Cooking Nite Update

Well, I'm glad I took a few pics before the event, b/c I took even less during the event! This is all I saw fit to photograph of my roasted chicken. It was plump, glorious and a crispy golden brown at it's finish. I used a standard Julia Child recipe that I really recommend if you want a succulent bird that will make your home smell heavenly!

This particular recipe also came with instructions to make a sort of au jus w/the leftover pans juices from roasting. I think that's what really takes it over the edge. I served up the au jus in a little gravy boat alongside the platter of meat.

Folks brought mushroom pie, french onion soup, champagne/brie/emmenthaler fondue, a strawberry brulee dessert and a fabulous Cotes du Rhone.

I really can not recommend this wine enough! My friend did a great job in picking it out. Although these online tasting notes made me giggle a little:

* Eye : Deep and dark red. Shiny.
* Nose : Fresh fruits with red berries and spices.

* Palate : Full, round and racy. Rounded and smooth tannins. A full-bodied, rich and intensly aromatic wine.

* Overall : Full with a long finish and plenty of elegance and finesse due to the well balanced tannins and fruit
http://www.guigal.com/vins_detail.php?langue=en&rub=4&id=53&millesime=4

"Full, round and racy"- really? Racy? I don't know about all of that, my bottom line is that it has a gorgeous color and nice mellow finish w/plenty of punch in the middle. How's that for an amateur sommelier?

Surprisingly, the dish I got the most positive feedback was the potatos! I was thinking nothing of them really, b/c I make roasted potatos all of the time. I will admit these were a little out of the ordinary as they were tri-colored fingerling potatos (sliced in half if they were small, quartered lengthwise if they were larger). I simply roasted them at 400 for half an hour (ish) with a little olive oil, a pinch of herbes de provence and tons of kosher salt.

Sadly, we were all struggling by the time dessert rolled around. The creme brulee was a good thought, but a bit too much after the main feasting. The good news is, I have 4 leftover!

Here's the roast chicken recipe, bon apetit!

Roast Chicken
Recipe courtesy Julia Child, Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom, Alfred A. Knopf, 2000

1 (3 1/2 to 4 pound) chicken

1 small yellow onion, quartered

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1/2 cup celery leaves

Salt and black pepper

Butter

1 small onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Wash the chicken in hot water and dry thoroughly. Season the cavity with salt and black pepper and stuff with the onion, lemon, and celery leaves. Rub the chicken lightly with softened butter and season all over with salt and pepper. Tie the drumsticks ends together and set the chicken, breast side up, in an oiled v-shaped rack or on an oiled roasting pan in the oven.

Roast for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees, baste the chicken, and roast for 15 minutes. Add the chopped onion and carrot to the pan, basting them and the chicken. Continue roasting the chicken until the juices run clear, for a total of 45 minutes plus an additional 7 minutes for each pound. (In other words, a 3 1/2 pound chicken would take a basic 45 minutes plus an additional 25 minutes, for a total 70 minutes or 1 hour and 10 minutes of cooking time.)

Remove the chicken and spoon the fat out of the roasting pan. Into the pan, stir in the herbs and blend in the broth and, stirring constantly, boil for several minutes on the stovetop to concentrate the flavor. Correct the seasoning and strain the sauce into a warm sauceboat. Carve the chicken and serve with the warm sauce.