-stick skillets)

First, put a non-stick skillet on the stove and put the heat on medium or so. Place a flour tortilla in the skillet, then sprinkle with cheese.

Wait approximately three minutes, until the cheese starts to melt a little bit. Then slurp on some buffalo chicken, but only put it on one half of the tortilla. Once you put it on one half of the tortilla, you will use a flat spatula to fold the other half over, sort of like an omelette:

Press down on the top of the quesadilla to get the cheese to "fuse," then flip over to make the other side crispy.

After about two minutes, remove to a plate and use a pizza cutter to cut the quesadillas. Serve and enjoy!!!!

Crockpot Pulled Buffalo Chicken

This meal takes some time to make initially in your crockpot, so I often make the pulled chicken on a Sunday while I'm at home doing domestic chores, then I make quesadillas and sliders with the chicken through the week. It's a MAJOR hit, and J asks for it quite often. It's good for potlucks and tailgate parties as well...quite the crowd pleaser!

For the chicken...

Total prep time: 10 minutes

Total cook time: 5 hours, 30 minutes

What you will need (for the chicken):

A crockpot

3-4 chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)

One package of Hidden Valley Dry Ranch Mix

12 oz Frank's Wing Sauce (you can use a little more to add some more heat if you want)

2 tbsps butter

1 tbsp minced garlic

This is the beauty of a crockpot recipe. Literally, all you are going to have to do is dump all of the ingredients in the crock pot and let it cook. But to be more specific:

Place your chicken in a single layer in your crock pot, then put the ranch mix, garlic, and butter on top of the chicken. NOTE: Some people prefer to use the entire packet of ranch mix. I find that it actually makes the meat much more salty once it cooks down, so I tend to use about 3/4 of the packet. Experiment and see what works for you!

Then pour all of your hot sauce over the dry ingredients and shmear it around to make sure your chicken is covered.

Cover the crock pot and cook on low for about 5 hours. Don't be afraid to leave the house while your crock pot is on; that's the whole point of the crock pot. When you get back, take your chicken out and put it on a cutting board. It should look something like this:

You know you are on the right track if it starts falling apart as you take it out of the crock pot. If it still seems slightly tough, you can let it keep cooking for another 30 minutes. But if it's ready, use two forks on each piece and just start moving the forks back and forth on the meat to "shred" or "pull" the chicken breasts into stringy pieces.

Once you have shredded the entire amount of meat you have, dump it all back in to the crock pot and mix it around to allow it to absorb the juice. Let it cook for another hour on low.

Then, use it to make quesadillas (pictured above and to be described in a separate entry), or sliders with miniature hawaiian rolls and coleslaw stuffed inside. Delicious!!!

Mediterranean Chicken

I adopted and modified this recipe to come up with this delicious one-pan chicken dinner. It's low-cal (well, if you can restrain yourself from a cheese overdose), high-protein, and has tons of impressive flavors. And hey, if I can make it on a Monday night, then so can you.

Total Prep Time: 15-20 minutes

Total Cook Time: 30 minutes

What you will need:

1 package chicken (3 breasts)
3-4 fresh roma tomatoes
1 can artichoke hearts (quartered, not marinated)
3-4 leaves fresh basil
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic (not pictured)
shredded reduced fat/part skim mozzarella (reduced fat crumbled feta would be a good substitute)
italian seasoning
sea salt
black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400.

Roughly chop the roma tomatoes, removing excess seeds. You don't have to get every seed or membrane, but if they separate easily, take the "guts" and push them aside. You'll have plenty of juice without them, I promise.

Drain the artichoke heart quarters and add to a mixing bowl with the tomatoes.

Add in the olive oil, flour, garlic, and dry seasonings (salt, pepper and italian seasonings) to taste. Don't be afraid to use quite a bit of the italian seasonings as they will infuse the rest of the dish as it bakes. Mix well with a large spoon so that all the veggies are coated with the flour. The flour is important because it will help absorb/thicken some of the liquid that accumulates as the chicken cooks.

Butterly your chicken breasts and then season them well with salt, pepper and italian seasonings. Place in a glass baking dish (I always spray mine with a bit of Pam but it's not absolutely necessary).

