Thursday, October 31, 2013

FFWD Hurry Up and Wait Roast Chicken


Every time I make roast chicken I wonder why I don't make it more often.  It's quick, easy, and we love it.  There are also so many variations that it never gets old.  This week I was planning on roasting the chicken with potatoes, carrots, and onions, but the day got out of hand.  When we were in Portland we went on several 2-3 hour car trips and Charlotte was absolutely perfect, so we thought the 2.5 hour drive to spend the weekend at the beach would be no problem.  We thought wrong!  I know that all of the experienced parents in the group could have told me this, but simply because something works one week with a baby doesn't mean it'll work the next week.  We ended up stopping 3 or 4 times on the way home, and the whole thing turned into a 5 hour trip.  By the time we got home it was too late to go get the potatoes, so we were left with the onions I already had in the pantry, the carrots Paul had in the garden, and some swiss chard that Paul also had in the garden.  I was going to just roast the carrots and onions with the chicken and cook the chard separately as a side dish, but at the last second my laziness won out and I cleaned and chopped the chard and added it to the pot along with rosemary and the other vegetables.  It worked beautifully!  Paul said it was the best chard he had ever had and he was actually glad we didn't have potatoes.  I guess the moral of the story is that chicken fat can make anything taste good.


I'm still no expert, but I've been practicing carving chickens and thought this one finally looked good enough to present.  This is definitely a recipe I'll pull out again.  The method was easy and produced incredibly moist chicken with perfectly browned skin, and I could imagine making it with any number of vegetables.

12 comments:

  1. Yeah, I remember those days...and those drives! But you survived...and made one spectacular chicken!

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  2. Your chicken looks perfect. And roast chicken is my husband's favorite so we make it somewhat regularly (once a month maybe) around here. I liked this one, but I liked Dorie's previous two roast chicken recipes better.

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  3. I also remember those days…and they are still better than dealing with a teenager…LOL! Your chicken looks perfectly wonderful, and I love the addition of the chard!

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  4. Beautiful Jora! Babies, Children, Spouses and Puppies are always unpredictable - I've learned to enjoy the moments because you never know when you will get them again. Your chard sounds so delicious with this.

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  5. After all that earlier happenings in the day, you made a perfect meal! I did not carve my chicken, I separated the chicken by hand, so tender!

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  6. One pot meals are a life-saver some times - great idea to roast everything on top!
    Sometimes, I still have to stop three times on three hour car ride with my 18 year old :-)

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  7. Jora, what a delicious idea to serve fresh Swiss chard with your lovely Roast Chicken - it sounds fantastic - am always so jealous that you have all these wonderful fresh veg in your own garden.
    Hope all is well, I am sure Charlotte is thriving!

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  8. That sounds like a delicious combination. Every time I do something with greens, I wonder why I don't more often! Looks delicious, and must have been some nice comfort food after quite a day!

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  9. Aw... poor Charlotte! I'm sure you'll have smoother road trips in the future.

    I love the idea of cooking the greens with the chicken. What a fortunate accidental discovery!

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  10. Love the moral of the story- too funny. Your chicken and your veggies look amazing and I am so glad you got to enjoy them with the family. I also give you so much credit for staying so positive and flexible when juggling baby and other parts of life (in this case, cooking). That attitude and resourcefulness will continue to make you a success in all areas !! (and if you ever need to speed dial for pizza- that is seriously ok too :) we all need a break every once in a while....)

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  11. I think you're onto something when you say that chicken fat can make anything taste good! I'm intrigued to try greens in the pot with a roast chicken, though to be honest, I don't think I'll try this recipe again. Too much attention required for the turning. I prefer when I can just walk away until it's nearly done. I hope being at the beach made up for the ride.

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  12. This was a great recipe, even with the fussiness of the turns. That's really cool that Swiss chard works when roasted with the chicken. I can imagine how rich and good it was. It never would have occurred to me to try it - now, I will.

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