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Friday, November 12, 2010

FFWD: Chicken for Les Parreseux


I have never made a whole roasted chicken before. I have made roasted turkey once for Thanksgiving, and have always had turkey for Thanksgiving that other people have made. I am never really a big fan of it though. It doesn't have a lot of taste and I ended up eating a lot more side dishes than the actual turkey :).

So when Laurie posted the Chicken for Les Parreseux as one of the 8 recipes to be voted for November menu, I did not vote for it. Roasted turkey, roasted chicken, they are both birds I figured, so if one is not very tasty, the other wouldn't be either. See how my method of deduction/conclusion went? :)

But alas, people voted for this one, maybe because November is Thanksgiving month? And so I thought, I might as well make it.

There is only 2 of us in the house, so I opted for getting a smaller chicken.

The good thing about a smaller bird is that it fits nice and snugly in my 5 qt Dutch oven.

Another good thing about getting a young chicken is the meat will be more tender.

I followed Dorie's instruction of roasting the chicken first for 40 minutes. Then added the vegetables.

As you can see, I did not follow her instruction of using just a couple of carrots and potatoes. Instead, I added a boatload of them. I think in total I used 8 carrots and 2 handful of fingerling potatoes.







I added dried rosemary and thyme all over the chicken, giving it a lot of seasoning. Once the chicken and veggies finished roasting, I made pan sauce by adding 2 cups of water and a teaspoon of chicken broth and scraping off all the burnt bits in the dutch oven. There wasn't any liquid left from the chicken, so I figured the chicken broth would be a good idea. Then I just let the liquid boil until it's slightly reduced.


You can see the potato gratin in the above picture. The tart on the left is Tart M....... which I will blog about when it comes to menu rotation.

Tasting impression:
This is so good! The chicken is very tasty and the sauce is delicious. The veggies goes along well with it and they are nice and soft. I am changing my mind now about roasted birds - well, at least roasted chicken. I am so going to make this again.

15 comments:

  1. Your very first roasted chicken looks super! The rosemary leaves look so pretty on it. What a wonderful meal!

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  2. Wow this looks like such a great dinner. All these great recipes in one sitting. The chicken looked lovely and all the herbs on the top add so much to the taste and the picture. Thanks for the post it was great...B

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  3. We added more carrots and potatoes as well and I got a request to add even more the next time. Delicious looking meal

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  4. I made this too, and loved it. I haven't made the potatoes yet, but they also sound great.
    http://weekendviands.blogspot.com/2010/11/roast-chicken-for-les-paresseux-french.html
    MRIE

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  5. Your chicken is beautiful and looks so delicious! You have created a wonderful meal and, isn't if fun when a meal turns out so wonderfully when done for the 1st time...makes you want to do it again!

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  6. Your chicken is beautiful - I'm so glad you went ahead and made it! :)

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  7. Wow, your DG chicken turned out beautifully...it looks like the PERFECT autumn dinner.

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  8. Your chicken is gorgeous ... that whole dinner looks divine!

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  9. Wow, your entire meal was so great! Your chicken looks especially good with the herbs over. Love the first photo!

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  10. welcome to the delicious world of roast chicken :) i made the chicken this week too. your fingerling potatoes look so yummy i wish i could reach through this screen to munch on one.

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  11. That's a gorgeous bird! I want more of that garlic- yum!

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  12. Wow for your first roast bird it looks fabulous! I love all the spices on top and all the yummy veges surrounding it! I really loved this chicken too! I made the PG this week and it's a winner !!

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  13. Looks quite yummy! What a great success for your first roast bird! Nice job.

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  14. I made this too and will post next Friday. As you did, I added more vegetables, herbs and cheated a bit by browning the bottom and top of the chicken. It was good and we really enjoy a roasted chicken - there are so many variations. Good Job!

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