Marcella Hazan’s Roast Chicken With Lemons

Does your library offer Kanopy? It is a video streaming service that you can access with just a library card.

Every week, I get a newsletter that shows new or featured films.  Last week I watched the film Marcella. After watching, I had to try Marcella Hazan’s Roast Chicken With Lemons.

I followed the recipe as it appeared in the New York Times.

My edits are as follows:

• I did not rinse the chicken. Your kitchen, your call.
• Use very small lemons. It's not easy putting 2 lemons in the chicken cavity.
• I did not truss up the opening after putting in the 2 lemons.
• My roast did not ballon up as mentioned in the recipe.

Even with my edits this was the best Roasted Chicken I have ever made. Moist and the flavor was perfect. Any recipe that only has 4 ingredients and tastes like this is going to be on repeat here.

Marcella Hazan’s Roast Chicken With Lemons
Ingredients-
3- to 4-pound chicken
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
2rather small lemons

Method-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash the chicken thoroughly in cold water, both inside and out. 

1. Remove all the bits of fat hanging loose. 
   Let the bird sit on a slightly tilted plate for about 10 minutes to allow all the water to drain out. Pat it thoroughly dry all over with a cloth or paper towels.
   
   Sprinkle a generous amount of salt and black pepper on the chicken, rubbing it with your fingers over all its body and into its cavity.
   
   Wash the lemons in cold water and dry them with a towel.
   
   Soften each lemon by placing it on a counter and rolling it back and forth as you put firm downward pressure on it with the palm of your hand.
   
   Puncture the lemons in at least 20 places each, using a sturdy round toothpick, a trussing needle, a sharp-pointed fork, or similar implement.
   
   Place both lemons in the bird's cavity.
   
   Close up the opening with toothpicks or with a trussing needle and string.
   
   Close it well, but don't make an absolutely airtight job of it because the chicken may burst.
   
   Run a kitchen string from one leg to the other, tying it at both knuckle ends. Leave the legs in their natural position without pulling them tight.
   
   If the skin is unbroken, the chicken will puff up as it cooks, and the string serves only to keep the thighs from spreading apart and splitting the skin.
   
   Put the chicken into a roasting pan, breast facing down.
   
   Do not add cooking fat of any kind. This bird is self-basting, so you need not fear it will stick to the pan.
   
   Place it in the upper third of the preheated oven.
   
   After 30 minutes, turn the chicken over to have the breast face up.
   
   When turning it, try not to puncture the skin. If kept intact, the chicken will swell like a balloon, which makes for an arresting presentation at the table later. Do not worry too much about it, however, because even if it fails to swell, the flavor will not be affected.
   
   Cook for another 30 to 35 minutes, then turn the oven thermostat up to 400 degrees, and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Calculate between 20 and 25 minutes total cooking time for each pound. There is no need to turn the chicken again.
   
   Whether your bird has puffed up or not, bring it to the table whole and leave the lemons inside until it is carved and opened.
   
   The juices that run out are perfectly delicious. Be sure to spoon thej juices over the chicken slices.
   
   The lemons will have shriveled up, but they still contain some juice; do not squeeze them, they may squirt.

Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

This similar to something my Mom use to make. Chicken breasts and thighs. Sweet potatoes cut into thin spears. Toss chicken and potatoes in olive oil, salt, pepper, and oregano. Roast 60 minutes at 375˚ or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees.

 

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Roasted Chicken, Again

Yes, Roasted Chicken again. But this time a Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken. A Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken with Potatoes. And to finish it off a little gravy that I just whipped up!

The chicken was so good that Chris and I and Archie and Lucy ate a lot of this chicken. The recipe called for paprika but luckily Chris asked it Archie would like it with all the spices that were in the recipe. Yeah, we keep our cats in mind when we cook. I googled Paprika and cats and found out that they do not get along. So I opted for just thyme, salt, and pepper. It was simple and perfect.  The recipe also called for garlic powder which I did not use. The meat fell off the bones and putting the roast under the broiler crisped it up perfectly! This recipe will be added to our regularly scheduled meals. It received 2 paws up from both Archie and Lucy.

Here is a link to the recipe. Click here.

Julia Child's Favorite Roasted Chicken

 

A perfect Sunday dinner. Roasted Chicken, Spinach, Mashed Potatoes, and Gravy. When you make Julia Child's Favorite Roasted Chicken you are bound to end up with a happy family. Chris and both cats were head over heels for this one. One thing I did which is not in the recipe was to add a little flour to the broth and pan drippings so it was a smoother gravy. Delicious!

