How to Make Perfect Roast Chicken

This is the LBD (little black dress) of dinner recipes. It's great comfort food dinner for two or the family, and you can dress it up for company by just changing the accessories (sides). This is a recipe you should know from memory to have in your repertoire. It's the perfect home cooked dinner to enjoy often. I make it at least once a month.

Perfect Roast Chicken
1 whole chicken, about 4 lbs.
1 lemon, pierced all over with a knife
A bunch of fresh herbs, your choice ( parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme) 
2 T soft butter
salt/seasoned salt and pepper


Rinse the chicken and remove the bag of giblets, dry the skin well
Stuff the cavity with the lemon and herbs
Tuck the wings under and truss (tie together) the legs (sometimes I don't truss)
Rub the skin all over with buter
Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. I often use seasoned salt.


Preheat oven to 425. Put the chicken on a rack in a small roasting pan. I use my favorite cast iron roaster. Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 and roast for 15 minutes per pound. A 4 lb chicken would cook an additional hour. Remove from oven. Press down on the lemon with a spoon to release the juices. Let rest 10 minutes while you make gravy, or just serve with the pan juices. Carve and serve.

Gravy For Your Mashed Potatoes
Add 2 T flour to the drippings in the pan. Stir to cook and let brown about 2 minutes. Add 2 C water and 1-2 crushed chicken bouillon cube. Whisk constantly until thicken. Taste and add more S&P if needed.

                                                        

                           

Also Good With:
Baked sweet potatoes- put potatoes in the oven for the last 45-60 minutes, Cut open and top with  butter and brown sugar 
Fresh green vegetable
           or
Mashed potatoes
Glazed carrots
          or
Stuffing- omit herbs and lemon and stuff with 2C saved stuffing. Recipe HERE. I make a big batch of homemade stuffing, and freeze the rest in 2C amounts in freezer bags. Flatten the bags, and stack in the freezer.


Chicken Soup For Two
Save all the bones and the carcass and put into a medium stock pot. Add enough water to cover, about 4-6C. Add a little salt and bring to a simmer for at least an hour. Remove all the bones and add a chopped celery stalk, carrot, salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and cook until vegetables are tender. Add about 1C noodles and cook an additional 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.

If there are just the two of you for dinner, you'll have lots of leftover chicken for sandwiches the next day. Or you can make Poppy Seed Chicken Salad, or chicken enchiladas, or chicken tetrazzini, all in previous post.

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Cathy's Curry Chicken

a.k.a known as cool curry chicken. My good friend Cathy introduced me to this delicious dish, so I've renamed it in her honor. It's a wonderful dish for company because you can prep it ahead of time and then just pop it into the oven. It's so easy to whip together. I cut the recipe in half when making it just for the two of us and have leftovers for another meal. Serve it hot over rice and cold or at room temperature the next day (hence the name cool).

Cathy's Curry Chicken  
6-8 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 stick butter
1/2 C honey
1/4 C Dijon mustard
2 T yellow mustard
1 T curry powder
1/2 lime, juiced and rind grated
1 t salt
1 clove garlic, minced

Arrange chicken breasts in single layer in a 9x13 casserole. Cut in half lengthwise if very large.
Combine remaining ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Pour over chicken.
Bake @ 350 for 35-45 minutes, basting once or twice.

Enjoy!
Rita
Links: Ekats Kitchen, Funky Junk Interiors

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Pav Bhaji Recipe

Pav Bhaji is a recipe native to Maharastra and is a very popular Indian street food in Mumbai and Pune regions. Pav Bhaji is a combination of “Pav” which means bread in Marathi and “Bhaji” meaning mixed vegetables.

The origins of the Pav Bhaji goes back to the glory days of the textile mills in Mumbai when the mill workers used to have lunch breaks too short for a full meal, and so a light lunch was preferred. That is when food vendors replaced the roti and rice with bread/bun called as Pav and all the veggies were amalgamated into one spicy concoction called the 'bhaji' or mixed vegetables.

Pav Bhaji Recipe Ingredients

• Potato - 4
• Cauliflower – 1 cup (grated)
• Carrots – 2 (chopped into circles)
• Beans – 1/2 cup
• Cabbage – 1 cup (chopped)
• Green Peas – 1/2 cup
• Onions – 4 (finely chopped-3 for the bhaji and 1 for garnish)
• Tomatoes – 3 (finely chopped)
• Ginger garlic paste – 2tbsp
• Capsicum – 2 (finely chopped)
• Green chilies – 4
• Cloves – 3
• Red chili powder – 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder – 2 tsp
• Garam masala – 1 tsp
• Bhaji Pav masala – 3 tbsp (available in most indian grocery stores)
• Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Lemons  – 2 medium sized
• Butter – 5 tbsp
• Asafetida or Hing – 2 pinch
• Salt – 2 tsp
• Sugar – 1 tsp
• Chopped Coriander Leaves for garnish
• Pav or bun – as required (you can use the hot dog buns if you are abroad like in the USA)

Pav Bhaji Cooking method

1. In a vessel boil the potatoes, mash it and keep it aside.
2. In another vessel containing some water add carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, beans and peas. Bring the contents to a boil.
3. Take the vessel of the heat and transfer the contents into a blender. Grind the vegetables coarsely with little water and set it aside.
4. In a pan add 5 tbsp butter, asafetida, chopped onions, ginger-garlic paste and chopped capsicum. Keep stirring the contents gently until the onions turn translucent pink.
5. Now add chopped tomatoes, green chilies, pav bhaji masala, red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, cumin seeds, cloves and asafetida. Mix all the contents and simmer for 10 mins.
6. Add the coarsely grinded mixed vegetables from step 3, salt, sugar and mix well. Simmer for another 6-8 minutes.
7. At this stage add the mashed potatoes and mix well. Cook for another 8 minutes. While it cooks, use the back of a slotted spoon to mash the ingredients. Mash to a course texture. If required you can add another tablespoon of butter into it.
8. Now add juice of 2 lemons and mix well. Take the pan off the heat and now the bhaji is done.
9. In another pan or tava, melt a big dollop of butter. Since the pav or bread or bun in the center and put then on the tava facing inwards.
10. Turn them around after a minutes and let the outside turn golden brown.
11. Now take the pav or bun on a serving plate, add the Bhaji and garnish it with copped coriander leaves. Put some chopped onion, a piece of lemon and serve hot.

