Sunday Dinner

Last night, Carl and I had our friends J & A and their little one, S, over for Sunday dinner. During our many dinners together, we have often talked about family dinners as kids, and how in all of our homes, Sunday lunch or dinner was a requirement. In Carl and J's house, their mom's always did a Sunday roast, and in honor of that tradition, I made roasted chicken and gravy for dinner.

For some simple side dishes, I roasted potatoes (some under the chicken) and asparagus, steamed some broccoli, and sliced up some fresh bread. A simple dinner, but one that brought back memories of childhood and sitting around the table having dinner as a family.

Roasted Chicken
Serves: approx. 6
active cooking time: 15 min.
inactive cooking time: 1.5 hours

1 4-5 lb roasting chicken (air chilled for better flavor)
salt and pepper
olive oil or butter, softened
herbs (parsley, oregano, thyme, rosemary) - choose as many or as few as you like
1 lemon, cut in half
1 head of garlic, chopped in half width-wise
5-6 cloves of garlic peeled
4-5 potatoes (Yukon gold, russets, etc..) sliced in wedges or 8-10 (red potatoes, fingerling, etc..)
2-3 carrots, peeled and cut into quarters
1-2 parsnips, peeled and cut into quarters
1-2 yellow onion, cut into thick slices

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large baking (preferably metal/cast iron) dish, toss together potatoes, onions, carrots, parsnips, and peeled garlic cloves with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread evenly on bottom of baking dish. If the dish is too crowded, take out some of the potatoes and parsnips, and roast separately.* Set aside.

Remove giblets from chicken, and save them for making gravy. Salt and pepper cavity of the chicken. Stuff chicken with half of the lemon, half of the garlic head , herbs of choice, the other half head of garlic, and end with the other half of the lemon. Then tie together the chicken legs, which should close the cavity. Tuck wings in, or tie them to chicken. Rub the outside of chicken with butter or olive oil, I prefer butter, and salt and pepper liberally. Place chicken breast side up on top of the veges.

Put the chicken into the oven for about 1.5 hours or until the thermometer reads 160 degrees at the breast. Remove the chicken from the oven, and place on a cutting board, preferably with a moat to catch any juices that will inevitably run off, to rest with foil tee pee on top for 10 minutes. The internal temperature will continue to increase to the recommended internal temperature of 165 degrees. Check vegetables to be sure they are done. If not, put them back in the oven until finished. Now carve the chicken and plate.

Once the vegetables are done, remove them from the pan, and see recipe for gravy below for turning the drippings into gravy.


*If roasting some veges separately, 45 minutes before the chicken is done, put the extra veges in the oven with the chicken.




Chicken Gravy
Makes: 2-3 cups


giblets
thyme
bay leaf
3-4 cups of chicken broth
1/4 cup of dry white wine
1 packet of chicken gravy mix (simply organic, knorr, etc..)
salt and pepper
2 tbs. olive oil


In a sauce pan, brown giblets in olive oil. Once browned on all sides, add chicken broth, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then simmer while chicken is roasting. Once chicken and vegetables have finished roasting, remove vegetables from pan. Hopefully there will be some juices left over in the pan. Put pan over heat and add wine to the pan. Cook slowly, scraping the bits from the pan. Once all of the bits have been removed, add the remaining liquid to the chicken broth. Strain the broth, remove any large bits and the giblets. You should have about 3 cups of liquid. Return broth to sauce pan, then slowly whisk in gravy mix. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Then taste.

Salty? Add more chicken broth or water. Remember, that the salty-ness will be diluted once put on the chicken, so if it's a little salty, that's OK.
Not salty enough? Add or salt and pepper
Too much wine flavor? Add chicken broth
Too thick? Add chicken broth

ENJOY!

The Sunshine is Here Again!!

This weekend is supposed to be hot and sunny in San Francisco, and you know what that means. BBQ's, which means parties and potlucks. I have an easy recipe to share, which Amanda kindly reminded me of today, and it's one of my favorite pasta salad recipes. The chopping of the vegetables is a little tedious, but once that's done, the rest is easy as pie. The best part is, you can make this ahead of time which makes it great for potlucks and parties.

This recipe is from Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa).. I have made a few notes, in orange, of ways I have adapted this for my parties, based on different items I had in my fridge at the time. The great part about this recipe is that it's a great starter recipe. You can make lots of changes depending on what's in season, the vegetables and herbs and cheese you like best.. It's hard to ruin this one and it always goes at a party.. Of course, that could be because I eat it all. Enjoy!

Orzo with Roasted Vegetables
Prep Time: 20 min.
Inactive Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 40 min.
Serves: 6 servings More like 8 as a side dish

Ingredients
1 small eggplant, peeled and 3/4-inch diced
1 red bell pepper, 1-inch diced
1 yellow bell pepper, 1-inch diced
1 red onion, peeled and 1-inch diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound orzo or rice-shaped pasta
2 tomatoes, seeded and 1/2-inch dice - it adds a nice freshness to the salad
sun-dried tomotoes chopped

For the dressing:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/3 cup good olive oil - The key is good olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To assemble:
4 green onions, minced (white and green parts)
1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts), toasted - I always forget to do this, but it does add a nice crunch
3/4 pound good feta, 1/2-inch diced (not crumbled) - mozzerella would also work
15 fresh basil leaves, cut into julienne
1/2 bunch of italian parsley chopped

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Toss the eggplant, bell peppers, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large sheet pan. Roast for 40 minutes, until browned, turning once with a spatula.
Meanwhile, cook the orzo in boiling salted water for 7 to 9 minutes, until tender. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta, scraping all the liquid and seasonings from the roasting pan into the pasta bowl.
For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and pour on the pasta and vegetables. Make this while the orzo is cooking, and be sure to toss the dressing with the orzo while it is still warm. This will allow the pasta to soak up some of the dressing. Let cool to room temperature, then add the scallions, pignolis, feta, and basil. Check the seasonings, and serve at room temperature. This is best served room temperature. The flavors get a bit muted if it's too cold.

Here's the link if you would like some additional suggestions on making this pasta. Thank you Food Network! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/orzo-with-roasted-vegetables-recipe/index.html

Have a great weekend.. Enjoy the sunshine!