Top the chicken breasts with the veggie mixture.

Pop the baking dish in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken shows no pink. How do you know if the chicken is done? I cut into the thickest piece. Doesn't always look pretty, but it's the best way to avoid salmonella.

Top the cooked dish with the shredded mozzarella--as much as you want. This can be very cheesy or barely cheesy at all, depending on how healthy you're trying to be. Sprinkle a bit of italian seasoning on the cheese, and then tear the basil leaves over the top of the cheese as well.

Put the dish back in the oven for about five minutes, or until the cheese has gotten nice and melty. Turn the broiler on "high" and stand there with the oven door cracked, watching it like a hawk, until it does it's nice little brown bubbly thing.

Serve and enjoy!!!!!!!

Balsamic Herb Roasted Chicken Breasts

This recipe makes boneless skinless chicken breasts very juicy and flavorful. You get the taste of the balsamic but the cooking takes away a lot of the tart mouth-puckering qualities, and the vinegar marinade really helps the chicken retain its juice during the cooking process. The herbs (fresh, of course) also infuse flavor during the marinating process. Best of all, it's an extremely convenient recipe as long as you remember to put the chicken in the marinade the night or morning before you plan to cook it! It pairs nicely with any green vegetable cooked with just some olive oil, lemon and garlic, or a salad, or even a small serving of pasta or potatoes.

Total Prep Time: 15 minutes (not including the time you marinate the chicken)

Total Cook Time: 20 minutes

What you will need:

1 package boneless skinless chicken breasts (anywhere between 1 - 1 1/2 lbs)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
dried italian herbs
5 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled but not minced
fresh herbs (when I made this, I only had rosemary in the house, but this would taste wonderful if you put in fresh thyme, basil or sage as well)
red pepper flakes

To Prepare for Marinade:

Cut the chicken breasts so that each breast is two pieces. You can do it either through the horizontal or vertical plane of the chicken, however you prefer.

In a gallon size freezer ziploc bag, pour your vinegar and soy sauce. Then add the garlic cloves, and add your fresh herbs as well (I used two sprigs of whole rosemary, but a few leaves or stems of each type of herb you want to use is all you will need. It will take a lot to go too overboard with them). Cut the herbs roughly so that they release their oils into the marinade. Then add two or three good shakes of the dried italian seasonings, and as much red pepper as you'd like (that is very much to taste).

Add the chicken to the bag, close tightly, then move the chicken around in the marinade, trying to get the marinade to cover as much of the chicken as possible. If you find that you truly do not have enough marinade to get all over all of your chicken, then add just a splash more balsamic and soy to the bag; be careful, because the chicken does not need to go swimming! I really think of this as giving the chicken a nice spa bath, more than anything else; enough liquid to relax it, but not enough so it can do laps.

You can marinate the chicken in the refrigerator anywhere between 3 hours and 24 hours. I typically make up this mixture the night before I want to cook it, or sometimes I'll do it right before work, since it really takes no time at all. When you marinate the chicken in the refrigerator, try and lay it as flat as possible so all of the chicken stays in its little spa. 

To Cook:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is preheating, take the chicken out of the refrigerator, crack the bag a little bit, and let the chicken come up closer to room temperature. When you cook meat, it's always better to try and let it warm up a little bit from the refrigerator; you will get a much more even cook on it, and the inside and outside of the meat will cook at the same rate.

Place the chicken pieces on a roasting rack. If you don't have a roaster, then you can lay them flat on a baking sheet covered in tin foil or even a glass baking dish. Try not to crowd them in the baking dish, they need some room to breathe and for the juice to evaporate.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, turning the pieces once during the cooking process.

Serve, and enjoy!!!

Chicken Schnitzel

Ahhh, schnitzel. It's Jewish fried chicken. I won't even pretend this recipe is healthy, but I'm so nostalgic for it.

Total Prep Time: 15-20 minutes

Total Cook Time: 20 minutes

What you will need:

1 1/2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast
3 eggs
Breadcrumbs (I used plain here, Italian is good too, and if you want, Panko, but it's hard to get a good crisp with those)
Canola Oil

Wash the chicken breasts, pat dry, and slice into thin chicken cutlets (not strips)

Prepare two large plates and a bowl. In the bowl, crack the three eggs and lightly beat (do not WHIP the eggs). Pour a generous amount of breadcrumbs on one of the plates.

