Weeknight Indulgence - Roasted Chicken With Orange Tarragon Butter

Me and Chicken, we've got a complicated relationship going. Arguably America's favorite meat, Chicken has just never done it for me. I know, I know, you don't agree - I've heard it all before - but admit it: Chicken needs embellishment to be interesting. Sure, you can serve it slathered in barbecue sauce or bread and fry it, but no one, no one, is going bonkers for a plain old Chicken Breast. And please, don't even think about preparing it skinless (why!?). No matter how good a cook you are, you may as well ask me to gnaw on a piece of cardboard. Really, no thanks. 

In summary, my chief complaint about Chicken is this: on its own, it is just not a particularly flavorful meat. If you don't agree, compare Steak or Lamb, meats that require minimal enhancement to be interesting. Just a little Salt and Pepper and you're good to go. But not Chicken - Chicken needs a little more zhushing. But if there's a silver lining to Chicken's woeful blank slate status, it's that it does take flavor exceptionally well, and when seasoned nicely and prepared with care, it can really be something special. 

Roasted Chicken With Orange Tarragon Butter, Photo: NK 

Today's easy and surprisingly indulgent weeknight dinner is an excellent example of Chicken at its finest. Flavored with a bright, tangy Orange Juice and Zest combined herbaceous notes from the Tarragon ( a favorite herb of mine that has a twinge of Licorice in its scent) it's tasty but understated.

Roasted whole Chicken also incorporates my two other rules for great Chicken:  if you prepare it bone-in, it will always be juicier. The second rule is to leave the skin on, because, hello, that's the good stuff. Even if you take it off prior to eating (why?!!) cooking Chicken with the skin on will make for a moister, more delcious bird. 

Note: This dish has a longer prep time than our normal weeknight meals - it will take about 10 minutes to prepare and an hour and a half to cook, plus ten minutes to rest. You will, however, find that if you can start early enough, the recipe is practically effortless. Barely any prep time at all - maybe five minutes, tops! The Orange Tarragon Butter that makes this recipe so decadent could certainly be made ahead, providing you build in some time to bring it to room temperature. 


Easy Orange Tarragon Roasted Chicken
Serves 3-4 adults 

Orange Tarragon Butter, Photo; NK

Ingredients: 
One 4.5 to 6 Pound Roasted Chicken, giblets removed and brought to room temperature
3 Tablespoons Salted Butter, room temperature
1 small Yellow or White Onion, halved 
1 large Navel Orange, Zested and halved
1 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Tarragon plus a few sprigs for garnish
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

Method:
Preheat the oven to 425 with the rack in the middle.

Bring Chicken to room temperature by letting it sit out about a half an hour.

Mix the Butter and Tarragon together in a small bowl. Add all the Orange Zest and the juice of half the Orange. Mix again until well incorporated. It's ok if some of the Orange Juice remains separated.

Stuff the Chicken's cavity with the two Onion Halves and/or the other unjuiced half of the Orange. Place the bird in a roasting pan. 

Season the bird liberally with Kosher Salt and Black Pepper. Next, cut a hole into the skin just above the neck, so that you create a pocket between the skin and bird. Carefully pull the skin up from the body as you stuff it with some of the Orange Tarragon Butter, smooshing it around as best you can. 
Finish by coating the outside of the bird with all the remaining Flavored butter. 

Place in the oven on the middle rack and roast for about an hour and 20 minutes (for a 4.25 lb bird) to an hour and a half (for a large bird), basting several times with the pan juices. Place the Chicken on a platter and pour the pan juices over it. Serve with orange slices (from the second half of the Orange) and sprigs of fresh Tarragon. 

Enjoy! 

Bistro Break - NY Strip With Bearnaise Butter & Haricot Vert

Let's talk steak. 

Today's recipe for this delicious cut of New York Strip is lightly adapted from Food & Wine Magazine's wonderful feature on NYC's newest French Restaurants. Included is Andrew Carmellini's casual bistro, Lafayette, which serves up this Strip Steak with Bearnaise Butter on the menu. Carmellini is amazingly talented and I've been following him ever since his days at A Voce. He also happens to be one of my inner circle of chef "boyfriends" :)

NY Strip With Bearnaise Butter & Haricot Vert, Photo: NK

I don't opt for strip too often because I am most partial to Ribeye. Skirt and Flank are my go-tos for everyday meals, but when I do reach for Strip, I am reminded that it really is delicious for Bistro-inspired meals (Edge of Eye and Hanger are excellent choices when you're looking for flavorful budget cuts).

For me, New York Strip is the better half of the Porterhouse (Filet comprises the other side of my favorite super-splurge cut). 

