Chicken About Chicken from bettycrocker.com

Full disclosure: The following is a reprint from my "Red Spoon Diaries" blog that used to run on bettycrocker.com. I also recorded it and turned it into a podcast on itunes. You'll find it under "Betty Crocker Red Spoon Diaires." Check it out.

Great strides were made in the Heidi Cooking Arena last night. Huge. I roasted my first chicken using the Herb Roast Chicken and Vegetables recipe in the Betty Crocker Cookbook.

I wanted to start with the very best ingredients, so I went to a neighborhood grocery store known for its great meat department and fresh produce. Yeah, it's pricier, but I really wanted this to turn out and it seemed worth the extra $$. I was trying to figure out the difference between a fryer and roaster chicken when the woman ahead of me asked that very question. Fryer chickens, the butcher explained, tend to weigh less and are younger birds, while roasters are a little higher in fat, bigger and older. As both their names imply: fryers are best for frying and broiling; roasters are better for roasting and rotisseries. Obviously, I went for the roaster.

Another cool thing about this grocery store is that you can buy herbs and spices in whatever quantity you like. You just scoop what you want from a big canister into a little plastic bag and label it. It's another nice way to make sure you're cooking with fresh ingredients. I don't know about you, but I have a few herbs and spices that have been wedged in my spice rack for years.

The oil and herb mixture was easy enough to make, but I hesitated when I got to the "place [lemon quarters] in cavity of chicken" part. Online diary or not, there was no way I was sticking my hand up any bird's cavity—a girl has her limits. Thankfully Luke was willing to lend a hand (literally). He also helped me tie the legs to the tail (okay, he actually did it—I was pretty grossed out).

The oil mixture was thick so "brushing" it on the chicken proved a challenge but I was able to cover most of the chicken. Then I stuck the meat thermometer in the chicken as directed, and put the pan in the oven. Forty-five minutes—and many mouthwatering whiffs—later I added the potatoes, carrots and green beans (A.C. showed me how to snap the off the ends of the green beans) to the roasting pan and brushed everything with the remaining oil mixture. I took the chicken out of the oven after another 40 minutes and checked the thermometer. Aside from the green beans looking a little shrively, things appeared good, plus the juices running out of the chicken were clear which A.C. said was a good sign. After 15 minutes, Luke did the honor of carving the bird.

What can I possibly say to describe the success of this recipe? It was SO GOOD. Like the grilling dinner I made this summer, I'm shocked I made this. It's definitely going in the permanent recipe file. Here's a photo of what my chicken looked like:

Herb Roast Chicken

Not bad, eh?

Comments

EstherC724 said:

It looks like a great dish Heidi. Chicken is a really easy dish to get prepare once you get used to it so you are well on your way to becoming a good cook for the home. Keep up the great work. Way to go.

12/19/2007 5:39:23 PM

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