Easy Roast Chicken

One of my favorite recipes to use for home comes from the Cook's Illustrated magazine.  The secret to this awesome roasted chicken is to soak the whole chicken in a salt bath of 2 cups of salt to 2 quarts of water for an hour.  As salt is wont to do, it will help the chicken retain moisture and make for a super juicy bird with an awesomely crispy skin.

The first step (outside of soaking the chicken) is to of course flavor the meat a bit by stuffing the chicken cavity with quartered lemons and peeled garlic cloves.  Very simple and yet very effective.

Next, smear or brush or coat a bit of softened butter on the skin and season with salt and pepper.  This will help to crisp the skin during the roasting process and pop the flavors.  After you do this, place the chicken on a v-rack, breast side down, in the oven to roast for about 30 - 40 minutes at about 375 degrees.

After the 40 minutes, flip the bird over so the breast side is up and place back into the oven until the thigh reaches a temperature of 165 degrees.

Set the bird on a plate and let set for 5 - 10 minutes.  While the chicken cools, splash some chicken broth in the roasting pan and place on the burners on med - high heat.  Scrape the bottom of the pan as it softens.  Allow to come to a boil and reduce to about 1/2 cup.  Add the juices from the settling chicken.

While the sauce is reducing, quarter the chicken.  Place the chicken back into the roasting pan and place under the broiler until skin is crisp.

Take the sauce of the heat and add the juice of 1/2 lemon and 1/2 cup chopped parsley.  Pour over the quartered chicken.

Amazingly easy and super good roast chicken that will really impress your family.

Kiss my grits!

I keep meaning to try this place called Nick Ryan's on Jefferson Street and today I finally did. After bringing my turkey soup (yay Christmas leftovers!) for lunch, it didn't take much arm twisting for my co-worker to convince me that going out to lunch was a great idea.

So, we were headed over to Stella's so I could get some Weisenberger cheese grits and a BLT. But when we walked past Nick Ryan's and realized the cold was keeping everybody away, we decided to go on in. Which turned out to be a wonderful idea

I spent 5 minutes choosing between the Turkey and Applewood Smoked Bacon Sandwich, the Crab Cake, and the Shrimp and Grits. I decided the sandwich was out since I wanted something warm and I'd had a crab cake earlier in the weekend. So, I chose the Shrimp and Grits. It's got grits. Can't go wrong with grits.

For $11, I was initially disappointed by the size of the serving - which while smaller than I had expected, also wasn't as small as I have seen before - and immediately thought "this had better be awesome". And it was.

The grits are also Weisenberger Mill which means they started out with good ingredients. But whatever magic they performed made them better than any other grits I'd eaten before. They were extremely creamy and melted in my mouth.
When you add the seafood velouté sauce and the saltiness of the bacon, it was like heaven. Creamy grits, wonderful roux, tasty bacon. A melodious mouthful of overtones set against a harmonious blending of flavors.

Now for the shrimp. It was okay. It was not over cooked. It was not undercooked. It wasn't rubbery. It wasn't bland. It was okay. Without them the dish would have not been Shrimp and Grits. But, other than that they did not add much to the meal. The only detracting note they brought was the size of the tails. I like to chew on the tails, especially when the shrimp is not separate from the rest of the ingredients. Who want grits on their finger while they pick out shells? But these tails were as big as the meat of the shrimp. Made for awkward eating.

One other positive note on my dish was the green beans. I wasn't expecting them and was a little put off by their placement on top of my grits, but they ended up working. They were cooked perfectly and went well with the velouté.

In all, the meal was worth the $11. The service was not great. But it also was not bad. The waiter was very bland. But he was prompt and our order was correct. I do wish they would get some sweet tea though. I can't stand Pepsi and they only had unsweetened tea. What kind of local Kentucky restaurant doesn't have sweet tea?!? Sacrilege!

I also opted for dessert since my co-worker had already decided to treat herself. There was no dessert menu, but the waiter knew them all and began his recitation. Right off the bat I decided upon a Key Lime Cheesecake.



The cheesecake itself was Scrumdiddlyumptious. Not too tangy and tart enough to let you know there's key lines in there. The graham cracker crust also made an appearance which it so often neglects to do. I could have done without the raspberry gel decorations though. The exceptional sweetness seemed to overwhelm the cheesecake and drown out the lime flavors.

I am now making plans to return and try the Crab Cake which seems to be nothing but crab, spices, and crust - no fillers.

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Location:Jefferson Street, Lexington, Kentucky