The weekend before last, I had some sweet friends over to my house for dinner. Normally, I eat pretty simply at home. We're talking one- or two-pot meals that are tasty, frequently thanks to my spice drawer's vibrant contributions, but wholly unfussy. So it's nice to compose something a little more special for guests once in a while. Stars at this meal, apart from dear friends, laughter, and lovely conversation: a no-fail roasted chicken, herbed roasted potatoes, green salad, and baked apples with ice cream.
Click through for the details!
We'll discuss the meal prep in chronological order. I am not always the best at preparing meal components so that everything is ready at the same time. Comes with practice, I suppose. This time, I was pretty pleased that things were all ready at the same time, which was just on time.
The chicken takes the most time to cook, so I started there. I frequently rely on Thomas Keller's excellent roasted chicken recipe. I've pasted the recipe below, with my notes in brackets.
Ingredients:
One 2- to 3-pound farm-raised chicken [I used a 5.5-pound chicken and adjusted cooking time, as noted below.]
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons minced thyme (optional) [I skipped the fresh herbs this time. Utilizing sage in place of thyme also would be divine.]
Unsalted butter
Dijon mustard
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, then dry
it very well with paper towels, inside and out. The less it steams, the
drier the heat, the better.
Salt and pepper the cavity, then truss the bird.
Trussing is not difficult, and if you roast chicken often, it's a good
technique to feel comfortable with. When you truss a bird, the wings and
legs stay close to the body; the ends of the drumsticks cover the top
of the breast and keep it from drying out. Trussing helps the chicken to
cook evenly, and it also makes for a more beautiful roasted bird. [I don't doubt Mr. Keller's wisdom. I did not truss, however, and was no worse for the wear. No dry bird issues here.]
Now, salt the chicken—I like to rain the salt over the
bird so that it has a nice uniform coating that will result in a crisp,
salty, flavorful skin (about 1 tablespoon). When it's cooked, you should
still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to
taste with pepper.
Place the chicken in a sauté pan or roasting pan and, when the oven is up to temperature, put the chicken in the oven. I leave it alone—I don't baste it, I don't add butter; you can if you wish, but I feel this creates steam, which I don't want. Roast it until it's done, 50 to 60 minutes. [Given the larger size of my bird, I kept it in the oven for an hour and 30 to 40 minutes.] Remove it from the oven and add the thyme, if using, to the pan. Baste the chicken with the juices and thyme and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.
Remove the twine. Separate the middle wing joint and eat that immediately. Remove the legs and thighs. I like to take off the backbone and eat one of the oysters, the two succulent morsels of meat embedded here, and give the other to the person I'm cooking with. But I take the chicken butt for myself. [I got to that before even bothering to snap the first photo. Couldn't wait.] I could never understand why my brothers always fought over that triangular tip—until one day I got the crispy, juicy fat myself. These are the cook's rewards. Cut the breast down the middle and serve it on the bone, with one wing joint still attached to each. The preparation is not meant to be superelegant. [I just carved the bird the conventional way -- by portioning two breast pieces and splitting the legs, thighs, and wings from the joints.] Slather the meat with fresh butter. Serve with mustard on the side and, if you wish, a simple green salad. [Both the mustard and the green salad, but especially the mustard, cut the fat and salt of the chicken.] You'll start using a knife and fork, but finish with your fingers, because it's so good. [I am just realizing this, now, but one friend was actually eating with his hands by the end of the meal.]
The next step in our meal prep was to start the salad.
3 cups baby spinach
1/2 bunch or 1 cup watercress
2 green spring onions
1/2 teaspoon salt
The vinaigrette was very straight-forward. To an old mustard jar, I added
4-5 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon grainy Dijon mustard
Salt and lots of fresh ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, pressed
I gave it all a good shake in that handy little jar and tasted the result. I just love the sharpness of the mustard and pepper. I set the jar aside and waited until the last minute to dress and toss the salad, to avoid sog. :)
Finally, I started the potatoes. By this point, I had removed the chicken from the oven and turned the temperature down to 400°F. I used a combination of red new potatoes and Yukon golds. For the three of us dining, I used 5 small potatoes. I cut them into thin slices, each about 1/8-inch thick. I put them into a large mixing bowl and added
1.5 tablespoons herbes de Provence
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt to taste
I mixed everything, seeing that each potato slice had a coating of oil and seasoning. I put about half of the potato mixture into a non-stick skillet heated to medium-high temp, spreading out the potato slices to ensure even cooking. After about 5 minutes, I flipped the potatoes and let them cook an additional 5 minutes. I kept a close eye on the hot skillet, to avoid burning the potatoes. I then removed this batch to an oven-safe crock. I added the remaining potato mixture to the skillet and repeated the stove-top cooking steps. Once I had transferred all of the potatoes to the crock, I let the potatoes cook in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. They cooked through and acquired a little crust.
For dessert, my friends brought apples, a lovely muesli crumble to fill them with, and vanilla ice cream. I had forgotten how satisfying baked apples can be, and wow. Just perfect for a chilly fall night.
What favorite recipes do you bring out to delight loved ones who come over for dinner?
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