My first roasted chicken

 

Disclaimer:  There are very few pictures to go along with this recipe. There are very few pictures because I was too busy freaking about about cooking a WHOLE chicken..and having to...touch...a whole raw chicken.....and i forgot to take pictures. Oops.  Thankfully I survived! I know, I'm such a baby. I even freaked out when i was washing it and the giblets fell out in the sink.  (they were in a plastic bag - i did not know this). I wish I was kidding.

anyway. The chicken was fabulous.


The recipe is roughly based on a Williams Sonoma recipe card via bon appetit.  By roughly, I mean i used the cook time.....I substituted most of the suggested veggies for seasonal ones, and - of course- upped the garlic amount. we're going to call it...

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~~ Autumn Harvest Roast Chicken ~~ 

sure. why not.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (roughly 4 pounds)

1 large russet potato (unpeeled) scrubbed and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 large sweet potato (peeled) cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 rutabaga (not kidding) peeled,  cut into 1 inch cubes

4-5 cloves garlic

3 TBS unsalted butter (@ room temperature) + 2-4 small pats (optional)

1 1/2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 sprigs of rosemary

(1 sprig minced, 1 kept whole) 

1/4 cup vegetable broth

salt+pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400  

in a small bowl  combine butter, minced rosemary, and 2 cloves garlic (minced)

(if butter still isnt soft enough to mix, stick it in the microwave for about 20 seconds)

Place pats of butter in each corner of a large roasting dish or pan

( again, optional. but i think it adds a lot to the vegetables..)

Add russet potato, sweet potato, and rutabaga to pan 

(I learned through this experience that it's best to keep the veggies on the outside of the pan, so they don't get squished under the chicken. those veggies were really not good eats) 

Add remaining cloves of garlic (whole or halved..up to you) to vegetable mix

(omg. just trust me) 

loosen skin from chicken, spread rosemary butter mixture under skin - spread remaining mixture all over chicken and vegetables.

(can you say GROSS?! really though, it's worth it)

 place whole rosemary spring inside chicken.......carcass. *shudder* 

(again....worth it)

add salt and pepper to chicken and veggies

roast on middle rack at 400 for about 15 minutes. 

( at this point, just for laughs, i poured the vegetable broth over chicken and vegetables. We liked it.)

lower heat to 375 and roast for another 1 hour or so, until chicken reaches 165 degrees

This is literally the only proof I have that I actually made this chicken

 

and ..it looks so greasy. i promise it wasn't! I'm definitely not done tweaking this recipe, I plan on having loads of fun with it in the future - different vegetables, seasonings, who knows. BUT I am quite proud of how this one turned out- super flavorful and JUICY! My  biggest fear was that it would be super dry. not even close. what a relief! 

Tonight we are making one of my FAVORITE recipes of all time via the great Alice Waters - plus a little broccoli and quinoa - Cassimus style...

Have a wonderful evening! 

My healthy addiction..

There was a time in my life where turning a vegetable into a chip, aside from the obvious, scared the pants off of me. I mean, what a concept! I'm not sure where this intimidation stemmed from, but I'm sure it is not unlike my fear of frying things {which is nuts, considering I'm a southern gal- but that grease is hot!} and circular needles {well, thats off subject!}. The fear of the unknown..scary stuff!

LUCKILY thanks to my fearless husband, and lots of practice, I overcame my fear of transforming some of my favorite veggies into snacks. Case in point: Kale Chips. I kid you not, these will blow your everlovin' mind. Plus they're healthy! Who'da thunk. They take absolutely no time at all, so I typically throw some in while i'm cooking or before watching a show or movie, although more often than not, I never make it to the couch with more than just a few chips left. Yes, they're that good.

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~~ Kale Chips ~~

{These babies are so simple, a recipe almost seems silly..}

Ingredients

Kale leaves, however many you'd like, torn into bite-sized pieces

{note: the leaves cook down quite a bit so 1: don't be shy on the amount you decide to cook, and 2. don't be afraid to "crowd" them a bit on the pan}

Olive Oil

{ANOTHER note: I like to spray the leaves and pan with regular olive oil to prevent sticking and browning, and then drizzle just a little extra virgin over the leaves for flavor}

Salt and Pepper

{YET another note: go easy on the salt! Kale chips really soak up the stuff. I tend to lightly salt them pre-baking, and then if they need a little extra, which they usually don't, I add more when they're done} 

Lemon juice {optional- but so good}

Instructions  

Preheat oven to 350

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper

add kale in a single layer to baking sheet

drizzle with olive oil, add salt and peppr

Cook for about 12-15 minutes

{If you're using a toaster oven, like I tend to do, just 10 minutes will do}

add lemon juice, if desired

enjoy an incredibly amazing and healthy  snack! 

mmmm....perfection

Told ya it was easy. Now, go make some! Trust me..you will be an addict too! It's ok..it's a good thing ;)

oh, hi there!

Hello, and welcome to Cassimus cooks! I am Cassimus and well, I like to cook, discover new recipes, create my own recipes, and oh- eat! My super-rad husband E and I tend to spend way too much  lots of quality time together planning meals, elbow-to-elbow in the kitchen, or stuffing our faces {mostly stuffing our faces}and so I have decided to create a little space to keep track of our food-related happenings - and here we are!


Now, down to business.  Let's talk veggies! Why start there? Maybe because I have an unhealthy -no, actually i guess it's healthy - obsession with vegetables. I'm not kidding. I would rather eat a big plate of vegetables than candy..chocolate..are you freaked out now?

Lately we have been experimenting with roasting our vegetables. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that roasting is THE way to cook em!  So far we have roasted butternut squash {yes, i know its not a vegetable} brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, even kale!

We'll  start with the non-veggie first. Butternut squash. oh, how I love butternut squash. We first discovered this little fall gem our first year of marriage. since then it has graced our soups, pastas, even salads( not so awesome). Finally we decided that that's all well and good, but really it's best as a solo side dish...

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~~ Roasted Butternut Squash ~~    

Ingredients

1 medium/large butternut squash (peeled and cubed)

( we only use the skinny part for roasting, the thick part we either cut in half and cook like a sweet potato or turn into soup) 

Roughly 2 tbs rosemary (we used dried. because that what we had)

1 tbs Paprika

1 tsp Allspice

3 cloves of garlic - minced

Enough extra virgin olive oil to coat

Salt and pepper 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400

Add all ingredients to a bowl and toss to coat

Spread squash out evenly on baking sheet

Roast squash for 45 min. to an hour (turning occasionally) until crispy

Seriously...

Tomorrow we'll have yet another roasted vegetable { this time its a REAL vegetable} and some funky baked potatoes!

have a lovely Wednesday!