Jeffrey's Roast Chicken

Right now I can hear a seagull outside. Is that possible? I am not aware of the flight patterns of these birds and don't understand why they would come North so early. Perhaps I am imagining their calls but it suddenly made me REALLY excited for the summer. This is the month when everyone begins making plans. Already my calendar is filling up with ideas for camping trips, kayaking, spring-time brunches and  gardening excursions. 

Sadly, the weather got ridiculously cold this week with no signs of breaking. Every year I forget just how brutal the month of March can be; a real blue-baller, if you will. At least I am able to treat this time like the final phase of indoor whiskey nights, of cooking with lots of bacon fat and binging on baked goods. Therefore I turn to a different bird, something I cherish in winter, a more domesticated and far over-eaten friend: the chicken.

I have what feels like a million posts to put up, but in my own food meritocracy I felt this meal definitely deserved to be posted first. Despite the fact that it was whipped up last night, no blog plotting involved, this was definitely the shining meal from my week. 

If you don't know who Jeffrey is, then you clearly haven't read as much of the Barefoot Contessa as me. Jeffrey is Ina's adorable and hard-working husband who she makes her simple and delicious meals for. His favorite meal is roast chicken, as she tends to say again and again, and in her book How Easy is That this is simply called Jeffrey's Roast Chicken.

I was making this meal for a friend with celiacs, so I didn't make the gravy that accompanies the roast (it has flour in it). Instead, I added in my own starches and made another Ina recipe, roasted tomatoes with pesto. This dish is BANGIN'. Tastes of summer for sure. Part of the reason for this is that last fall, after the amazing harvest of basil from our garden and our CSA, I made a huge amount of pesto and froze it in ice-cube trays. This is a really GREAT idea. The pesto tastes just as good and fresh as when you first made it, and it bring delicious flavor to those wintery months.

Jeffrey's Roast Chicken
(from How Easy is That?)


3-4 lb roasting chicken
2 lemons
3 tbs olive oil
2 spanish onions
1 garlic clove halved
1 tbs unsalted butter
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 deg.

First up, pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. This allows the skin to get nice and crispy...same as with searing. cut the lemons into quarters and put two quarters, the garlic and a bunch of salt and pepper into the chicken's cavity. Now tie the legs together with kitchen string, crossing them so that the lemon stuff stays inside. toss the remaining lemons, thickly sliced onions and 1 tbs of olive oil in a bowl with salt and pepper, and pour around the chicken. put the remaining olive oil on top of the chicken and rub in. Place the butter above the thighs.

If you want some nice starches, I cut up a half sweet potato, three carrots and three red potatoes and tossed them in with the lemons before placing around the chicken. Roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes, checking it and basting everything on occasion.

Roasted Tomatoes

3-4 tomatoes
3-4 tbs of nice pesto
some cheddar cheese

This is super easy. Also at 425, cut the 'maters thickly and place on a baking sheet. bake for 10 minutes, then take out and smear with pesto. I added some cheddar cheese on top too (no too much!) and bake for another 10 minutes. VOILA!

xox