I don't roast whole chickens anymore, having discovered the joys of supermarket rotisserie chicken, which is great served as is, as a source of cooked meat for other dishes (chili, salad, etc.) and for the cleanest, easiest chicken stock ever (since most of the fat has rendered out during roasting, the remaining bones and skin make great tasting stock without the need of defatting). For the most part, the whole birds I can get in the market are way too big for the cooking-for-two-and-a-half that I'm used to. But I do like working my own flavors into chicken dishes and have compromised by roasting whole chicken breasts. Sort of. Mostly. My current recipe is as follows:
Roast Chicken Breast
1 whole bone-in chicken breast, 1-2 lbs.
a few sprigs of fresh herb, such as parsley, oregano, marjoram
1 t. olive oil or butter
1 medium onion
1/2 lemon, cut along the long axis
salt
Preheat oven to 375. Preheat small ovenproof frying pan on stove with oil or butter. Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Stick the herb under the skin, having opened a pocket between skin and meat with your fingers or a chopstick. Fry chicken skin side down over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes or until nicely browned. While browning, chop the onion. Remove chicken and in rendered chicken fat and oil/butter soften onion. Salt to taste. Place lemon half in the middle of the pan, on top of the onion, and place chicken, rib side down, over the lemon. Bake 15-20 minutes or until juices run clear.
The onion base will come out rich and caramelized and is delicious as is over potatoes or rice, or can be used as the base for gravy.
Yesterday's run destination: Montana Ave.
Yesterday's menu:
breakfast: biscuits from our neighbors
lunch: leftover salad, crepes
dinner: cheesy potato, hot dogs, frozen peas, yum
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