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I have an idea. I know full well that St.Valentine’s Day is this week – Thursday to be exact – and that here in New England we’re dog tired from all the digging out from the whopper of a blizzard this past weekend. So how about we cut ourselves a little slack and agree that the most sane thing to do this week is to keep it simple.  

Actually, I’ve found that the best way to show love to family and friends is through the little things.  So this week, in honor of Saint Valentine, our sweeties, and our sanity, let’s keep it simple – but personal.

Let’s start with a simple and oh-so-humble dinner.

Nothing was more satisfying yesterday than a roast chicken (with roasted root veggies and wild rice to be exact) right out of the oven.  An absolutely no big deal kind of a dinner.  We knew what we had plated in front of us was nothing fancy.  When, in fact, it was perfection.  Neither of us barely spoke a word – just quietly savoring every single forkful.  So good.  So satisfying.  So simple.

 And from this day forward I’m calling it:

Roast Chicken Love

1 – 5-6 pound roasting chicken

3  onions (peeled and cut in halves)

4-5 carrots (peeled and cut in thirds)

6-7  garlic cloves (peeled and left whole)

Fresh sprigs of rosemary and thyme

Olive oil

Herbes de Provence

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.  Wash and pat dry chicken.  Be sure to remove the extra parts from the bird’s cavity (I put these in a small saucepan filled half way with water for a quick little cooked treat for our pup, Fi).  Line a roasting pan with foil (for easier clean-up), and add a roasting rack to the lined pan.  Place bird on rack.

Place veggies (onions, carrots, and garlic) tucked around and under the bird in the pan – as well as into the cavity of the bird.  Pour some olive oil over the bird to coat well.  Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, and Herbes de Provence.  Finish off with tucking sprigs of rosemary and thyme into and around bird.

Roast about 1 1/2  hours, or until the juices run clear.

Remove from oven and let rest for about 10 minutes.

The perfect plate is a scoop of wild rice, roasted veggies, and parts of the chicken you like best.

Enjoy!

Love, Nora

 

3 Comments

  1. Deb on February 11, 2013 at 10:59 pm

    so good… & the house smells wonderful. good idea !

  2. Athenis on February 12, 2013 at 3:55 am

    I love roast chicken. I roast mine with similar ingredients. The one thing i always do though, is cook all my poultry (including Turkey) BREAST DOWN. This ensures succulent, juicy white meat. Dark meat takes longer to cook so it’s sticking up and all the juices flow to the breasts which are sitting on a a bed of carrots and onions. You won’t get the crispy chicken skin but you can get that from the other parts. I guarantee you will NEVER have dried out breast meat using this method. Good eats!

    • Nora on February 12, 2013 at 3:25 pm

      Many thanks for all your creative cooking ideas! I love your out-of-the-box thinking. Will do!

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