More testing - The Chicken

This is something you have to be careful with: lemons.

Sure they are pretty good inside a chicken but you gotta watch putting them on the onions that  go on the gravy. It's no "lemon chicken" (dont ask) but it was close.

Let me back up.
So I've been trying out some Martha Stewart recipes and making them my own, lately.

This one is a roast chicken with lemons and onions, parsnip mashed potatoes, and Broccoli hache.

I had to look up the word hache. Is it like, hash?
Apparently it means diced, but really what is hash but a dice, right? So I'm going with yes.
It's your new word for the day. You're welcome.

I started off with the chicken, you get a 4 or 5lb bird, then you clean it up and stuff it with onions and lemons. The one thing that scared me was you cook it at 500F for an hour. That's pretty hot. That's like pizza oven hot. I was worried I'd end up with a charcoal chicken.

It seemed to me like they were trying to get this to pass as a chicken you could cook in an hour or less but upping the temp. But then they want you to baste it a few times.

I had a few problems with this. First of all, there is no juice to baste with, it stays pretty much under all the onions and lemons you have the bird resting on.

Second, all that opening of the oven dropped the temp each time by 50 degrees.

Third, after an hour my bird was not done, and it was a 4.5lb bird.
So not the best idea in my opinion.

Next time I plan to cook it lower and slower. 

But let's go back to this time.

If this is your first chicken, congratulations. Enjoy all that is encompassed in a whole chicken. You may never go back to breasts again.

Cut open this bag and turn on the water in the sink but on low. You dont want chicken juice on you, Ew.
Next reach into the big hole (between the chicken legs, yes I know, just do it) and pull out the bag of guts. Throw that out.
Rinse out the chicken and pat it dry with a few paper towels.
Cut up a couple lemons, one in coins, one in wedges.
Then cut up a couple onions in coins and one in wedges. My bird didnt handle a whole onion and a whole lemon both cut up in wedges so you may end up putting some in the pan.

Next lay down the coin cut onions in a 9x13 baking pan then the coin cut lemons on top of that. Nestle your naked chicken in the center. Salt and pepper the inside of the bird. Just throw some in there, don't worry about doing it right.
Then melt some butter and pour it over the chicken. This creates that lovely brown skin we all love.

Your bird is ready but you have been preheating your oven, right? If not, do that now.
At this point I would not set it to 500 but maybe 375 and plan to cook it 1 1/2 hours instead of 1 hour. 

Next move on to the turnips.

This is a turnip, the root at the upper left of the picture. I used a potato peeler along the long side, like you would a carrot, and chop off either end. Then start to dice the small end in 1 inch chunks. Once you get to the large part of the root, cut it down the center, maybe in 4 sections and dice those. 

Here we have also cut up a leek (remember a few days ago we did this? do it again) and put it in a pan of unsalted butter. 

Cook the leeks first for about 4 mins, then add turnips for another 5. 

While this is cooking cut up the potatoes - I used 3. 

Now we had a problem. The pan for the turnips was too small for the potatoes and all that water.
So I did a switcheroo.

In a bigger pot i added 3 cuts of water, the turnip leek mixture and the  potatoes.

Bring this to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer.
What the heck is a simmer?
Well you need to turn down the heat to about here:

The burner ring (in blue) is down low like this and the liquid will lightly bubble. That's a simmer. 

Now cover it and cook for 20 mins. 

Next work on the broccoli. 

All you do is cut off the flower part (the part you are used to eating) and make them into small chunks. Then you peel the stems like you do with a carrot a potato or now a turnip! (See, you have skills already!)

Once peeled, cut up the broccoli into bite sized chunks. 

These get cooked with onions and garlic, but at this point I ran out of onions! So I just added fresh chopped garlic and some onion salt. It turned out fine. I think it would honestly have been onion overload if I hadnt. 

Here the bird is done. Carefully take it off the bed of onions and lemons and set aside to make the gravy. 

Yum. 

Now we make gravy. This is really easy. I put the leftover onions and chicken stock in the pan into a sauce pan but not to lemons, i threw those out. I added stock - organic chicken stock, not broth, because I'm allergic to MSG and there is some in broth. Stock is made with the bones, thus more flavorful, so you dont need MSG. See, you learned something new, right?  Or maybe you knew that, I dunno. 

Anyway, add 3 tablespoons of flour, one at a time, by sprinkling it over the drippings, stock, and onions. 

Keep stirring as you go. It will thicken into a perfect gravy. I added 

To finish the potatoes, drain it in the strainer and add back to the pot. Add more butter and 1/2 c milk. Mash with a potato masher (unless you have a ricer,  but I did not). 

Here is the finished sides...That's the only picture I got of the broccoli hache, sorry. 

The final plate has a chicken leg and thigh that I just popped off. The onion gravy poured over the mashed potatoes and parsnips. 

And here are the recipes as is.

Enjoy trying these out and making them your own!

Roasted Chicken with Onion Gravy

4 SERVINGS

Ingredients

·        1 four- to five-pound chicken

·        Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

·        3 medium white onions

·        2 lemons

·        2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

·        2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

·        2 cups Homemade Chicken Stock Homemade Chicken Stock, or low-sodium canned

Directions

1.     1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Rinse chicken, and pat dry with paper towels. Season inside with salt and pepper. Slice 2 onions crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rings. Place in a single layer in a roasting pan, about 13-by-16 inches. Slice 1 lemon into 1/4-inch-thick rings, and place on top of onions. Cut remaining onion and lemon into wedges, and stuff into cavity of chicken. Tie legs together with kitchen twine, and place on bed of onions and lemon. Brush with melted butter, and cook, basting occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cover with foil if skin gets too brown. Transfer chicken to platter or cutting board to rest while making gravy.

2.     2. Place pan with onions and drippings over medium heat. Sprinkle with flour, and stir constantly until well combined. Add chicken stock, and cook, stirring occasionally, until gravy thickens, about 3 minutes. Strain, discarding solids, and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot over chicken.

Mashed Parsnips and Potatoes

4

SERVINGS

Ingredients

·        4 tablespoons unsalted butter

·        2 small leeks, white parts only, washed well, thinly sliced crosswise

·        1 pound parsnips, peeled, roughly chopped

·        1 pound Idaho potatoes, peeled, roughly chopped

·        1/2 cup milk

·        Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1.     1. In a large saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add leeks, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add parsnips, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes more. Add potatoes and 3 cups cold water; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook until parsnips and potatoes are very tender and begin to fall apart, about 20 minutes.

2.     2. Drain in a colander. Press hot parsnips and potatoes through a ricer back into saucepan over low heat. (Alternatively, mash by hand.) Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the milk, and combine well. Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

Broccoli Hache

Minced Broccoli (Its French)

4

SERVINGS

Ingredients

·        1 head broccoli, (about 1 1/2 pounds)

·        2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

·        1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice

·        3 cloves garlic, minced

·        Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1.     1. Cut stalks off the broccoli, and peel coarse skin using vegetable peeler. Chop stalks into 1/2-inch pieces, and set aside in a small bowl. Chop florets into 1/2-inch pieces, and set aside in another small bowl.

2.     2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add chopped broccoli stalks and 1/4 cup water. Cook until stalks soften, about 3 minutes, adding more water if pan gets dry. Add chopped florets, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and bright green, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and serve hot.