I have a bit of a guilty pleasure. I love watching cooking shows. Since getting the TiVo, I've started watching many different shows. The TiVo records suggestions, and some of them are pretty good. The one that has inspired a new recipe was on America's Test Kitchen from Cook's Illustrated. I know I've said it before, but I may never look at chicken the same way again.
This recipe calls for a whole chicken that is cut up into pieces. Turns out that it is a more economical way of buying chicken. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love to save money wherever possible. You take the whole bird and cut out the spine. Don't throw it away! Then you cut off the legs and cut them again along the "fat line". Now you have four pieces! Cut off the wings and remove the tips. The show didn't use them in this recipe, but I did because who doesn't like chicken wings? Cut the breast along the breast bone. This requires a little elbow grease to snap the bone. Then cut each breast in half so all pieces are about the same size. This helps the chicken to cook at the same rate. Keep the skin on to ensure juicy chicken and flavourful veggies. Keep the spine, neck, and any other parts for a soup. The messy part is done!
Now is where you can use what veggies you actually like. Root vegetables are great for this part. I used some carrots, parsnips, potatoes, mushrooms and whole garlic. The show used shallots and brussel sprouts with their root veg, but not a big fan of those. Cut the veggies into similar sized pieces keeping in mind you don't want them to be too small, otherwise, they will overcook and you'll have mushy veggies, and no one likes that! Use as much of the vegetables as you want to cover a rimmed baking sheet. Throw them all in a big bowl so you can toss them with the seasonings.
Flavour time! For the veggies, add 1 tbsp vegetable oil (or other mild flavoured oil), 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme, 1 tsp fresh rosemary, 1 tsp sugar, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. It was cold out, so I just used dried herbs. Use less if you are using dried herbs. Toss all with the veggies and spread them on a rimmed baking sheet. I sprayed/greased the sheet first because I always do that.
In a small bowl, melt 2 tsp butter. Add 2 tsp thyme, 1 tsp rosemary, salt and pepper. Mix this up. Place chicken on top of the veggie bed with the breast pieces near the middle and the dark meat around the edges. Dark meat takes longer to cook, so they will get blasted with the heat more than the light meat. With a brush, slather each piece of chicken with this mixture.
Place the baking sheet in a 475F oven for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is properly cooked. Larger chicken pieces take a bit longer. The skin will come out crispy and golden and the veggies tender. Remove the chicken and mix up the veggies with the drippings before serving.
The house smelled amazing! I've never really used herbs before, but I'm not as scared anymore! We loved the flavours, and it turned out really well. Can't wait for the leftover chicken!
Hope you like this recipe as much as we did!
Lisa
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