Chicken 101: Roasted Lemon Butter Garlic Chicken

Kiss your dry chicken good bye and send it away flying.  There's a new bird in town, this crisp, succulent and juicy Roasted Lemon Butter Garlic Chicken.  Intrigued?  The chicken is flavored with compound butter under the skin, stuffed with lemon and onion and left to hang out in the fridge for several hours or overnight to crisp up the skin.

Then the bird is off to a hot oven, lazily resting on long, unpeeled carrots, that provide the space for the heat to circulate and at the same time soak in the chicken juices and turn into delectable orange flavor vehicles.  Baste the chicken every so often and salt the skin only at the last moment - that way it really truly stays crisp.

Ready to roast?

Roasted Lemon Butter Garlic Chicken

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 lemon, zested and juiced
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 chicken
1 onion, peeled and quartered
4-6 carrots

Directions

1.  Mash together butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt, paprika and pepper until smooth.

2.  Loosen the skin of the chicken and gently stuff and massage the compound butter under the skin.

3.  Stuff the chicken cavity with lemon and onion.  Let the chicken hang out and dry in the refrigerator uncovered for a few hours or overnight.

4.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees and take out the chicken to bring it to room temperature.  Rest the chicken on top of carrots in a shallow baking dish.

5.  Roast the chicken in the oven, breast side up for 60-90 minutes, depending on the size of the bird.  Baste the chicken every 20 minutes with the juices and butter that will collect on the bottom of the baking dish.  If the chicken gets a bit too dark, cover it loosely with foil.  Season the chicken outside with extra salt and pepper in the last 20 minutes of roasting.

The chicken is done when its juices run clear, the flesh is no longer pink inside, and most importantly, the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Allow the chicken to sit for about 15 minutes before carving.  Save the carcass and a little bit of meat to make chicken stock or chicken soup.

And you thought roasting a chicken would be complicated.  Enjoy!

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Two Free Tickets to American Lamb Pro-Am Give Away!

As many of you may know, I will be one of the four Seattle Bloggers taking a part in the American lamb Pro-Am event on October 10th.  Thank you to all of you who voted and helped to make this happen.

I'm excited to announce that Jamie Peha has given me two tickets to the event to give to you!

To enter for your chance to win a complimentary ticket, you must be a Seattle resident and be able to attend the event on October 10th.

Rules (please leave a separate comment on this post when you do each of the following):
* leave a comment mentioning what your favorite lamb recipe is
* follow me on twitter @snackingkitchen
* follow me on Facebook Snacking in the Kitchen
* follow TableTalk on twitter
* become fan of Lamb on twitter

Please let me know when you follow each of the rules to increase your chance of winning.  I will announce two individual winners on October 8th.  Each will get one ticket to the event.

Good luck!

Event details:
$25/Ticket (regular price, yours is free)
Wednesday, October 10th, 6:30-8:30pm
Cedarbrook Lodge (18525 36th Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98188)

CSA Basket from Oxbow Farm Salad

Are you a member of a CSA? What do you receive in your baskets these days?

Yesterday, after working three long days, I sat in traffic on my way to pick up a complimentary CSA basket from Oxbow Farm.  You will have to wait for a full write up on this opportunity and to see full contents of the box.

Last night, I didn't have much more energy left in me other than to wash, chop, and drizzle, and so I made a semi-composed salad that reminded me of the Russian cucumber and radish salad with sour cream. 

I used two beautiful tomatoes from the basket - a deep rich red, almost purple with streaks of green, and a brightly yellow one.  The cucumber was surprisingly crisp and sweet.  I cut white radishes into wedges and added slices of avocado from my own basket.

For the dressing, I whisked together sour cream, sunflower oil, and lemon juice with a touch of salt and pepper.

 

To complete the dinner, I broke off a few chunks of baguette from Grand Central Bakery and poured a glass of wine.

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Ina Garten the Barefoot Contessa, Seattle, and a New Year Pluot Cake

About four years ago when I was making a critical decision of leaving my life in Dallas to attend the Culinary Institute of America, I got a call from my mom.  She told me a story about Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa who went from working at the White House to running a specialty food store.  "Are you telling me to follow my dreams, mom?" I asked, thinking she was using Ina as an inspiration.  She wasn't, she was just sharing.

Fast forward to my decision to attend the school and years of emotional, physical, and financial struggles, most of which have been overcome with hard work, support and a little bit of luck.

My mom called me last week, informing me that Ina will be speaking at the Seattle's Benaroya Hall.  "Would you want to go?" she asked.  I bought two tickets and we went.  I haven't seen my mom so happy in a long time.

