Monterey Gourmet

Nothing qualifies me as a gourmet except my love of all things gourmet. From wine to waffles, mustard to meatloaf, and lobster to lardo. I am finally ready to share my love of food, cooking and dining out with all my on-line friends.

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Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor

 

Engagement Chicken Part 2

So the first time I tried the “engagement chicken,” it was undercooked and I may have served my husband up a case or salmonella rather than romance.  I started calling it “divorce chicken,” or at least a “legal separation,” chicken. For those of you that cook, you will know that I had the simple issue of under cooking my bird, rather than anything.

Mind you, I also thought I would be all resourceful and do everything in my Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker.  For those of you not familiar with Pampered Chef, this is the cooking version of Amway.  You know those direct sales things where they come to your house and do demos and tell you all about the reason you should buy their products and then of course, sell their products.  I was the WORST Pampered Chef consultant ever in the sense that I only did it to further my own habit of owning more cooking products that I had no room for in my house.  Being the self aware individual I am, I had realized that the fact that my kitchen product addiction had moved into my guest room, laundry room and pantry was a fair indicator that I had enough kitchen stuff. 

Clearly, I have digressed.  To make a long story longer, my girlfriend Sara and I were talking about roasted chicken.  Her husband said that it was one of his favorite dishes he bought.  She sent me her recipe, which was very similar to my engagement chicken recipe.  However, this time, I cooked it for the proper time AND I used a proper roasting pan.  I put a full layer of fresh veggies from the farmer’s market underneath (fingerling potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, onions and Gilroy garlic).  The veggies came out covered in fatty caramel goodness and the entire chicken was cooked to a perfect temp.  I even ended up with juicy breast and fully cooked thighs. 

I may not have gotten an engagement ring over this chicken, but it certainly goes into the hall of fame for best dinners with my hubby.  Not a bad way to end the night! 

Here is the recipe my friend shared, and you will see it is very similar to the engagement chicken.  If you don’t have twine to truss your chicken, you can just tuck the legs underneath:

1. Rinse the entire bird inside and out. Pat dry.
2. Stuff cavity with any/all of the following: herbs (rosemary and thyme are my favorites, but anything you have on hand will work), garlic cloves (smash with the side of a knife first), lemon wedges. MG - I use lemon halves
3. Tie legs together with kitchen twine and tuck wings underneath body. (To tuck wings, pull wing tip back towards butt of chicken, or whichever end the wings are closest to, then pull underneath body.)
4. Rub entire body with melted butter or olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. If you have a roasting rack, place the chicken on top of this. I cut up potatoes, toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper and put them under the rack. The potatoes roast in the chicken fat - delicious. If no rack, you can still place the bird directly on top of the potatoes or some carrots, celery and onions. Add a little chicken broth to prevent burning.
6. Roast at 375 for 20 minutes per pound (I start checking about 15 minutes early just in case.)
7. Cover and let rest for 10-15 minutes. MG - You can use aluminum foil and tent it over the roasting pan, but it is best to take it off the roasting pan and put it on a plate and cover it.

8. While the chicken is resting, you can make a quick pan gravy by setting the roasting pan over two burners. Add enough flour to absorb the drippings and create a paste. Cook while stirring constantly for a few minutes. Pour in 1/4-1/2 cup of white wine while whisking constantly. Cook for one minute. Add about 1-1 1/2 cups of chicken broth and continue whisking. Let cook down for 5-10 minutes and season with salt/pepper to taste.