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Easy Bearnaise Sauce

When my daughter Kim was a little girl she would make pretend bearnaise sauce in the bathtub with her toys. She would use her "Julia Child" voice. Her idea of a kid's meal in a restaurant was either the escargots or a lobster tail. The waiter was always amazed. Later her little friend introduced her to Spaghetti-O's. I still can't smell them without gagging.

Here's an easy bearnaise sauce recipe  that doesn't require a double boiler or reducing the liquid. It's a variation of my easy hollandaise sauce (which I'll post later). It's my favorite sauce! It's a buttery, tarragon sauce that's fabulous with steak. I love eating at French bistros. One of my favorites is the Steak Frites (steak and fries) to say French fries would be redundant. It's always served with bearnaise sauce. Now you can have a little French bistro at home. Bon Appetit!

Easy Bearnaise Sauce

1 stick butter, cut up

1 T lemon juice

1 T tarragon vinegar (or white wine vinegar)

1 T minced fresh chives (here)

1/4 t salt

1/2 t dried tarragon

2 XL egg yolks

pinch pepper or cayenne

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Place over low heat. Whisk until the butter melts, then whisk constantly until thickened. Immediately remove from heat otherwise it will break down. Whisk again.

tip: use the chives from you herb garden.

(click on MAY DAYS blog on the right)

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Easy Bread Machine White Bread

After not using my bread machine for years, I am now using it every week! So dig yours out and keep it in a convenient place and you'll be using it all the time, and give up the "store" bread.

I start the bread in about 5 minutes before I leave for tennis in the morning and when I come home the house smells fabulous and we have fresh home baked bread for lunch. It makes great toast the next day. Refrigerate in a Tupperware container, and if you have any left at the end of the week, it makes great French Toast or homemade croutons.

All you need is a super easy recipe and here it is:

Easy Bread Machine White Bread

1 C warm milk (micro 1 minute)

3 C bread flour

2 T sugar

1 t salt

2 t yeast (Fleishmann's BreadMachine Yeast in 4oz jar)

2 T butter, cut into 4 pieces

Remove the insert (bread pan) from the machine, Spray the turny-thingy with cooking spray, because sometimes it stays stuck inside the bottom of the bread.

Add the ingredients in the order listed. Make a little well in the middle to add the yeast. Tuck the butter pieces into the 4 corners. Replace the insert pan into the machine and turn to lock in place. Close lid and push "ON". Set for medium crust color. Indicator light will say 3:10. That is how long it will take. Remove the pan when done and invert the bread to remove. DO NOT put the pan in the dishwasher, just wash out with soapy water.

I make this bread at least once a week. I usually sneak the first warm slice, slather with butter and sprinkle with lots of cinnamon sugar. YUM!

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Mixed Bean Salad

A great side dish to any BBQ. It's so easy, and you make it ahead of time.

Mixed Bean Salad

1 can green beans

1 can wax beans

1 can dark red kidney beans

1/2 C chopped onion

1/2 C chopped green pepper

Dressing:

1/3 C sugar

1/3 C cider vinegar

1/3 C vegetable oil

1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

Dump the beans in a colander and give them a good rinse. Combine the dressing ingredients in a large (Tupperware) bowl with a whisk. Add all the ingredients and give them a toss. Cover with the lid and refrigerate a few hours, or overnight. Turn the bowl once or twice to toss.

Tip: This will keep a few days and is good to snack on.

Tip: Take some to work the next day to go with your sandwich.

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Penne Shrimp in Tomato Cream Sauce

Penne Shrimp

3/4 lb Penne Pasta, I like Mezze Penne

1 lb large Shrimp, peeled

2 T Butter

2 T Olive Oil

1 small Onion, chopped

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 C White Wine

1 can 14.5 oz Tomato Sauce

1 C Heavy Cream, 1/2 pint

1/4 C fresh parsley, finely chopped

6-8 Basil Leaves, chiffonade

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Cook the pasta until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and return to the pot.

Heat 1 T butter and 1 T olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add the shrimp, and cook for a few minutes until just opaque. Salt and pepper, stir and remove to a plate. Add remaining butter and oil to the skillet and add the onion and garlic. Saute, stirring until cooked and translucent. Add the wine, stirring and bring to a simmer for a few minutes. Add the tomato sauce. Stir until well combined. Then add the cream. Stir until combined. Turn the heat to low bring to a simmer. Stir in the herbs, taste if more salt and pepper is needed. Now add the shrimp back to the pan. Give it a stir. Finally add the cooked penne pasta and give it a good stir. Serve from the skillet or put into a pretty serving platter.

ENJOY!

tip: chiffonade, stack basil leaves on top of one another, roll tightly and slice into thin ribbons.

tip: keep a 12 0z to 1 lb bag of large frozen shrimp in the freezer, for quick dinner. It thaws in minutes in cold water.

tip: grow your own herb garden here

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