Celebrity Chefs

I have a confession. I love food television.
I also have favorite and not-so-favorite celebrity chefs.
There are some that I love "them" and others who I love their food.
I always love Nigella Lawson, Anthony Bourdain, Ina Garten, and many more. I love Alton Brown but a few of his recipes have not worked in my non scientific kitchen. Rachael Ray annoys the crap out of me but she always produces yummy food and totally perfect kitchen supplies. I have never made a Paula Deen Refipe that worked.
I am really not a personality fan of Emeril but I can say that none of his recipes have ever failed me. This is why I always trust the recipes and the ratings on the recipes. So tonight I am trying this: braised chicken thighs with button mushrooms. I also am tossing in a side of sauteed swiss chard for  some green.

It turned out great!

The best meal round 2

Ok, wasn't that chicken delicious?
What about all the leftovers?

Grab your biggest pot and get ready.

I like the pot I have with the big colander inside it. This makes throwing out the end good easier.

Take the carcass and all the vegetable peelings you left out along with the "veggie rack" that you roasted the bird on. All that stuff. Toss it in the pot. Add cold water and salt to cover, turn on the heat and bring to an almost boil. Once it is bubbly, turn down the heat to low and let it go for about 3 hours.

Take it off heat and cool down. Pull out the colander full of totally spent carcass and veggie bits and throw it away. There is nothing left to do with that mess. Put the hot stock in the fridge.
The next morning skim off the fat and put the stock in some sort of container that you can freeze. Seriously, freeze this stuff and use it later. Maybe when you are sick or feeling lazy.

I like to use it in a Thai inspired noodle soup.

Saute' some garlic, ginger, and onion in a big soup pot with some oil.

Then toss in the chicken broth you just made/have/froze a few months back.
Get out the fish sauce. Yes, that funky smelling stuff that adds amazing saltiness. Shake in a bunch until the broth tastes amazing.

Add shredded chicken to the mix. I personally save the leg meat from the roast chicken because DH and I never eat them and they would go to waste.

10ish minutes before serving, add chopped bok choy (I like the baby bok choy better than the big stuff)  also put in about 2 oz. or bean thread noodles or rice noodles.

Put 2 TBS lime juice and a pinch of salt in a small bowl, add basil leaves  and cilantro and let them marinate a few minutes.  Right before you serve, put in the basil cilantro mix.

Eat and feel loved.

The best meal round 1

According to my father's mother, making a roast chicken for dinner is about the best thing you can prepare. Tonight I am making the most delicious version I know of. I am pretty sure you could throw the whole thing on a sheet pan with some salt and pepper and it would be great. Add a few vegetables, even better.
My version tonight is adapted from a Food Network Magazine recipe. I follow most of the directions there but not all.
Please excuse the lack of step by step photos. I am no  Pioneer Woman. I love her so much but I am unable to photograph mid step and sometimes get a little too caught up in the process. I also don't lay out the ingredients like I am supposed to. Sure, Mise en Plas is great. I am a working lady who just graded about 100 papers.

You need a whole chicken, kosher salt, pepper, some rosemary (really any herbs you like), butter, onion, garlic, lemon, tomatoes, green onion, and any other veggies you like to roast with.

Turn the oven on to 425F degrees.
Pat the whole bird dry and salt and pepper it inside and out. Let it sit there for a while to dry out the skin. While it sits, mash the herbs into the butter. Using your fingers lift the skin from the meat and loosen it up under the breast and legs. Then take a spoonful of the herb-ey butter and stick it under the skin. I call this "adding implants." Moosh it around under the breast and the leg skin. This makes it delicious and moist.

Then squeeze half of the lemon in the cavity, toss in a half or quarter of an onion in there too along with a few cloves of garlic and a sprig of rosemary or thyme or both.
Some people tell you to truss the bird. Some say it doesn't matter. I like what the grocery store does with the rotisserie birds. Cut a hole in the skin under each leg and stuff the leg through the hole.

Ta-Da! Leg trussing without using twine. I don't really care about the wings, I tuck them under so they are not hanging out.
Other myth, you need a roasting rack. Sure they are great, get air under the meat, keep it out of the juices. I don't use one. I use my Great-Grandmother's really old roasting pan.  A rack would never fit in the well documented red, oval pan with the high domed lid and off-center handles. Instead, I cut the rest of the onion up along with other veggies on hand (this time it was a fennel bulb) and set the bird on top. It works like a mini rack and the roasted veggies are great for round 2.

Ok, toss the bird in the oven, set the timer for 25 minutes, pour yourself a glass of the good stuff and go check facebook for a while.

Beep!
Time to set down the pinterest/facebook/twitter and check on the bird.

First toss some scallions and tomatoes in a bowl with some olive oil and salt. Pour those into the roasting pan with the chicken and set the timer for 50 minutes. Chicken little needs to be 170F before you can take it out.

Back to the interwebs. I am not the superlady who does the dishes in between steps.
After it reads a done temp. in the thigh, take it out and let rest for 10 minutes.
Then carve the bird and enjoy. Be careful, the skin is delicious.