Garlic Roast Chicken

Roast chicken with root vegetables is one of the most perfect meals I can think of. Its simple, rustic, fairly healthy, and mouthwatering. It might be one of my favorite meals of all time, actually. What I love most about it is that you can interchange ingredients for completely different flavors. As long as you have a good base recipe you can use whatever you want or have to enhance the flavors and make it a complete meal. This recipe for garlic roast chicken is one of those variations, but still perfectly simple.

Eat this roast chicken & vegetables with a few pieces of buttered crusty bread and chocolate chip cookies or brownies with a glass of milk for dessert. I can't imagine a more perfectly simple, homey meal.

Recipe Rundown
Taste: The pungent garlic flavor is cut by the lemon halves resulting in a subtle yet delicious taste. Roasting really brings out of the flavors in this dish, especially of the vegetables.
Texture: Is there anything better than perfectly crisped skin covering juicy, tender meat? Or caramelized root vegetables that are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside?
Ease: For me the most difficult part was carving the bird since I don't have much experience carving any meat. Other than that, I would say that while this recipe isn't as easy as picking up a whole chicken from the grocery store, it is definitely doable.
Appearance: The bird surrounded by vegetables would look impressive on a platter (unfortunately I don't have one!).
Expense: This all depends on the cost of the chicken. I would look out for sales and know that the best chicken (organic, cage free, local, etc) is going to cost more.
Pros: I had enough meat leftover after my boyfriend and I ate this for dinner to make sandwiches the next day.
Cons: Dealing with raw chicken, especially gizzards, is never quite fun. Also, the chicken does need to roast for a long time (but its worth it).
Would I make this again? Yes, or at least a variation of it!

*Note: I doubled the amount of vegetables based off the recommendations of Food Network reviews on this recipe. I'm glad I did.

Garlic Roast Chicken
From Ina Garten

• 1 (5 to 6-pound) roasting chicken
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 heads garlic, cut in 1/2 crosswise
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1/2 (1)* large Spanish onion, thickly sliced
• 4 (8)* carrots cut diagonally into 2-inch chunks
• 2 (4)* large Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 6 pieces
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted

As soon as you get the chicken home, salt it inside and out, wrap it and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

When you are ready to cook the chicken, first preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Pat the outside of the chicken dry with paper towels. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken and stuff the cavity with the all the garlic and lemon. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place it in a roasting pan just large enough to hold it and the vegetables. Scatter the onion slices, carrots and potatoes around the chicken. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil. Place the vegetables back in the oven and continue cooking for an additional 15 minutes.

When the vegetables are cooked, carve the chicken and place the slices on the platter surrounded by the vegetables. Drizzle some pan juices over the chicken and vegetables.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Recently I've noticed that despite how popular white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are in bakeries and stores, there's not a wide variety of recipes available for this type of cookie. Not even Martha Stewart's Cookies cookbook has a recipe. While I like white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, chocolate chip cookies will always be my favorite, and apparently I'm not the only one considering the small collection of w.c.m.n recipes (typing that out gets annoying, perhaps another reason for the limited selection?). But my boyfriend's favorite cookies are w.c.m.n. so I decided to scour the internet and cookbooks for a decent recipe to make for him and found a definite keeper from Field Guide to Cookies. This recipe is straightforward, no freezing or chilling or rolling of any sort, you don't even have to let the butter come to room temperature. My only issue is with a certain hard to find ingredient (you know who you are, macadamia nut).

Recipe Rundown
Taste: Whoever decided to combine white chocolate with macadamia nuts is a very smart person. The flavors are dreamy together. It reminds me of the sweet saltiness of regular chocolate and peanut butter combined.
Texture: This recipe contains what I consider to be a cookie texture trifecta: crisp at the edges, soft on the inside, with a chewy inner bite. Then add one more textural element from the crunchiness of the nuts and its a jackpot.
Ease: Like I mentioned earlier, this recipe is very easy and straightforward to follow, the hardest part for me was finding the macadamia nuts.
Appearance: Is there a cookie out there that doesn't look cute and delicious?
Expense: Macadamia nuts aren't cheap, or easy to find. I ended up purchasing mine at Whole Foods in the bulk produce section for about $7, with some left over.
Pros: Its always a plus when a simple recipe can produce such a timelessly delicious treat.
Cons: I stored the cookies in an airtight container but unfortunately they didn't stay soft and chewy for as long as I would have liked.
Would I make this again? For sure.




White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Adapted from Field Guide to Cookies
Yield: 2 dozen

• 2 cups all purpose flour
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & cooled
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1. Adjust an oven rack to lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.

2. In a large bowl, beat the melted butter and sugars together with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until combined.

3. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until combined. Mix in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts until incorporated.

4. Working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll the dough into even balls and lay them on the baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart.

5. Bake the cookies until the edges are set and beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, about 16 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Quinoa Stir-Fry with Vegetables & Chicken

While I do enjoy an indulgent treat every once in a while, I try to outweigh those indulgences with wholesome, healthy, fresh meals. I know it might not come across that way on my blog, but I don't post about everything I eat, especially since the things that are often most indulgent photograph the best! However, I'm making it my goal to post something healthy with every indulgent post.

So without further adieu, I present a meal in contrast to my last buttery puff pastry of a post: Quinoa Stir-Fry with Vegetables and Chicken. This meal has it all, quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah") which provides not only fiber but iron, chicken breast for lean protein, and tons of fresh vegetables in multiple colors for varying vitamins and antioxidants. If you're interested in the specific nutritional values, they are on Self's website. However, I try not to live and eat paying attention to the nutritional details down to the last calorie. That's no fun. If something is fresh and came from the earth, not a processing plant, then I know it will be good for my body. If you're interested in this method of thinking about eating, I'd suggest, no urge you to read Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food.

To make this wholesome dish even better, it tastes delicious. And I don't get bored with it after a few bites like with some other healthy meals.

Taste: Mouthwatering! Perfect combination of Asian inspired flavors.
Texture: I love the texture of quinoa, especially combined with the crispness of the veggies and the tenderness of the cubes of chicken.
Ease: There is a lot of prep work involved: chopping all the vegetables, grilling the chicken breast, and cooking the quinoa before you can even start to make this dish. However, all those steps are simple.
Appearance: Anything that has an array of colors is attractive to me.
Expense: Quinoa can be expensive, especially packaged in a regular grocery store. But if you head over to your local Whole Foods or the equivalent and purchase the Quinoa in bulk its half the price. Vegetables can get expensive too, but I think of it as an investment in my body's health.
Pros: This can be made on the weekend and eaten for lunch during the week (you could double the recipe) because it keeps well in the fridge.
Cons: I can't think of one.
Would I make this again? Most definitely.

Quinoa Stir-Fry with Vegetables and Chicken
From Self Magazine February 2010

Serves 4

• 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 small carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic, sliced
• 1 small red chile, chopped (optional)
• 2 cups snow peas, trimmed
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 oz grilled chicken breast, chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

1. Place quinoa in a small saucepan with 3/4 cup water and 1/4 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook, undisturbed, until quinoa absorbs water, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and leave uncovered.
   
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook carrot, stirring occasionally, until it softens, about 1 minute. Add bell pepper, ginger, garlic and chile, if desired; cook, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Add peas, sprinkle with remaining 1/4 tsp salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, 1 minute.
3. Remove vegetables and return skillet to heat; add quinoa, along with egg. Cook, stirring constantly, until egg is evenly distributed, about 2 minutes. Add vegetables, chicken, scallions, cilantro and soy sauce; cook 1 minute more.
   
4. Divide stir-fry among 4 bowls; serve warm.