Tag: Sunday Feast

Sunday Feast

On By HanneIn Food, Health, Sunday Feast2 Comments

This isn’t the first time I’ve posted about this recipe, but since it’s the first time I’ve cooked in weeks, I thought I’d share it again.

With having been sick for so long, making anything with more work than poppingbread in the toaster or heating up kelp noodles with pesto in the microwave, the effort just wasn’t worth it. I’ve finally finished my prednisone (can my voice come back now? thx), I’ve been starting to feel better. Still tired, slow and my back/ribs are on fire, but it’s been forever since I’ve created anything in the kitchenand I was feeling inspired.

Roast chicken with lemon, onions and croutons is my go-to recipe for an easy, filling and relatively healthy photo 11meal. The ingredients are simple: a whole chicken, 2 lemons, 2 onions (sweet in this case, though I’ve used yellow and red), 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, salt/pepper, a nice loaf of bread (I used a rosemary sourdough) and plenty of olive oil.

I washed the chicken first and empty the guts (ew, who uses the neck and whatever other goodies they stuff inside?) and then pat the chicken dry. Sprinkle the inside with a bit of salt and pepper and then stuff it with lemon wedges. Brush the butter over the dry chicken and then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. I don’t eat more than a bite of the skin (*trying* to be healthy), but the salt and pepper creates a nice crust that I then brush off onto the meat and onions – gives it a nice bit of spice. Then spread the onions all around the chicken and put in the oven at 425F for 1hr 15 min.

photo 3Then, just before the chicken is done, I start with the bread. Chop it into large chunks and put in a frying pan with plenty of olive oil. Cook on med-high to toast the bread, adding more oil as needed. This recipe is absolutely, without a doubt, one of my favorites. It smells great long before it’s done, and it doesn’t disappoint. Squeezing the lemon juice from the cooked wedges over the croutons adds a nice little zing.

Does anyone have any chicken recipes to share? I don’t do a lot of red meat (pork, beef), and it seems like there are a billion different ways to cook chicken. What’s your favorite?

Sunday Feast

On By HanneIn Food4 Comments

Tonight was probably one of my most favorite recipes from The Barefoot Contessa.

Lemon Chicken with Croutons.

Oh my Lord.

CameraAwesomePhoto2Like the rest of her recipes, this is super easy and oh-so-delicious. I’ve made it twice by the book, so this time I added a few variations – one, I quartered some red onions, and two, I added some lemon zest to the red onions. I love lemon on just about anything, so I shove as many slices in the chicken that I can. I think the best part is squeezing the cooked lemon over the croutons.

The skin on the chicken becomes super crispy and almost spicy with the amount of salt and pepper that I cake on with the melted butter. You shouldn’t eat the skin (but let’s be honest, a little nibble won’t hurt), so I peel it off and sprinkle the baked salt/pepper over the meat for a little added taste.

A feast isn’t complete without roasted vegetables. Todays mixture included: carrots, yellow beets and CameraAwesomePhoto3celery root. I’ve been trying to check out different veggies beside the standard carrots. I did a little research and found that celery root has some wonderful health benefits, so decided to give that a try. It’s pretty starchy (and a little sweet), so it’s a good alternative to potatoes.

I love the purple carrots – not only do they add color to an otherwise boring bunch of veggies, they contain the same antioxidant that gives blueberries their colors and are good anti-inflamitories. The golden beets were also a new one for me. Much nicer to work with as they don’t stain your fingers the way the reddish/purple ones do.

The chicken takes an hour and 15 minutesand the veggies got an hour. I would’ve given them a few more minutes. The beets weren’t hard, but they weren’t as soft as they could have been. I just tossed them with a bit of olive oil and then squeezed some lemon on once they were on my place. Yum!

The croutons – the best part – are the easiest. Some cubed bread (I prefer a good sourdough) and some olive oil in a pan on med/med-high heat. Takes about 10 minutes and I toss frequently.

Does anyone else have a favorite recipe they continue to revisit?