Ina's visit came in the middle of the Jewish New Year.  In honor of Ina and the New Year, I decided to bake Ina's Plum Cake "Tatin".  Unfortunately, the store was out of plums, so I bought a bag of pluots instead.  Pluots are a hybrid of plums and apricots.  If you haven't tasted one before, you're in for a treat!  I made quite a few changes to the original recipe and the family loved it!  The Pluot Cake was a perfect sweet ending to a New Year dinner.*

Pluot New Year Cake

Ingredients

7 tablespoons softened butter, divided
8-10 pluots, halved and pitted
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup sour cream
zest of 1 large lemon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 12-inch tart pan with one tablespoon of butter.

2.  Arrange pluots cut side up inside the pan.

3.  Beat together six tablespoons of butter with sugar, until light and fluffy.  Beat one egg at a time until well incorporated.

4.  Add sour cream, lemon zest and vanilla.

5.  Sift together flour, baking powder and kosher salt and slowly incorporate into the butter mixture.

6.  Spread the batter over the pluots and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until golden and the batter is set.

7.  Cool the cake slightly and serve warm or at room temperature, spooning the pluots out on individual plates.

Alterations to the original recipe
-I used a 12-inch tart instead of a 9-inch
-I skipped the step of making caramel (less total sugar, one less step, and still delicious)
-I placed the pluots cut side up and did not invert the final cake
-I used large eggs instead of extra large (that's what I had on hand)
-I increased lemon zest from 1/2 teaspoon to a zest of a whole lemon
-I used both white and light brown sugar


Enjoy!

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What to Eat on Rosh Hashanah: Traditional Jewish New Year Food

Last night, I went to a Rosh Hashanah card making event at Paper Source and learned a lot about traditional Jewish foods to celebrate the New Year.  How timely, since the Jewish New Year is just around the corner - the celebration begins on Sunday, September 16th.

There are many recipes highlighting each of the symbolic foods, and I would like to share the recipes that I have made in the past.  Fair warning - not all of them are strictly kosher.  Enjoy!

The traditional Challah, Apples, and Honey - for a sweet year.  Round Challah is traditional for New Year.

New Mexico Hatch Chiles: Green, Eggs, and "Ham" Recipe

I spent the Labor Weekend in Santa Fe, New Mexico, touring the galleries with the Artist, strolling the streets, taking photos of colorful doors, and eating freshly-roasted Hatch chiles outside of the super market, on a bench, lined with newspaper.  Out of the two varieties available, I chose "medium" which turned out to be unforgivably hot. 

Whether due to stupidity, or bravery, you decide, I ate two chiles, straight up, without a single accompaniment, through tears.  I packed up the rest of the Hatch chiles in a plastic bag and took them back on the plane to Seattle.  The chiles did make it out of the bag at the Dallas-Forth Worth Airport, where they accompanied a plate of pulled pork barbecue.

In the Mood for Vegetarian: In the Bowl Restaurant, Seattle

Oh how delightful vegetables can taste when prepared properly and mindful.  This Grilled Eggplant Salad from In The Bowl Vegetarian Noodle Bistro located in Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle was truly the most exciting, satisfying, and delicious plate of food I have enjoyed in a long time.

The combination of grilled Japanese eggplant with charred green bell pepper and red onions was a lovely, crunchy trio.  The salad dressing shined with slices of citrusy and pungent lemon grass,  sweet basil and cilantro.

 For extra crunch, crispy chow mein noodles were sprinkled over the top of the salad.

The salad also had wedges of tomato and spinach leaves, slightly wilted, intentionally, by the dressing.

I hope to be back!

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Red Quinoa Salad with Avocado and Arugula

My eating cleanse has been over for a week - and it couldn't be over in a better time - just a day before my vacation to Santa Fe, New Mexico (more on the vacation in upcoming posts).  I am back to drinking coffee and wine, eating animal proteins, and having an occasional bite of chocolate.

I am not leaving the cleanse empty handed, however.  One of my favorite meals that came out of the cleanse was this Red Quinoa Salad with Avocado - it is vegan, gluten free, and packed with protein.

Red Quinoa Salad with Avocado and Arugula

Ingredients

1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cooked red quinoa
1/2 avocado, diced
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1 Persian cucumber, sliced
1 cup arugula
1/4 cup basil leaves
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.  Combine lemon juice and red onion at the bottom of the mixing bowl and allow to marinate for 5-10 minutes.

2.  Stir in quinoa, avocado, tomato, cucumber, arugula and basil.

3.  Season with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.

You can eat the salad right away, or let it sit at room temperature and allow the flavors to meld together.  Clearly, variations are endless.  You can use spinach instead of arugula, add slices of sweet bell pepper, and your favorite herbs.  I personally love the combination of peppery arugula with whole leaves of sweet basil.

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