We got an ice cream maker attachment for our Kitchen Aid. We can make fresh fruit sorbets easier than ever now! And Ice cream! And of course my first try today is Gelato: a simple Vanilla Bean. I can’t wait to see if it turns out! I will let you know whether or not it does.
My nephew is trying new things. Last week he discovered that he likes pesto, so tonight for dinner I am going to make a basil pesto (with almonds instead of pine nuts because that is what I have here) to mix with pasta and chicken. It is so fun to watch Travis eat these foods that are so new to him! Yesterday he had edamame (soy beans) and said they weren’t bad at all!
It is such a treat to get to spend these weeks with him. It is the only true regret of my past career: I missed so many things and days in his life. Now of course we still miss tons of family stuff throughout the year since we are still new at the whole restaurant business thing, but we get to spend real time with him and it is so fabulous!
We ate in this weekend and neither of us cooked much. I roasted a couple of chickens (cooking is an interesting and exhausting endeavor with a broken ankle, even something as simple as roasting chicken!) and it reminds me that I should pass on the rub I use because it is SO GOOD! So here it is, easier than almost anything you can make for dinner, as long as you have time to cook it:
A handful of Salt
A handful of Pepper
A handful of Smoked Paprika (I used bitter sweet, but sweet or hot or mixed is fine)
A handful of Brown Sugar
Mix this all up together in a bowl.
Pull the neck and gizzard out of the bird and cook it for your dog, or your neighbor’s dog if you aren’t into eating them yourself.
Loosen the skin of the bird all over by sliding your hand under it and using your fingers to separate the skin from the flesh, trying not to tear it.
Rub the bird in and out, flesh and skin, with some olive oil.
Rub the bird all over with the spice rub, flesh and skin, the cavity, the wing tips and all.
Throw it onto a roasting rack and into a 325 degree oven (mine is set on ‘convect roast’) and cook it til it’s done. Turn the pan after about a half an hour. Depending on the size of the bird, it will take an hour or so to cook. Always go by internal temp, not time…start checking it at 45 minutes.
I cook mine breast side down because I would rather have the juciest breast possible over crisp skin. You could turn the actual bird half way through, but that is a bother, and we aren’t supposed to be eating the skin, anyway…though this rub makes the rest of the skin fantastic!
Here is the variation: Open a can of beer and pour the top 1/4th off. Fill it back up with rum! Put the open can into the chicken, being careful to keep it balanced so it doesn’t fall over. Cook it in the oven or on the grill, either way it is perfection!
Don’t worry it is NOT too salty! It is SO good this way, I promise. Try it and let me know what you think.
