What a Wonderful Weekend

My husband is fantastic. He's so sweet and he gave me a wonderful surprise this weekend. He surprised me with tickets to the ballet! Munich is such a cultural city and I had been mentioning how nice it would be to dress up and go to an opera, play, or ballet. I had only mentioned this in passing and he got tickets for us. We went on Friday, and there is one word to describe how it was: magical! We saw Sleeping Beauty (which is my absolute favorite fairy tale) and I think throughout the entire performance I had goosebumps. It was moving, funny, and just perfect. It was a perfect! I really can't thank him enough for such a beautiful, thoughtful gift.

As usual, Sunday was our lazy day and the day I cook something that takes a little bit of time (I know I've mentioned this before). Tonight I roasted a chicken! I love this recipe and I've made it countless times. I stuff the chicken with a lemon, thyme, and bacon stuffing. Then, the last 30 minutes of the cooking time I throw in some veggies to roast alongside the chicken. I always think that when I make a meal and my husband and I are too busy eating and enjoying to barely speak. The only sounds at the dinner table tonight were 'Mmmmm' and 'Yum' and 'Ooooo'. You get the picture.

Try this recipe.... you'll have a dinner table full of loved ones too busy enjoying this meal to say much of anything.

Roasted Chicken with Stuffing and Veggies
Serves 2 generously (you can double the stuffing and veggies for a larger bird)

1 whole chicken for roasting, about 2 lbs
2 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
4 slices bacon, chopped into one inch pieces
1 small red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
5 slices white bread, cut into 1/2" pieces
zest of one lemon
juice of 3 lemons, divided
1 egg
plenty of salt and pepper
flour (amount depends on the amount of drippings from the chicken after roasting)
water
vegetables for roasting, chopped into 1" pieces (I used red bell pepper and broccoli, but you can use any vegetables that are good for roasting)

First, prepare the stuffing.

First, chop the garlic, onion, bacon, and thyme. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan.

Once the butter has melted add the bacon to the pan. Cook over medium heat until the bacon is cooked. I like to keep the bacon a bit soft (I'm not a huge fan of crispy bacon).

Once the the bacon is cooked, remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Don't discard the fat. Heat the pan back up to medium heat and add the onion. Cook until the onion is translucent, about 5-7 minutes.

Once the onion is translucent, add the garlic and thyme. Cook until the garlic becomes fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add the bacon back to the pan and cook for 2 more minutes. After two minutes are up, remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.

Get out a large mixing bowl and the bread.

Chop the bread into pieces. I like having stuffing with large pieces of bread. If you want smaller pieces, you can chop them finer or even use a food processor to have finely ground bread.

Add the bread, parsley, lemon zest, juice of 1 lemon, and egg into the mixing bowl. Do not throw away the lemon, once you've removed the rind and juice. Cut the lemon into 8 pieces.

Add the bacon mixture to the bowl.

Mix everything thoroughly and set aside while you prepare the chicken.

Pre-heat the oven to 375F.

Prepare the chicken by washing it under cold water (of course, if your chicken has giblets, remove these and discard them). Pat the chicken as dry as possible both inside and outside. Place the chicken into a deep roasting pan.

Season the outside of the chicken with plenty of salt and pepper. Start stuffing the cavity of the chicken with the stuffing.

Once the chicken is stuffed, take a piece of butcher's twine and tie the legs together.

Now, separate the skin on top of the breasts from the breast meat by pushing a finger between the skin and the meat.

Take 1 tablespoon of butter and cut it into two pieces.

Place each piece of butter underneath the skin.

Place the lemon pieces around the chicken and place the chicken into the oven. Depending on the weight of your chicken will depend on the time it will take to roast the chicken. A general rule is 20 minutes per pound, plus 15 minutes.

While the chicken is roasting, chop up the veggies you want to add to the roasting pan. I used broccoli and red bell pepper, but you could use any vegetables you want. Put the vegetables in a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of oil, and plenty of salt and pepper. Mix everything, making sure the veggies are coated in oil.

