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).

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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.

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But obviously I don’t get the art of visual appeal.  ’Cause what does this chicken look like to you?

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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.

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  1. Liz says:

    You crack me up. Road kill?

  2. Sprout says:

    I agree with Liz! But it tasted great.

  3. Linda says:

    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.

  4. SippitySup says:

    “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire”. Gosh I wish I sang better. Did I hurt your ears?? GREG

  5. 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!

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