I do intend to make Cocktail Wednesdays a regular feature on the blog, as well as a tradition in out house. Hoever, we didn't do it this week, because we had tickets to the Red Wings game. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera, so I can't regale you with the story of the game, accompanied by shots of the Detroit River and Joe Lewis Arena.
Instead, I will let you in on a little experiment I did this weekend. I have never roasted a whole chicken before, and only assisted with turkeys. We managed to get two Cornish hens at a good price, but I was a little intimidated because I usually make meals that take about thirty minutes to cook. I save the bigger stuff for the weekends. And these little chickens just kept getting left in the freezer and I made easier things and was busy on weekends. At first, I didn't realize that the hens were big enough for two people to eat one, so I defrosted both at the same time. Uh-oh, that meant that I had to use both!
Ultimately, I decided to use two different recipes on two successive nights. The recipes I picked were fairly simple, because I didn't want to go back out to the store. Therefor, they only involved the chicken and items I typically keep in my pantry. I did, of course, have to pull a tiny bit of substitution -- lemon and lime juice in a bottle, a clove of garlic and a little onion for a shallot. It turned out well, though.
The first person I turned to for recipes was Julia Child. I decided to keep it simple anad use her Poulet Rôti (
Roast Chicken) recipe. This recipe calls for the chicken to be rubbed with butter and salt, very simple.
The next thing I had to do was truss the chicken, and her method wasn't going to work, because I don't own a trussing or mattress needle. I certainly didn't know any methods myself. A little searching later, I found some videos online, and my favorite was this one:
It worked like a charm, as you can see:
Once I had trussed my hen, I added chopped onion and carrot to the pan and popped it in the oven. Next, I followed her basting and turning directions, grabbing the chicken out of the oven every ten minutes or so and brushing it with a mixture of butter and oil, and occasionally adding more salt.
As you can see, it turned out beautifully roasted. I removed it from the pan and cooked the drippings and caramelized veggies with some broth, a clove of garlic, and a little butter, making a really lovely, flavorful sauce.
I served it with puréed roasted acorn squash and roasted potatoes, along with fresh bread. I baked the bread first, then roasted everything else along with the chicken. I also added the leftover roasted onion and carrots to the squash purée, which added a bit of depth. I wish I hadn't added a little un-roasted garlic, too, but luckily, we both like garlic.
Sunday night, I tried a recipe from another cookbook,
French: Delicious Classic Cuisine Made Easy, which I have owned for many years and had success with in the past. This time, I chose the Poussins Grillés (
Broiled Squab Chicken) recipe.
This one called for getting out the kitchen shears and cutting that chicken in half, removing the backbone, then smashing it each half down with a rolling pin. Next, it was a combination of butter, olive oil, garlic, thyme, cayenne, salt, pepper, lemon and lime juice that was smeared under the skin. Once the skin was basted with a blend of olive oil, lemon and lime juice and honey, they went into the broiler.
The reason I have no pictures for you is that last phrase, "went into the broiler". There is not photographic evidence of my shame. When I pulled them out after just five minutes in order to baste them again, they were blackened. They weren't supposed to be blackened. I didn't expect them to be blackened, because I had not moved the top rack in the oven close to the broiler. This is how I learned what it means that this oven has a high and low setting for the broiler, and which one I should be using when I am trying to approximate any other time I have ever broiled anything. That is to say, I should always use the "low" broiler setting.
After turning the broiler down, I returned the basted chicken to the oven and followed the rest of the recipe. In the end, the chicken was tasty and even moist. I served it with green beans I had frozen earlier in the year from the fall harvest, and rice. It made a nice meal. The chicken just looked terrible.
