Roast Chicken with Broccolini

I guess I already broke my meat-free week when on Sunday I had halibut. However, I was then going to just stick with fish and vegetarian. This was then broken on Tuesday. I guess there is no point in making any type of dining limitation. Derek wanted to make a roasted chicken and there would be no convincing him that an eggplant dish would be better. Battle Chicken vs. Eggplant? Chicken wins.

The poor soul that was purchased was perhaps not so poor - the little guy had a nice life as a free-range, organic chicken (read more about it at http://www.maryschickens.com/). He was fed all vegetable products and was allowed to bask in the beautiful California sunshine (or so they say). Mr. Chicken was then simply and elegantly adorned with the finest herbs and lemons to take a final bask in the intense heat of the oven.

Perhaps that is bringing it a little too much to life - truthfully, I don't really like to think about what the little chicken did during his life - to me, his life begins and ends in the exact state that I see him when he is purchased in the store. However, it is nice to know that the chicken wasn't subjected to some of the horrible conditions that have been brought to light about the chicken farms. And they say that the free-range/natural chickens are not only better for you (no hormones and healthy diet) but that they also taste better.

Derek used the recipe entitled "My Favorite Simple Roast Chicken" from Epicurious as his base and then added a few additional ingredients to make it a little less simple.

Roasted Chicken with Thyme and Lemon

1 whole chicken (about 2.5 pounds)
salt and pepper
a few slabs of butter
fresh thyme
fresh parsley
1 whole lemon, cut into wedges

The following directions were followed with just these few additions:
- Stuff cavity with lemon wedges and a handful of fresh thyme
- Add a few pats of butter underneath the skin of each chicken breast
- Add some chopped parsley and fresh thyme underneath the skin throughout

Directions from Epicurious Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. The less it steams, the drier the heat, the better.

Salt and pepper the cavity, then truss the bird. Trussing is not difficult, and if you roast chicken often, it's a good technique to feel comfortable with. When you truss a bird, the wings and legs stay close to the body; the ends of the drumsticks cover the top of the breast and keep it from drying out. Trussing helps the chicken to cook evenly, and it also makes for a more beautiful roasted bird.

Now, salt the chicken—I like to rain the salt over the bird so that it has a nice uniform coating that will result in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin (about 1 tablespoon). When it's cooked, you should still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to taste with pepper.

Place the chicken in a sauté pan or roasting pan and, when the oven is up to temperature, put the chicken in the oven. I leave it alone—I don't baste it, I don't add butter; you can if you wish, but I feel this creates steam, which I don't want. Roast it until it's done, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove it from the oven and add the thyme, if using, to the pan. Baste the chicken with the juices and thyme and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.

Remove the twine. Separate the middle wing joint and eat that immediately. Remove the legs and thighs. Cut the breast down the middle and serve it on the bone, with one wing joint still attached to each.

Not surprisingly, the chicken was very tender. I am not a fan of skin but I did try just a little bit and thought it had a great flavor. I would have liked a little bit more of a lemon flavor on the chicken but that's just my preference.

We served this with some simple roasted broccolini that was simply prepared with EVOO, salt and pepper. Derek mentioned that the veggies should have been blanched before roasting so they didn't dry out, but I really like the slight bit of crunch that they had - again, personal preference.

The surprise star of the night was the Terisa Napa Valley Chardonnay - $40

We pulled this wine out of our refrigerator not really remembering what it tasted like or where we got it from. This is what the website has to say about the wine:

"2007 Napa Valley Chardonnay is a pure expression of Chardonnay grapes, highlighting the character of the vineyard with layers of layers of flavor supported by light touches of French Oak and even lighter touch of butter. Aged 10 months "sur-lies" with hand stirring of lees every week. Terisa Vineyards' 2007 Napa Valley Chardonnay has a luscious taste with a crisp and mouthwatering finish. A crisp acidity = great compliment with food"

Great compliment with food? I'd completely agree. It was also a perfect compromise Chardonnay between mine and Derek's taste (actually it's precisely what I love - so perhaps the fact that Derek loved it too was a bonus). After my first sip I remember why I had bought this wine in the first place - it was buttery from the start and then toned to a nice crisp, wonderful wine.