Sunday's Dinner: Roast Chicken

Every time I hear "roast chicken" I imagine, in the movie version, Frodo and Sam talking about needing herbed salts "just in case," even though they're lost in the middle of Mordor...

My all-time favorite dish to make, the one that always comes out perfect, and the one that always taste great, is my roast chicken. I use Jamie Oliver's recipe, and it's fantastic. I always use a whole chicken from Luginbill Farms, and they are always so tasty--I assume because they're free of all those gross hormones & antibiotics.

Last night, though, I did make one revision. I added turnips with the potatoes ("boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew"). Those turnips were mind-blowing, so buttery and crunchy. I'm definitely going to add those little angels every time I make this dish from now on.

Sadly, the broccoli was just there for some green. We should have had a salad instead. Because the broccoli just didn't stand up to the richness of the chicken, potatoes, and turnips.

~

While the chicken was roasting I couldn't stop craving Fall. Even though it was 70 outside (with for August in Ohio is pretty darn good!) I wish it was even cooler and that the leaves were turning. I'm ready for my favorite season and the hearty dishes that come with it.

Our chicken was our last meal of summer, the one before we meet our students and head into a new academic year.

And what's perfect about roasting a whole chicken on Sundays is that we have "cook-ahead" leftovers to last us most of the week. (Chicken salad sandwiches, cooked chicken for quesadillas, chicken to throw in with pasta and pesto, etc.--quick home-made meals!) Because we teach late, have evening student conferences or a night yoga class, we try to do two "cook-aheads" a week so we avoid eating carry-out or dinner at a restaurant. It's all about saving money and time when the semester starts. This cook-ahead ritual has worked really well for the past two years. And it's allowed us to more frequently visit fine dining restaurants we love, such as Revolver.

I guarantee more cook-ahead recipes to follow. Stay tuned.

For now, good luck to all those starting school!

Author's Note: The roasted whole chicken was golden and gorgeous. I'm sorry my phone's camera didn't accentuate its beauty.