Medium Rare! Photo: NK

Since I was already going to be slathering in my steak in butter, I kept the rest of the plate modest with sauteed Haricot Verts with Shaved Rainbow Carrots. My changes to Carmellini's recipe were minor and mainly driven by necessity (AKA: the ingredients I had or didn't have on hand such as Tarragon Vinegar). The results were TO DIE... I don't know if I just got a particularly great cut of meat or whether the cook time was spot on but wow....

One thing I must insist you do:

Get yourself a good cast iron skillet. They are super affordable and cook meat, fish, even eggs, amazingly well. The secret is that cast iron evenly distributes heat. Our favorite brand is Lodge (9 or 10 inch is a great size to choose). Trust me, you will not regret it.

NOW...

Let me show you what Medium Rare is supposed to look like (pictured right).

And here's how you do it. Keep reading for the Bearnaise Butter recipe! 


Cooking a perfect New York Strip (for 2) is really simple:

What you need:
2 8-10 Ounce NY Strip Steaks, Kosher Salt, Pepper, and 1 Tablespoon Canola Oil

What to do: 
Season Steak on either side with Kosher Salt and Pepper.
Add the Oil to the pan and heat over medium-high flame.
Cook 3-4 minutes per side in a good, cast iron skillet.
Allow to sit uncovered for 5 minutes.
Spread with Bearnaise Butter* (at room temp) and serve!

Bearnaise Butter (Makes enough for up to 4 people)
Lightly Adapted From Food & Wine / Andrew Carmellini

Ingredients:
1/4 Cup Finely Minced Shallots
1/4 Cup Dry White Wine (we used Sauvignon Blanc)
1 1/2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
4 Ounces or 1 Stick Unsalted European Butter (such as Lurpak) at room temperature
1/4 Cup Minced Tarragon
Kosher Salt
Pepper

Method:
Divide the Minced Tarragon in half and drop half of it into a small bowl with the Vinegar. Allow to steep for at least 15 minutes. 

In another bowl, mash the Butter Up. Add the remaining Tarragon, Shallots, Wine, Tarragon and Vinegar mixture and combine. Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper and adjust as needed. 

You can utilize the Bearnaise Butter at room temperature or store it for future use rolled in Saran Wrap and kept in the freezer. Bring to room temperature before using. 

Spread Bearnaise Butter on Steaks before serving. Enjoy!

The Imagist Plate - Butter Lettuce Salad with Tarragon and Citrus-Honey Vinaigrette

This is Just to Say


I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold


-William Carlos Williams

Not surprisingly, it hasn’t taken long to relate my love of food with one of my aforementioned “other interests,” in this case, poetry. So I am not just a neurotic, but a nerdy neurotic - a total English Lit junky. My idea of a good time in college was to drink too much at a party and return home and read some T.S. Eliot verse online and cry. What can I say? He appeals to my sometimes stark view of life and my constant struggle between optimism and pessimism. Nerd-dom confirmed.

Monday was a great day. I received an unexpected complimentary cookbook from Food and Wine  in the mail. This compilation is, as my best friend would say, “amazeballs” because it combines a handful of the top recipes from each of the 25 cookbooks voted best this year. I turned straight to the Eric Ripert section. He’s the chef and owner of Le Bernardin - one of my personal favorites. He’s talented, French, and also, real cute.

I decided to try the salad recipe detailed below and ran out to the store for its simple ingredients. Come Tuesday, while assembling this beautiful salad as a complement to my take on Rao’s Lemon Sole, my nerd days at college came rushing back. I found myself muttering William Carlos Williams' verse, but quietly, so the husband would not be alarmed. The Imagist movement in poetry has always been a favorite of mine. I love its stripped down language and use of simple, universal images to convey the essence of a concrete thing or conjure a collective emotion. It struck me that I was making a dish that captured the essence of lettuce - a composition that highlights, in a quiet way, with just a few elements, what’s wonderful and even elegant about the most unassuming veggie – a humble head of lettuce. Try it and check out its wow factor for yourself:

Butter Lettuce Salad with Tarragon and Citrus-Honey Vinaigrette

-from Eric Ripert’s Cookbook, Avec Eric
Serves 4 - 6

Total Time – 10 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 heads butter lettuce (also known as Boston lettuce or Bibb lettuce)
• 1/2 cup cut fresh tarragon leaves

Method: Whisk the lemon zest and juice, lime zest and juice, honey, and mustard in a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the canola oil while whisking constantly until completely emulsified.

Trim off the core from each head of lettuce and separate the leaves, discarding the tough outer leaves. Rinse the lettuce leaves in a bowl of cold water and spin dry. Place the lettuce leaves in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the tarragon leaves and gently toss the lettuce with enough vinaigrette to coat lightly.

Stack the lettuce leaves on 4 plates, starting each stack with the large outer leaves on the bottom and ending with the small inner leaves on top. Serve immediately.