When the chicken has 30 more minutes in the oven, remove the roasting pan from the oven and add the vegetables around the chicken. Put the pan back into the oven and cook until the chicken is completely cooked through completely. You know the chicken is cooked once pierced, the juices run clear.

Remove the pan from the oven and squeeze the remaining lemon juice over the chicken and vegetables. Turn off the oven and place the chicken back into the oven for 5 minutes.

After roasting, remove the pan from the oven and move the chicken from the pan to a clean platter and cover with foil, allowing the chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes.

Remove the vegetables from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving all of the drippings in the roasting pan.

Heat the pan of drippings on the stove top over medium heat. Add a bit of flour (depending on the amount of drippings from the chicken). I usually use a 1:1 drippings to flour ratio. Whisk the flour into the drippings, making sure it doesn't clump. Add water, 1/2 cup at a time, whisking constantly, until the gravy is the consistency you like. Pour the gravy into a dish to serve.

After the chicken has rested, remove the stuffing with a spoon. Take out all of the stuffing... you don't want to lose one bit of this... it is magic!

Carve the chicken and place it on a serving platter.

Beautiful! It's juicy and tender. The skin is the brown and crispy, which accompanies the chicken fantastically.

We took everything to the table and served ourselves.

Have everyone dig in and watch the silence ensue... It's fabulous!

Happy Eating!

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A Conundrum Followed by Chicken and Champagne

I have no idea how this happened. I swore that the bottle of champagne we bought for New Year's Eve was finished... I was pretty sure that we had polished it off (well, I could have sworn with the way I was feeling that evening). Um, anyway, imagine my surprise when I woke up the next morning to realize that we had about a half of bottle left! No! I really thought it was going to waste (oh, the shame), but then later that day with some inspiration from a few blogs (recipes including champagne) I knew I could use it up. I started rummaging through the fridge and found a few odds and ends... I knew I could make a decent meal... without going to the grocery store. Bonus!

Prosciutto and Chicken in Champagne

Serves 3-4

3-4 bone-in chicken breasts, skins removed

1lb firm potatoes, washed and chopped into 2 inch pieces

4 shallots peeled and halved

a few twigs of fresh thyme

6-8 fresh sage leaves

6-8 thin slices of prosciutto

3 tablespoons olive oil

juice of half a lemon

1 cup champagne (you can substitute sparking white wine or dry white wine)

salt and pepper

a bit of flour for the gravy

half and half for the gravy
water for the gravy

First, preheat the oven to 425F. Then, gather all of the ingredients for roasting the chicken. Chop the potatoes and shallots. Place them into a baking dish or roasting pan.

Sprinkle the potatoes with plenty of salt and pepper, then add the olive oil and lemon juice. Stir everything around so that the potatoes and shallots are covered with oil.

Throw a few sprigs of thyme on top of everything. Set aside.

Take the chicken and place two sage leaves on each chicken breast. Then, place two pieces of prosciutto over the chicken breasts, making sure to completely cover the top of the chicken and sage.

Place the chicken on top of the potatoes and shallots. Now, here is where the magic happens.... pour in the champagne! Place it into the pre-heated oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through completely and the potatoes are tender. It should be noted that my oven is gas and runs with a fan, therefore the prosciutto crisped up beautifully on its own. If your prosciutto isn't crispy by the end of the baking time, turn on the broiler for a few minutes before removing it from the oven.

Delicious! Now, move the chicken a potatoes to a large serving platter, making sure to retain all of the juices at the bottom of the pan.

Place the pan on top of a stove eye over medium heat (use oven mitts!). Once the juices start to heat again, add enough flour to make the beginning of a roux. It took me about 1/4 cup of flour for this to happen (just remember the ratio of flour to juices or fat is 1:1). Whisk the mixture continuously. While whisking, add the half and half slowly until you get it to the consistency you desire (I like my gravy thick). If the mixture becomes too thick, you can add a bit of water to loosen the gravy. Taste and adjust seasoning. Mine didn't need any seasoning at all.

Pour the gravy over the chicken and serve immediately.

