Roast chicken & cornbread = love

Aura’s Awesome Cornbread

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

7:14 PM

Makes 1 muffin pan (either 6 jumbo or 12 regular)

1 C yellow cornmeal

1 C cake flour

1 T baking powder

1 t salt

1/4 C chilled bacon drippings (can be replaced with lard or shortening)

1/4 C butter

1/2 C honey

3 eggs

1 cup whipping cream

Set oven to 400°.

Place paper cups in muffin tins

Combine dry ingredients

Cut in fat until mixture is grainy

In separate bowl, beat honey, eggs and cream

Add to dry ingredients and mix just until combined

Spoon into muffin tins

Bake about 20 minutes or until top is golden brown and probe comes out clean.

Serve with butter for dinner, or with whipped honey butter for dessert or breakfast.

Honey Orange Dijon Roast Chicken

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

5:03 PM

As tender, juicy & delicious as a rotisserie chicken.  I promise.

Brine:

1 quart apple cider

1 quart water

2 bay leaves

12 black pepper corns

1 handful dried herb blend

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup kosher salt

Bring all items to boil in large stock pot.

Remove from heat and add 4 cups ice cubes

When cool (room temperature) place chicken in pot, cover and refrigerate for at least  1 hour. All day is fine.

When ready to cook, rinse & pat dry chicken.  Discard brine.

Bird Butter:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter at room temperature

2 T dried herbs or 1 handful fresh herbs

1-2 T Olive oil

Place butter and herbs in food processor, start and when butter is well beaten, slowly pour in oil until butter is creamy and moves with blades. Place in refrigerator for a few minutes (can be made ahead, just remove from refrigerator for 20 minutes before using .)

Basting Glaze:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1 minced shallot

1 orange

1/2 C honey

1/2 C Dijon mustard

In sauce pan on medium low heat, melt butter.  Add shallot and cook until aroma wafts upward.  Add the zest and juice of orange.  Whisk in honey and mustard. Simmer until thickened, then remove from heat to cool.

2 red, orange or yellow peppers

2 small Granny Smith apples

1 large sweet onion

3 celery sticks

3 carrots

Preheat oven to 425°

Roughly chop vegetables and place in roasting pan. Toss with olive oil and kosher salt.

Slide fingers gently under skin on breasts and thighs of chicken to separate.  Push Bird Butter under skin and rub over and inside of chicken. Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and cracked black pepper.  Place juiced orange halves from glaze into cavity. Truss chicken with kitchen twine and place (breast side up) on vegetables in roasting pan. Place in oven for 20 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350°.

Remove pan from oven and spoon glaze over chicken. Flip chicken to expose back and spoon over glaze. Add one quart of chicken stock and return to oven for 20 minutes.

Flip bird again, basting lightly with pan drippings. Return to oven for 15-20 minutes or until thermometer inserted in thigh registers 160°. Remove from pan and rest.

Remove vegetables from pan. Separate fat from top of pan drippings.

In sauce pan over medium heat, whisk 2 T fat into 2 T flour.  When golden and nutty smelling, add into roasting pan and whisk thoroughly to make gravy.

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