Fun with Fowl

After yesterday's post discussing some of my thoughts on health care, today I bring you something lighter and easier to digest.

I like to cook - I enjoy the idea of creating something delicious from things that, on their own, you wouldn't (or shouldn't) eat. In cooking, the whole is equal to more than the sum of its parts. In addition, cooking feeds the "people-pleasing" side of my personality. I like to take care of others - with a new entree or side dish, it's my husband who, bless him, will try almost anything once. With higher-calorie items, or those containing ingredients my DH dislikes, I feed the folks at work. They, as well, will try almost anything once and can often provide helpful feedback and alternative recipe suggestions.

One of my favorite aspects of cooking is finding a recipe that works, using it enough to get comfortable with how all the pieces fit together, and then experimenting with adding or subtracting ingredients. I was 26 years old before I roasted my first chicken (or turkey), and thanks to Good Housekeeping, I found a recipe that not only works, but is simple enough to allow for experimentation. Here are the basics, with my own modification:

Roasting a chicken
Buy a 4-5lb chicken (I buy mine fresh, but frozen would be fine, too - just let it thaw!) & get a roasting pan with a rack - the aluminum ones from the store work fine, but after a few times I just went out & bought my own. Spray the rack with cooking spray.

Set your oven to 450* F, and place the rack one level below the middle.

Take the thawed chicken out of the fridge - the ones I get already have the neck & giblets removed, but if yours doesn't, you'll have to remove them. Check both ends of the chicken, sometimes they are bagged separately (I learned that with my first turkey, which is why the bags are melt-proof). Drain the chicken & pat it dry.

Combine the following: 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (or one clove crushed with a press).

Using your fingers and a knife, if needed, gently separate the skin from the meat of the chicken breast. Do this slowly and try not to tear the skin.

Take the olive oil/herb mixture and rub it under the skin on top of the chicken breast.

Using kitchen string (unflavored dental floss works as well), tie the chicken's legs together.

Combine 3/4 teaspoon salt with 1 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, rub all over chicken. Place chicken on rack in roasting pan, breast-side up.

Pour water into roasting pan just enough to cover the pan bottom.

Cover with an aluminum foil tent and cook for 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 15 minutes or until done. "Done" means that a thermometer reads 175* when inserted into the thigh closest to the body, but not touching the bone.

Lift the chicken from the roasting pan & tilt it so that the juices run out into the pan. Let the chicken sit 10 minutes before carving*. When you carve the chicken, there will be more juices - I carve on a plate or a plastic cutting board to allow for collection of these juices.

Pour juices into a sauce pan, skim off fat & discard. Add a little water if necessary, cook on medium for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Serve the chicken with the pan juices.


That's it! Now, here are a few ways to experiment:

- Replace the olive oil with 1 tablespoon melted butter. You can even add some pieces of butter under the skin on the chicken breast.
- Replace the herbs and garlic with different seasonings (use 1 1/2 teaspoons total). I've used a salt-free lemon pepper seasoning and a barbecue seasoning, both with great results.
- Use something other than salt and pepper to rub all over the chicken. When I used the lemon pepper seasoning on the inside, I used it as a rub as well.
- Stuff the chicken cavity with lemon slices
- Use a turkey instead! You'll need to change the temperature and cooking time as follows: Use a thawed 14-lb turkey, preheat oven to 325* F, cover with aluminum foil & cook 2 1/2 hours, remove foil and cook another 45 minutes or until done. "Done" means a thermometer inserted into the breast is 165* and the thigh next to the body but not touching bone is 175 - 180*. I did this for Thanksgiving this year (twice!) and it was a big hit, both hot and cold.

Don't have the time or inclination to put that much effort into a chicken? No problem - check out the recipe at right for "Joan's crock-pot chicken," from a friend at work. Super easy and absolutely delicious!

* I'm a firm believer that everyone should know how to carve a bird. Food Network has a good article with pictures here or a video of Alton Brown using a slightly different method here. Happy carving!

Positive thing for the day:

Joy is . . .

A wiener dog in the snow!