This was taken while the chicken was in the oven-

Julia Child's Favorite Roasted Chicken-
Ingredients -
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup finely diced carrots
1/3 cup finely diced onion
1/3 cup finely diced celery
1 teaspoon thyme, savory or mixed herbs, or 2 fresh thyme or savory sprigs
One 3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Parsley stems
Celery leaves
Six 1/8-inch-thick lemon slices
1/2 cup sliced onion
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup chicken stock or broth


Method -
Preheat the oven to 425°. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a skillet. Add the diced carrots, onion and celery and cook over moderate heat until softened. Stir in the herbs.

Wash the chicken rapidly inside and out with hot water and pat thoroughly dry. For easier carving, cut out and discard the wishbone. Pull the neck skin up over the breast and secure it to the back with a toothpick. Salt and pepper the cavity and spoon in the cooked vegetables, a handful of parsley stems and celery leaves and the lemon slices. Massage the chicken all over with 1 tablespoon of the butter, then truss it. Alternatively, tie the ends of the drumsticks together and tuck the wings under the body.

Choose a flameproof roasting pan that is about 1 inch larger than the chicken. Salt the chicken all over and set it breast up on a rack in the pan. (Thoroughly wash all surfaces and utensils that have been in contact with the raw chicken.)

Roast the chicken in the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes**, as follows:
At 15 minutes: Brush the chicken with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Scatter the sliced onion and carrot all around. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°.
At 45 minutes: Brush the lemon juice over the chicken. If necessary, add 1/2 cup of water to the vegetables to prevent burning.
At 60 minutes: Baste with the pan juices.
Test for doneness: The drumsticks should move easily in their sockets; their flesh should feel somewhat soft. If not, continue roasting, basting and testing every 7 to 8 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer registers 165°**

Spear the chicken through the shoulders; lift to drain; if the last of the juices run clear yellow, the chicken is done. Let rest on a carving board for 15 minutes; discard the string.

Spoon all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the juices in the pan. Add the stock and boil until lightly syrupy, 5 minutes. Strain; you will have just enough to bathe each serving with a fragrant spoonful.

** Our chicken took about an extra half hour for it to be cooked through.

The Bundt Pan Roasted Chicken

Yes I did type Bundt Pan Roasted Chicken. A blog I follow, What's Cooking Italian Style, posted the recipe. It looked so good. I have a bundt pan, which I have not used in a while. After tonight the pan will be used more often. And it will be used to roast chicken. The skin is crispy and the meat is moist. Yes, this is perfectly roasted chicken.

  

I started by prepping the pan. I covered the hole with aluminum foil and then a piece of parchment paper, perhaps this was overkill, but I was not taking any chances of a leak. Next I spray the pan with cooking spray, Pam Olive Oil.

Next I cut an onion into quarters and doing the same with 2 lemons. Tossed some fresh thyme sprigs on top. The chicken was brushed inside and out with olive oil, and seasoned with salt and pepper. Then I placed the chicken in the pan or on the pan! A 4 pound chicken took about an hour and 10 minutes in a 425 degree oven. I did test the temp with a meat thermometer.

Roast Chicken, the English Muffin & A New Love in My Life

Let's start at the beginning of the day. Breakfast. Remember those very large English Muffins I made last week. Well this week I made them the correct size, still came out rather large, but added Cinnamon. Wow wow wow. Want to try them? They really are easy. Click here for a life changing experience, well sort of life changing.

Now on to dinner. A Roast Chicken. A simple meal but one that I am not quick to make. Why? Fear of serving raw meat? Maybe. But I have a meat thermometer so that should not be the issue. It is because I tend to over think the roasting of the chicken. But it is quite simple. Just put some lemon and herbs into the cavity and pop it in the oven. Ta Da! Don't believe me? Well read this recipe and you too will see how simple this is.

Side dishes were Roasted Acorn Squash and Roasted Potatoes. And dinner caught Archie's attention!

Now about that new love in my life. Bread pudding. Panettone Bread Pudding to be exact. My mother never made Bread Pudding, at least not that I can remember. We received a loaf of Panettone at Christmas and I wanted to find a use for it, other then toast. I put half of the loaf in the freezer and the other half was transformed into something so wonderful. The recipe is from Epicurious. I did not have enough Vanilla, I know I could not believe it myself. But I had Brandy extract. Oh yeah. That is the way to go. It was moist and the flavors were out of this world. The recipe is suppose to be prepared in a 13"x9" pan. Way to much for the 2 of us so I cut the recipe in half and used 2 round cake pans. Perfect!