This dinner was great. The potatoes and shallots were perfectly tender and the shallots had sweetened during the roasting. The chicken was moist and juicy and the prosciutto was nice a crispy. I can't say enough about this gravy. Between the flavors of the champagne, chicken and prosciutto juices, and the lemon, this gravy can be eaten by the pot-full!

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It was easy to make and it's a one-dish meal... even better. Just perfect for all of that champagne you have sitting around (wink, wink).

Happy Eating!

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A Return to My Roots and A Sick Husband

Five years ago you couldn't get me into the kitchen at all, much less to cook. However, I did make one or two feeble attempts after my mother bought me a cookbook for Christmas (my very first). It was a Rachael Ray 30 Minute Meals cookbook and I remember I tried two recipes out of the book and then lost interest immediately. It wasn't that the meals weren't tasty or easy to make, I just had no interest. Fast forward 5 years and that cookbook is no more; however, my now obsessive interest in cooking (that I blame thank my husband for) has taken me a long way from my first two attempts at cooking. Truthfully, I do not remember the first meal I attempted from that book, but I do remember the second very clearly. It was a chicken and dumpling soup made in a cast iron skillet that turned out pretty well on my first attempt. That was over 5 years ago and I hadn't attempted that recipe since then.

That story now brings me to this morning. My husband and I are both on vacation from work for the Christmas holidays and we slept in (oh, how nice). Unfortunately, when we did finally decided to get our lazy selves out of bed this morning, my husband woke up with a bit of a head cold. We were both pretty hungry and I wanted to make something fast and comforting (to help his sore throat). I decided to attempt that chicken and dumpling soup from 5 years ago and return to my cooking 'roots'. I know it was probably nothing like the original recipe (that I had a conjure up from memory) but it still turned out well. It was fast, warm, and comforting... perfect for a hubby under the weather.

Chicken and Dumpling Soup
Adapted from Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 leek, white and light green parts chopped to 1" pieces
1 carrot, peeled and chopped to 1" pieces
1 stalk of celery, chopped to 1" pieces
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cups dry, white wine (optional)
4 cups low sodium chicken broth (homemade is best if you have it)
1/4 cups Bisquick
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
salt and pepper
heavy cream for serving (optional)

First, place the flour onto a plate or bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Chop the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour and remove excess flour by lightly shaking off the flour. Set aside.

Chop all of the vegetables and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter has melted and is foamy, add the chicken pieces.You may have to do this in batches, as you want to avoid over-crowding the pan. Brown the chicken on all sides (this will take about 5 minutes total). You do not have to cook the pieces all the way through right now, they will finish cooking once you return them to the pan later. If you are cooking the chicken in batches, add a tablespoon of butter for each batch you brown (it took me two batches).

Once the chicken is browned, do not clean the pan and melt another tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add all of the vegetables.

Cook the vegetables, until they begin to soften (5 to 10 minutes). Then, deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping up all of the yummy browned bits from the bottom of the pan. If you are skipping the wine, use 1/4 of the stock to deglaze the pan instead.

Cook the wine and veggies until the volume of wine has reduced by half. Next, add the chicken back to the pan and add the stock and chopped oregano. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 15 minutes on medium-low heat.

While the soup is simmering, combine the bisquick, water and chopped chives in a small bowl. Stir to combine. The mixture will be a sticky dough. If the mixture is too watery, add a bit more bisquick, if it is too dry, add a bit more water.

Once the soup has simmered for 15 minutes (and the chicken pieces are cooked all the way through), adjust the soup seasoning by adding salt and pepper (if needed). Then, drop tablespoon-sized balls of the dough directly into the soup. Leave space between the balls of dough, as they will expand quite a bit during the cooking process. These do not have to be pretty or uniform in size. I like that they look rustic in the soup.

Cover the pan loosely with foil and let simmer on medium-low for 5 minutes. Once the five minutes has passed, remove the foil.

Yum! The dumplings have cooked and have become light and fluffy, while the soup has thickened and all of the flavors have melded together nicely.

Spoon the soup into bowls (don't forget some dumplings) and add a little bit of heavy cream into each bowl for a rich, creamy broth. Serve immediately.

This is perfect for a quick weeknight meal or when sleeping in gets the better of you. Enjoy!

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