AKA Jeffrey’s Roast Chicken.

Apparently we’ve been on a chicken kick lately! But all of these recipes serve different purposes, and really, you can never have enough chicken recipes! Here’s our latest obsession from our favorite Ina Garten:

There aren’t many recipes that are this easy and yield so much flavor like this roast chicken. Ina definitely knows how to take simple ingredients and add that wow factor! This chicken was moist and juicy, with just the right amount of aromatics to make bring the flavor of this chicken to the next level. Next time you’re having company, impress them with this roasted chicken. You won’t be sorry.

The recipe says it serves three. I’ve never met three people who can eat an entire chicken, but I’ve also never only served a chicken for a Friday night. Usually that’s one of four main dishes. Maybe one weeknight I’ll make an entire chicken for dinner and see how much we actually eat. I made this for Shabbat dinner and ate the leftovers for lunch the next day. I didn’t have much chicken leftover after that.

Jeffrey’s Roast Chicken, adapted from Ina Garten’s How Easy is That?:

Ingredients:

• 1 4-5 pound roasting chicken
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 lemons
• 1 whole head garlic, cut in half crosswise
• 3 sprigs thyme
• Good olive oil
• 2 Spanish onions, peeled and thickly sliced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock (I make my own)
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 2 Idaho potatoes, scrubbed and diced (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken (remember that kosher chicken is already salted, so don’t go too overboard on the salt).

3. Cut the lemons in quarters and place two quarters in the cavity of the chicken.

4. Place the garlic and thyme in the cavity, too.

5. Brush the outside of the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

6. Tie the legs together and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.

7. Place the chicken in a SMALL roasting pan (when I don’t use potatoes I use my Le Creuset. When I do, I actually use a 9×13 Pyrex. I don’t have a roasting pan!).

8. Combine the rest of the lemons and onion slices and toss with olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add to roasting pan.

9. Roast the chicken for an hour and 15 minutes, until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh (or you can use a thermometer, but this method actually works really well).

10. Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with foil to rest, leaving the onions and lemons in the pan (or, if using something that’s not stove-proof, move it to a large pan to make the sauce).

11. Place the pan over medium-high heat and add the wine. Stir up the brown bits. Add the stock and sprinkle on the flour, stirring constantly for a minute, until the sauce thickens.  Add the juices that dripped from the chicken to the sauce.

12. Carve the chicken and spoon the sauce with the onions and lemons (and potatoes) over it. I didn’t eat the lemons. Try it if you’re brave. Serve hot or warm. Mmmm….

Engagement Chicken is a post from: The Kosher Foodies

I remember watching Jamie Oliver on the Food Network, back when he was the Naked Chef. Well, he wasn’t actually naked, which is why I wasn’t surprised when they changed the name of his show (or did they just start a new one) called Oliver’s Twist. Anyway, he would “strip down” recipes so that they were really just the essentials of cooking. No fancy gadgets or ingredients, just great homemade food. Now he’s never on the Food Network anymore, and I don’t get the Cooking Channel, so I never see him on TV. I can’t even watch the reruns of his show Jamie at Home. But I can still get most of the recipes on the Food Network website, which makes me happy. His recipes are simple and tasty, and he doesn’t use any gross ingredients; it’s mostly natural, earthy food. His recipes really bring out the essential flavors of the main ingredients.

And this is why I was so excited to make this soup recipe. I love Jamie Oliver and I love butternut squash! It’s definitely my favorite winter squash, even though it’s a pain to peel and chop. Everything else about it is just perfect, an my favorite way to eat it is in soup form. Something about butternut squash soup just makes me smile.

Sage is a classic combination with butternut squash, and infusing the oil with that flavor imparts a wonderful undertone to the soup. The sage on top adds a great crispiness. I ate a lot of those sage chips before serving the soup. Oops. Hence the lack of crispy sage on top of the soup in the picture. It’s delicious with a teaspoon of sour cream mixed in, too. Just so you know.

Superb squash soup, adapted from Jamie Oliver (serves 8):

Ingredients:

• 16 fresh sage leaves
• 2 red onions, peeled and chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeds taken out and chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 quarts vegetable stock
• Extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat large saucepan over medium heat and pour in some olive oil, enough to cover the bottom.

