Roast Chicken: It’s all about positioning
Last night, eleven ladies, including Meg from Sprout and Katherine from Tailor Taste, joined me for our inaugural cooking club meal. As host, I was responsible for the main entree. I chose to roast a chicken, which I saw as a stepping stone to making a turkey on Thanksgiving (here’s my reasoning: both are birds, and both require you to reach inside their cavity).
Photos 011
To my surprise, the chicken was a breeze to roast, and it turned out wonderful. The skin was crispy and salty, while the meat was tender and fell easily from the bone.
But I think I have to work on presentation. My friend Meg gets presentation. She brought Fennel and Turnip Crudites. With edible flowers. That she grows in her backyard.
DSC01288
But obviously I don’t get the art of visual appeal. ’Cause what does this chicken look like to you?
DSC01287
A child curled up in a crib? A bottom facing up at you requesting to be wiped? A wee little pig? Road kill?
I didn’t try to make it have eyes. It’s just where the cranberries landed.
But just in case it wetted your appetite, here is the recipe.
Roast Chicken with Cranberry-Rosemary Paste, adapted from Bon Appetit:
- 1 teaspoon rosemary leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh cranberries
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 5- to 6-pound whole chicken
First, I rinsed the chicken and patted it dry.
Then I combined all of the ingredients, except for the chicken, in a blender. I rubbed the mixture on the chicken.
I placed one cup of water in our roasting pan, and then set the chicken on the tray. I roasted it for 1 1/2 hours at 400 degrees, until its skin browned and the thickest part of its thigh was 170 F according to my thermometer.
Despite its bottoms up presentation, the ladies loved it. Maybe it’s because of all the wine we poured.
Cook2
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
You crack me up. Road kill?
I agree with Liz! But it tasted great.
I shamefully have not tried turnips yet. Was it prepared raw?
The dinner club sounds exciting. Was there a theme or did your friends bring whatever they wanted to make? Wish my local friends were into cooking and sharing a meal, but the fast paced silicon valley work environments make that difficult for many of us here.
“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire”. Gosh I wish I sang better. Did I hurt your ears?? GREG
Pingback: Roast Chicken: It’s All About Positioning | Nibblers
Hey…your blog is real cute and simple
I have this tray that I wanted to try out. But felt lazy to look up a recipe..Thanks for a great simple recipe to try it out for!