« Further fruit snack fibbery | Main | Fourth Meal »

Lemon Chicken with Croutons

Serves 3-4 people (with some leftovers). Cooking time: 2 hours.

The ingredients:

• 1 (4 to 5 pound) roasting chicken
  
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
  
• Good olive oil
  
• Kosher salt
  
• Freshly ground black pepper
  
• 2 lemons, quartered
  
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  
• 6 cups (3/4-inch) bread cubes (I baguette or round boule)
  

The algorithm:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Take the giblets out of the chicken and wash it inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers. Toss the onion with a little olive oil in a small roasting pan. Place the chicken on top and sprinkle the inside of the cavity with salt and pepper. Place the lemons inside the chicken. Pat the outside of the chicken dry with paper towels, brush it with the melted butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.

Roast for 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Cover with foil and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a large sauté pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil until very hot. Lower the heat to medium-low and sauté the bread cubes, tossing frequently, until nicely browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add more olive oil, as needed, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Place the croutons on a serving platter. Slice the chicken and place it, plus all the pan juices, over the croutons. Sprinkle with salt and serve warm.

Caramelized Shallots

Serves 6 people (or so the recipe says--there were only four of us, and we ate all of the shallots). Cooking time: 45 minutes.

The ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
  
• 2 pounds fresh shallots, peeled, with roots intact
  
• 3 tablespoons sugar
  
• 3 tablespoons good red wine vinegar
  
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  

The algorithm:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter in a 12-inch ovenproof sauté pan, add the shallots and sugar, and toss to coat. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the shallots start to brown. Add the vinegar, salt, and pepper, and toss well.

Place the sauté pan in the oven and roast for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the shallots, until they are tender. Season to taste, sprinkle with parsley, and serve hot.

French String Beans

Serves 6 people. Cooking time: 30 minutes.

The ingredients:

• 1 pound French string beans, both ends removed
  
• Kosher salt
  
• 1 red onion, large-diced
  
• ½ red bell pepper, large-diced
  
• ½ yellow bell pepper, large-diced
  
• Good olive oil
  
• Freshly ground black pepper
  

The algorithm:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Blanch the string beans in a large pot of boiling salted water for 4 minutes. Drain immediately and immerse in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. When they are cool, drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the onion and bell peppers together with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for about 15 minutes, tossing with a spatula from time to time to make sure the vegetables roast evenly.

Just before serving, reheat the string beans in a large sauté pan drizzled with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and arrange on a platter. Spoon the roasted vegetables over the string beans and serve hot or at room temperature.

The chicken was good, but the shallots were amazing.

Posted by: Barzelay at September 22, 2006 5:04 PM

I had to look up what a shallot was. Turns out its a fancy fren..freedom onion.

Apparently in Australia they refer to scallions as shallots, and they are part of the onion genus.

Your meal looks awesome, by the way...

Posted by: Chris Santoro at September 22, 2006 5:56 PM

I consider Barefoot Contessa one of the Food Network's best shows. The meal looks simple, nourishing and mais oui, delicious. I don't recall ever having eaten shallots. Are they at all overpowering or too garlicky?

Posted by: Natasha D'Souza at September 23, 2006 4:22 PM

Barzelay: Yeah, I've pretty much wanted to make those shallots every day since we had that dinner.

Chris: Thanks for the compliment. I always interchange the words "shallot" and "scallion," even though I know they are very different food items. Maybe now I can blame Australia for my linguistic confusion.

Natasha: I love Ina Garten--every time my boyfriend calls her the Fatass Contessa, I smack him. :-) Shallots are really delicious--the best way I can describe them is an onion/garlic hybrid. I use them in one of my favorite risotto recipes, and they lean more toward the onion side of the spectrum--but when you caramelize them, they develop a very sweet, delicate flavor that isn't at all overpowering.

Posted by: bettyjoan at September 23, 2006 5:09 PM

I am of the persuasion that Good Eats is by far the best show on Foodnetwork.

Posted by: Adam Rugg at September 23, 2006 5:41 PM

I love Good Eats. If I could spend a day with any Food Network personality, I'd definitely choose Alton Brown.

Posted by: bettyjoan at September 23, 2006 10:47 PM

Alton Brown is so damn goofey to take seriously!
It is like watching the Simpons for food...
BUT, his recipes are pretty good. Not as good as Ina's though! The Chix & cruotons recipe is AWESOME!!!

Posted by: Randall at July 6, 2008 9:46 AM

Name

Email

URL

Remember personal info? Comments (You may use HTML tags for style)

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.