I was going out to get my geek on and see the new Star Trek movie. And while I thought it was visually amazing and Benedict did a great job as Kahn, the story was totally predictable. As, I was out, I asked my husband to pick a meal and if it was quick, I would make it when I got home about 7 or he could cook if he wanted to. He choose this recipe and to cook, and I am so glad I didn't have to cook this! It was a lot of steps, and according to him, in terrible order. Touch raw chicken, touch veggies, touch more raw chicken (this was accompanied by a very cute little "dance" I called culinary jazz hands) was the thing that annoyed him. (he is a restaurant manager and notices these things :) I came home to a wonderful smell, but didn't have to deal with all the annoyances he did. We all liked the dish too, but it didn't deliver on what it promised. For example the garlic paste, great idea, but the method of cooking didn't really get the skin crispy. (I guess we could have broiled it a bit) Flabby skin wasn't eaten and most of the garlic paste wasn't as a result. If you want something like this, make Alton Brown's
40 Cloves and A Chicken. It taste so much better and is infinitely easier! On thing that made the process a bit easier is this awesome way to get a lot of garlic peeled that I used when I made
Garlic Soup. You are welcome to try this recipe, but I say do yourself a favor and make the 40 Cloves and a Chicken;).
Garlicky Roasted Chicken With Garlic Jus On Garlic Toast
For the garlic paste:
1 head garlic (about 20 cloves) peeled and coarsely chopped
1 Tbl fresh thyme leaves coarsely chopped
1/2 Tsp kosher salt
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
For the chicken and garlic jus:
1 (3-1/2- to 4-pound) whole chicken
Salt
2 heads garlic one whole, the other separated into cloves
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil for tossing with the garlic and oiling
10 fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 lemon cut into 4 wedges
1 celery stalk cut into 3-inch pieces
2 1/4 Cup low-sodium chicken broth divided
1/4 Cup dry white wine
For the garlic croutons:
1/2 loaf day-old pain au levain or other crusty white bread, halved and cut -into 1-inch-thick slices
2 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 2 garlic cloves
peeled and halved
For the garlic paste:
Mash together the chopped head of garlic, thyme, salt, and olive oil.
Season with pepper and set aside.
For the chicken and garlic jus:
Heat the oven to 450F and arrange a rack in the middle. Remove the bag
of giblets from inside the chicken and discard everything but the neck.
Rinse the chicken inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Season
well with salt. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until
ready to stuff.
When ready to stuff, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and place
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| Yep, the recipe keeps going on and on , here is a picture break:) |
on a cutting board. Remove the first two sections of the wings, leaving
the third bone attached. Reserve the wings with the neck. Carefully
slide your fingers underneath the skin on each breast, thigh, and at the
neck to loosen the skin.
Evenly distribute the garlic paste under the skin and inside the chicken
cavity. Slice off the top of the whole head of garlic, season with salt
and pepper, and rub with a little olive oil. Place the garlic inside the
cavity with 5 sprigs of the thyme. Tie the drumsticks together with
kitchen twine. Rub the skin with olive oil and season well with salt and
pepper.
Toss the unpeeled garlic cloves, lemon wedges, celery pieces, remaining
thyme sprigs, and reserved wings and neck with about 1 tablespoon olive
oil. Season with salt and pepper and mound this mixture in the center of
a roasting pan. Place the chicken on top of the mound, breast side down.
Allow to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
Place the chicken in the oven and roast for 15 minutes, then remove the
pan from the oven and turn the bird breast side up.
Return the pan to the oven and reduce the heat to 375F. Continue
roasting for 25 minutes more. In a small bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the
chicken broth with the wine and pour this over the chicken. Continue
roasting until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the
thigh registers 165F, about 15 to 20 minutes more. Remove from the oven
(but leave the oven on for toasting the croutons).
Place the chicken on a clean cutting board and allow to rest while you
finish the jus. Remove the lemon wedges from the roasting pan and
discard. Pour the contents of the roasting pan into a medium saucepan
and add the remaining 3/4 cup chicken broth. Cut the string off the
drumsticks, remove the garlic head from the chickens cavity, and place
it in the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and
simmer for 5 minutes, skimming away the fat as it rises to the surface.
Strain this mixture, reserving several of the whole garlic cloves to
serve with each portion of chicken. Keep the jus warm.
For the garlic croutons:
Brush the bread slices with the olive oil on both sides. While you carve
the chicken, toast the bread in the oven until crisp.
When the croutons are toasted, rub the surface of each with the cut end
of a raw garlic clove.
To serve, place a crouton in a shallow bowl and top with a piece of
chicken. Pour some jus over top and garnish with several of the reserved
cooked garlic cloves. Serve extra garlic toasts on the side.
I am organizing and cleaning out my cuppards and discovered why everything is so crowded. I have multiple containers of lots of things. It is paticurally funny as most are things for baking and I don't bake much. (Like 3 boxes if cocoa powder with maybe 1/6 of each used!) So I decide to do the only sensible thing and bake cookies:). I had all that I needed for my family's favorite cookie, coconut. These are super tasty, a little different than your typical chocolate chip cookie and if I can bake them, they can't be too taxing;). 