Take each chicken strip, and dip it in the bread crumb mixture on both sides, then dip in egg mixture, then dip again in the bread crumb mixture. Set aside on the second plate until you have coated all pieces of chicken.

In a frying pan, heat up canola oil on medium high heat. You want it to be about 1/2 of an inch deep in oil.

When the oil is hot, but not crackling, place chicken pieces. You don't want the pan to be overly crowded, so you will have to cook your chicken in shifts.

Let the chicken cook undisturbed for a few minutes. After approximately 5 minutes, use a fork to lift a piece of chicken and check to see if the other side is becoming crispy and golden brown. If so, flip the pieces of chicken to let the other side cook.

Make sure you pay attention to the heat of the oil. The oil will continue to heat up and retain heat, so you will have to reduce the power of the stove every now and then. You want the oil to continue to sizzle, but be very mindful of how fast your chicken is cooking. You want it to take approximately 5 minutes per side.

Toward the end of the cooking you may have to flip the chicken again to get the first side to a matching level of crispiness as the second side. Try not to move the chicken too much as it cooks as that prevents the chicken from forming the delicious crispy coating.

When you pull it out of the oil, put it on a paper towel-lined plate. Layer schnitzel and paper towels.

Serve and enjoy!

Lemon Rosemary Roasted Whole Chicken

Mmm, once again, I return to my basic roots of impressive, gourmet-ish cooking: large pieces of meat, all cooked at once. This is the most impressive thing you can do for a guest. And it makes a ton of food. Sometimes I'll make a big chicken on a Sunday and then use the leftovers for sandwiches and lunches the rest of the week. 

Total Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Cook Time: 1.5-2.5 hours depending on size of bird

What you will need:

A whole roasting chicken (I typically buy somewhere around 6 pounds)
Olive oil (not pictured)
Fresh rosemary
One lemon
Paprika
Black Pepper
Sea Salt

Preheat your oven to 350.

Rinse the chicken well, removing all of the giblets and other good things they sometimes pack in the cavity (they are typically wrapped in paper). Cut any excess fat around the neck cavity and around the tushie cavity. Set on a cutting board and pat it dry with paper towels. It's very important to get the chicken as dry as possible.

Next thing you will do will be to put rosemary sprigs between the skin and the meat of the chicken. Essentially, you will stick your fingers between the skin and the meat to loosen the skin a bit, and then take small sprigs of fresh rosemary and scatter them underneath the skin in a variety of areas. It should look something like this:

After you do that, put a whole stalk of rosemary in the big cavity of the chicken. Put the chicken into its roasting pan, breast side up.

Next, cut your lemon in half, and squirt the lemon juice of both halves over the entire chicken and a little into the cavity. Put one half of the lemon into the chicken cavity along with the rosemary; the other half, toss down your kitchen sink garbage disposal to make it smell good.

Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the top of the chicken, along with some salt and pepper.

Next, sprinkle the chicken liberally with paprika. Paprika is going to give the chicken that nice color you see in the first picture, and you really cannot go overboard with the paprika, so don't be afraid of it. Rub the paprika around a bit so that there is an even coating on the top of the chicken. You can even put a little on the bottom, just pick it up on the sides and rub some in, but don't worry about seasoning the bottom as much as a lot of the juice and flavoring will run down into the bottom part of the meat.

Put it in the oven and let it roast! Timing is approximately 20 minutes per pound. I typically like to peek in every 20 minutes and baste the chicken a bit. On one of your rotations, feel free to turn it over and let the bottom get toasty. Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature and when it gets to 165 degrees. Don't cook it any more than that, as the temperature will continue to rise a bit after it comes out of the oven, and the worst thing in the world is dry, overcooked chicken!

Pull the chicken out, and let him rest a little bit, because after all, being cooked is hard work. 15-20 minutes, and I like to tent some tin foil over the chicken to keep the heat in, but don't wrap it tightly as that will just start to steam your delightfully crispy skin.

Serve and enjoy!!!!