30x30.2

   




Week Two of 30x30 finds us deep into
LEMON ROASTED CHICKEN.

We purchased these absolutely lovely organic roasters at Costco and wanted to make something special....



and when I got home I found this cookbook deep into the recesses of my
Never/Rarely Used Cookbook Cabinet. On the very back shelf.

I forgot how much I loved this cookbook.

Not only great, simple, delicious recipes celebrating whole, unprocessed food, 

but I just adore the font.

 And, I just love lemon.

Lemonade, Lemon Iced Tea, Lemon Poppyseed Muffins, Lemon Squares, even Lemon scented cleaners!

Lemons also make a great bookmark.

So, shall we begin?

Here is my version (which is pretty exactly like the cookbook version) of 

Lemon Roasted Chicken.

Start by washing your chickens in cold water.

 

Then pat dry, inside and out.

Place chickens in a clear glass baking dish or roasting pan.

Add salt to cavity

as well as freshly ground pepper.

Rub well into the cavity of the chickens.

 Next, drizzle olive oil over chickens until they are well coated.

No need to measure.

Next, take 4 lemons and roll them on the kitchen counter top to release juices....

And then slice each one in half.

 Squeeze the lemons over the chicken.

 You will have a pile of lemon rinds when you are done.

 Take those lemon halves and place them into the cavities of the roasters.

[You might have to really shove them in to fit!]

Take 3 large cloves of garlic

 Smash them with your hand using the side of your knife (be careful!)...

Once they are smashed, the skins will slip off easily.

 Chop them into halves...

And shove these into the cavity with the lemons, too.

Grab a bottle of white wine...

And pour about 1/2 cup over each chicken.

Add salt and pepper (if desired) to the outside of the chicken as well as 2 spices...

Thyme (fresh if you have it)

And Rosemary.

Sprinkle the herbs heavily onto the chickens before placing into a preheated 350 degree oven.

 Once the chickens are in the oven, scrub down the sink and countertops 

that may have been exposed to raw chicken or it's juices.

Baste every 30 minutes.

After one hour the whole house is smelling heavenly.

 In a little less than 2 hrs (I have a convection oven, so roasts cook a bit faster) 

our Lemon Roasted Chicken was done.

Your thermometer should read at least 180 degrees to be safe.

Remove from oven and let sit for at least 15 min before carving.

 If you can wait that long!

How Great Thou Art

This past Friday evening Carrie Underwood sang a duet

[How Great Thou Art] 

with Vince Gill that I believe is one of THE greatest renditions 

of this beautiful heartfelt gospel ballad. 

Carrie and Vince received a standing ovation from a crowd 

that included some of our best composers and musicians. 

I will guarantee you cannot watch this without tears.

Once the video begins, click again on the video to watch it larger in YouTube.

Sunday Silence: Happy Easter

30x30.1 (Finally!)

Healing has begun in earnest (I am now only going thru about 1/2 box of kleenex/day) 

and it's time to COOK! 

Yahoo for energy returned...at least enough to cook...cleaning, well, not so much. 

Of course, when I am healthy that is pretty much status quo, too! hahhaha

So, as promised, the first recipe is coming to you courtesy of our friend Giada DeLaurentis from this cookbook:

If you remember, the rules, although self imposed, were that each recipe in the next 30 weeks would have to be from a different source, as well as one that I have never made before.

So, bye-bye Everyday Pasta. See ya on the other side.

Without further ado, this is the recipe I chose:

Farfalle with Creamy 

Mushroom Gorgonzola Sauce

I can tell you that the recipe is relatively easy to make 

(although it does require washing 3 pans) and tastes superb.

Big thumbs up from both Jim and me.

A great vegetarian dish for those who don't eat meat, 

but it would also taste divine with the addition of shrimp or chicken.

I made a few changes to Giada's recipe. 

Giada is skinny, we are not. 

Giada uses a bit more high fat ingredients than I wanted, so there were some 

subtle subtractions+substitutions (say that 3 times) that I made.

I will clue you into them as we go along, but I have to say the final result was fantastic. 

Here are the ingredients:

Peas, Gorgonzola Cheese, Mushrooms, Butter, Milk, Olive Oil, Flour, Pasta (+Salt and Pepper) 

 Giada's recipe calls for 2.5 cups of Whole Milk...I subbed in Evaporated 2% milk.

 Begin by melting 2 T butter in a skillet over med heat;

 It should melt completely within a minute or two...

 Add 3T flour to the melted butter;

 Whisk butter and flour together;

 Whisk for 2-3 min until golden brown.

Add 2.5 cups milk all at once;

Continue to whisk;

 Until the flour/milk/butter mixture is smooth.

After 2-3 minutes of whisking, you will see that the mixture is beginning to simmer (low boil). 

 Simmer for 2 minutes, whisking constantly, then remove from heat.

Crumble the Gorgonzola Cheese into the warm sauce. 

(note: I only used 4 oz of cheese, rather than the 5oz the recipe calls for)

Stir the cheese into the sauce until it is melted and the sauce is smooth.

Add salt and pepper here if desired.

 Cover sauce to keep it warm, and set aside.

Wash mushrooms (and yes, I WASH them, not just wipe them)

Dry them well;

And slice.

Add olive oil to preheated skillet (Giada's recipe calls for 3T olive oil; I used one)

Place mushrooms in skillet and stir to coat with olive oil.

 There is nothing better than the smell of sauteing mushrooms :) [At least to a cook]

Once mushrooms are done, add peas to the skillet. I didn't thaw them.

(Giada called for 3/4 cup, I added 2 cups...I like peas)

 Stir peas and mushrooms together and reduce heat to low, or simply shut the burner off.

 

 Meanwhile bring a pot of water to boil and add a handful (about 1-2T) of salt.

 This is the salt I use; did you know that it is salt in the water that keeps pasta from sticking together?

 

Plus it makes the pasta taste lots better, and this is the only time I used salt in the recipe.

Add pasta (I used thin spaghetti, not farfalle);

And stir.

[My pile of recycling; notice the empty kleenex box?]

Drain pasta, and place on a platter or large bowl. 

Pour cheese sauce and mushroom/peas mix over and toss to coat. 

Add more salt and pepper if you prefer.

 SO GOOD.

 

Here's the recipe straight out of the cookbook.

Don't be afraid to make changes based on your personal preference!