Lemon-Roasted Chicken
Cutting Up a Chicken
Popover Chicken with Mushroom Sauce


Lemon-Roasted Chicken

The lemons in this chicken keep it moist while roasting and eliminate the
need for basting. It doesnt get any easier than this!

Makes 6 servings

1- 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 lb. chicken
freshly ground black pepper
sea or kosher salt
2 whole lemons
several sprigs of fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Wash the chicken thoroughly in cold
water, both inside and out. Remove all the bits of loose fat. Let the
chicken sit for about 10 minutes, to drain the water out of its cavity.
Dry it well all over with paper towels. Make a mixture of sea or kosher
salt and freshly ground black pepper in a small bowl. Season the chicken
liberally inside and out with this mixture. Rinse the lemons in cold water
and dry them off with a paper towel. Soften them by gently pressing them
between the palms of your hands, rolling them back and forth a few times.
Perforate them in at least 20 places with a trussing needle. Put both
lemons, the thyme and garlic in the chicken's cavity. Close up the opening
by pinning it with the trussing needle.

Run a string from one leg to the other, tying it at both knuckle ends.
Don't pull the legs together tightly; leave them in their natural
position. The chicken swells while it cooks and the string is only to keep
the thighs from spreading and stretching and splitting the skin at the
inner folds. Put the chicken face down on a rack in a roasting pan. Do not
add cooking fat of any kind. This bird is self-basting, so dont worry that
it will stick to the pan. Place it in the upper third of the preheated
oven. After 25-30 minutes, turn the chicken so the breast faces up. Be
careful not to break the skin. If it is kept intact, the chicken will
swell like a balloon. Cook for another 40 minutes, then turn up the heat
to 400 degrees F. and cook for an additional 30 minutes. There is no need
to turn the chicken again. Cut the string and remove the lemons, thyme and
garlic from the chicken and serve the bird with all the juices that run
out, because they are perfectly delicious!

Wine Tip: This lemony chicken is sensational with its match a citrusy
Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. If youd rather drink Italian, try a
Tocai Friulano from the Friuli region.

Chef June Jacobs, CCP
Feastivals Cooks at Home
http://www.feastivals.com/cookbook.asp



Cutting Up a Chicken:

You can purchase an already cut-up chicken in the market, but I usually
cut them up myself because I prefer my chicken cut into ten (thats right,
10!) pieces. I find the breast pieces much too large to cook evenly with
the rest of the chicken, and also too large for most people to eat.

Youll need a sharp boning knife (a slender, flexible concave blade) and a
pair of sharp poultry shears to make the task easy. I first use the shears
to remove the wing tips. Next, I use the boning knife to make a
perpendicular cut just below the breastbone. Go all the way to the
skeleton of the chicken, then turn the knife away from you (still in the
chicken) and slide the knife between bone and meat all the way up to the
tips of the wishbone. The next step is to remove the leg, thigh and back
sections from the bird. Using your boning knife, make some slashes from
the groin area around the tip of the breast section on both sides. Bend
the backbone back, and youll just need to use your knife a little to
detach the whole lower half of the chicken. At this point, you can choose
to cut the back in half, but I find that makes the thigh section too
large. I prefer to cut the back as its own piece by running the knife
around the top of each thigh bone.

Break the leg section at the knee by bending the two pieces with your
hands. Youll then see where to insert the knife to separate the drumstick
from the thigh. You now have six pieces of chicken. Use the poultry shears
now, to cut the remaining breast in half. Also cut straight up the
backbone, dividing the upper half of the chicken in two. Cut the remaining
breast sections in two, diagonally across each. The wing will be part of
each top piece and you have ten fairly evenly sized pieces of chicken!




Popover Chicken

The crispy topping on this lovely entrie will remind you of popovers --
hence,
the name of the dish!

Makes 4 to 6 servings

one 3-pound chicken cut into 10 pieces
3/4 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 large eggs
|1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly chopped tarragon
1 additional tablespoon vegetable oil

Mushroom Sauce:

12 ounces mixed domestic and wild mushrooms, sliced (choose chanterelles,
chpes,
shiitake, portabello, cremini)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup heavy cream or crhme franche
sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2-quart casserole. Be sure your
chicken pieces are well dried. Mix 3/4 teaspoon salt and pepper together
in a small bowl, and rub a small amount on each piece. Heat the oil in a
sauti pan large enough to hold all the pieces in a single layer. Brown the
chicken on all sides. Blot each piece on paper towel, and place in the
prepared casserole. Combine eggs, milk, flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt and
beat with an electric mixer for 1 1/2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon oil and
tarragon. Beat only 30 seconds more. (DO NOT over-beat!) Pour this
mixture over the chicken. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Sauti mushrooms in the vegetable oil until
they are well browned and their moisture has evaporated. Add chicken stock
and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 8 minutes.
Remove lid and raise heat to reduce liquid in pan to about 5 tablespoons.
Reduce heat and add 1/3 cup crhme franche. DO NOT BOIL. Taste the sauce
and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve this dish within 10 minutes after
removing from the oven so the topping will still be puffy. Pass the
Mushroom Sauce in a sauceboat on the side.

Wine Tip: Serve a not-too-oaky (California) Chardonnay with this
delicately
flavored dish.



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