For Lydia's third roast chicken, I wanted a recipe that involved either turning the chicken, or playing with oven temperature. I decided to go with Mark Bittman's "Minimalist's Simplest Roast Chicken" recipe, which calls for placing an oiled chicken in a heated cast-iron skillet, roasting the chicken at 500 degrees, then turning the oven down to 350 degrees. Putting the chicken in a heated pan starts the legs cooking before the breast, and lowering the heat then prevents the breast from overcooking.
The problem: Lydia didn't have a cast-iron skillet, or any other skillet that you can put in the oven. And a roasting pan wasn't going to conduct the same amount of heat. I was going to start searching for another recipe, but then Lydia, dedicated project-er that she is, cheerfully volunteered to buy one. (Which is good, because recipe #4 is going to require a cast-iron skillet, too. It's also good because cast-iron skillets are wonderful things to have.)
Here is her bounty, a 12-inch Lodge:
Congratulations on the newest addition to your kitchen, Lydia! May you get years and years of enjoyment out of it. A cast-iron skillet is excellent, as my brother pointed out, for making panini ... or, as a colleague pointed out, for bashing a mouse with it and killing it dead.
Mandatory side dishes this time: green beans, again (using a different method than the sauteeing of the first project); and roasted potatoes, via the parboil-then-roast method suggested by my brother Brian. I made these recently and they were incredible -- they turned out almost like big, crispy + fluffy french fries. It probably did not hurt that I followed his instructions and used bacon fat. But then, how many things are ruined by adding bacon fat? Um, none, that's how many.
And now, on to the project.
Roast Chicken #1: Thomas Keller
Ed. note: Good girl!
Ed note: I did not see any of these texts until this point, as I was out doing karaoke for a friend's birthday. My version of Counting Crows' "Mr. Jones" killed. Anyway, here I saw the texts and suggested she cut into the thigh to see if the juices ran clear.
Ed. note: Maybe...
Ed note: I suggested that next time she blanche instead of parboil. Me, I usually dispense with the blanching and just saute the hell out of mine, steaming them a bit at the end... but then I like mine a little burned, Chinese-style.
So there you have it. New cast-iron skillet, "best so far" chicken, amazing potatoes! Unfortunately, during the process I couldn't help Lydia much with whether the chicken was done or not, as I couldn't tell from the pictures -- it looked good to me, but hard to say. I'm going to guess that opening the oven door frequently may have thrown the cooking off a little. But I don't really mind if the breast meat is a touch pink.
I don't have a recipe for chicken salad; I just add mayo, maybe some pickles or celery, with possible additions of walnuts, apple, raisins, even a little salad dressing. (Usually just mayo if that's all I've got. I still dig it.) I think this is just one of those things you have to do a few times, sans recipe, until you figure out what proportions you like -- it's certainly something my mom had me make when I was younger, and I didn't even realize I was learning a skill. But I'll try looking for a recipe anyway. My question to you: What do you like to add when you make chicken salad?
Coming up next time: Yes, you guessed it, I'll be throwing the Zuni Cafe roast chicken with bread salad at Lydia. Probably won't add sides at all, unless any of you can think of some (besides potatoes and green beans) that would go well with that. But I think the bread salad should be plenty. And I may even make it alongside her, just because I love it so much.