2. When it’s hot, throw in the sage leaves and fry for about 30 seconds, until crispy. Remove with a slitted spoon and drain on paper-towel lined plate.

3. Add your celery, onion, and carrot, garlic, and jalapeno to the pot. Add salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

4. Add the squash and stock. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

5. When the squash is soft, blend the soup using an immersion blender until you have a smooth puree (or as chunky as you like it).

6. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle the sage leaves on top.

7. Serve with croutons if you want (that’s how Jamie Oliver did it).

Superb Butternut Squash Soup is a post from: The Kosher Foodies

Chicken and spaghetti was always a Friday night staple in our home. Though Poopa Dweck’s book states that it’s a Syrian custom to not eat this dish for Shabbat dinner because it’s a sign of bad luck, my family’s been eating it for years, and I don’t think we’re any less lucky than other people out there. So If you’re superstitious, make it on a weeknight. It’s a good meal with just a small side salad or vegetable. If you’re not superstitious, or just want to make a main course that consists of a carb and a protein (does the tomato sauce count as a vegetable?), then make this for Shabbat dinner. Your guests and family will fight over the crispy burnt edges.

When my mother makes this, she always leaves the chicken pieces whole. This way, it’s easier to eat just the spaghetti, which I often like to do (especially when there’s chili on the table – chicken and spaghetti chopped with some chili is awesome). I sometimes shred the chicken into the spaghetti, so that every bite has a little bit of chicken and a little bit of spaghetti. I find that the chicken also stays more moist this way and soaks up the flavor of the sauce more. Try it both ways and let me know which you prefer. Remember if you’re shredding to be careful to remove all the bones and stuff. No one wants a mouthful of spaghetti and chicken bones!

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1 chicken, cut into eighths (bone in, skin on)
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• Kosher salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Place chicken on baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 35 – 45 minutes, until cooked. Then let cool and shred, cut, or leave whole. Save the chickeny oil and juice!

3. While chicken is roasting, boil spaghetti in very salty water for one minute less than stated on the package.

4. Drain the spaghetti.

5. Place spaghetti in roasting pan and add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, spices, salt, and some pepper. Mix well.

— Now you have what we like to call “And Spaghetti” which is the BEST Friday afternoon snack ever.

6. Add the chicken (pieces, shreds, whatever you decided) and the chicken juice and mix well.

7. Cover and roast in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour, until the edges are crusty and the middle is soft.

Chicken and Spaghetti is a post from: The Kosher Foodies

You can’t go wrong with caramelized onions and roasted butternut squash. Here’s a pretty easy (once you get the pie crust out of the way) special dinner recipe. Sure, it’s a bit fattening, but hey, once in a while you just have to splurge. If you’re having some company over and making dairy, this is definitely a great recipe to impress guests with. The list of ingredients looks rather long, but I found that I had a lot of the ingredients.

This recipe is from The Art and Soul of Baking, a book that I haven’t used in a while. I’m happy to have it opened up again, and keep finding more and more recipes to try…

I happened to have a pie crust in the freezer from last time I made. If you don’t have a pie crust, make it the day before, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. It’ll keep at room temperature for three days.

Ingredients:

• One pie crust (either store-bought or homemade. I obviously prefer homemade)

Squash:

• 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Onion:

• 1 large onion, cut into very thin slices (hooray for my mandolin)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• salt

Custard:

• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh sage
• 1 teaspoon dried chives (the original recipe called for a tablespoon of fresh, but since I didn’t see any at the supermarket, I substituted for the dried stuff)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 357 degrees.

2. Toss the squash with olive oil, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Roast for 20 – 25 minutes until tender.

3. While squash is roasting, heat olive oil and butter in a pan over medium head until the butter melts. Add the onion and cook until golden, about 25 minutes.

4. Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees.

5. Prepare the custard: In a large bowl, whisk the milk and eggs together. When blended, Whisk in the cream, 1/2 cup of cheese, the herbs, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.

6. Assemble the pie: spread the onion over the cooled pie crust. Scrape the onion on top and spread into an even layer on top of the onions. Slowly pour the custard over the squash in a circular pattern. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

7. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the custard puffs and moves as one piece (like Jell-O). Let cool for 30 minutes, serve warm.

Roasted Butternut Squash-Onion Pie is a post from: The Kosher Foodies