SaltAir

A Home in a Shell - Part 2

Warm the Home

Brian was my first love, and in my cute cottage on the waterfront, he showed me the beauty of a roasted chicken. I want to remind you that I was 16. I only knew Cuban chicken dishes from my family’s kitchen. These mostly consisted of stews and my mothers infamous grilled chix. A classic roasted chicken just wasn't in our repertoire. I will get back to the roasted chicken. Please bare with me for a moment.

Brian was passionate about food. I think he got it from his pops Charlie. Charlie is a hunter, world class fisherman, and an excellent cook. If Charlie invited me over for dinner, I would be there. His love and passion for food inspired me & his style opened my mind to a whole new culinary world. He has a jolly Santa- like face, and a masculine vibe I so craved as a fatherless young woman. It was a safe feeling. He fed me.

Charlie loved great food and feeding people, and he passed this passion on to his son Brian. B would cook for me often. He taught me so much in the kitchen. He popped my “breakfast sandwich” cherry. He would smear the mayo on one side of the bread, and cheese on the other; Toast it like that. Salt the tomato and be tender with the egg. Choosy with the bread, and meticulous on doing the whole thing correct. I don't think I've enjoyed a sandwich as much as I did with him. I’m guilty of romanticizing these memories but see no harm in it when it comes to food. This way of being is so much of who I am. I celebrate life like this…

Brian felt past his lifetime. We would borrow his grandma's sick Cadillac, dress up, and we would go to wonderful restaurants. These food adventure dates were an inception of a fresh found culinary curiosity for me. So you see, these food memories are a thing for me. These are sometimes the foods I crave. The memories inspire me.

Warm your soul and home with my high-heat method of a roasted chicken. I’ve been making a roasted chicken for years now, and this is my favorite method to prepare it. Because we are blasting it with heat, it cooks quickly, and comes out oh so juicy. It goes great with my cornbread recipe. Maybe a fresh salad to go with. Make this chicken dish for someone you love.  Make it with love like that, and you are sure to leave a memory mark on a heart. RIP Brian Kluck. So many years have passed, and yet I will always remember. Long live the perfect Roasted Chicken kluck kluck.

Warm the Home Whole Roast Chicken with Jus

INGREDIENTS

One whole chicken
(save the giblets for bone broth )
One lemon, sliced in quarters
One onion, sliced in quarters
2 sprigs of rosemary, minced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme minced
6 or more garlic cloves, minced
1/2 stick of unsalted butter, room temp

2 Tablespoons Adobo, Frontier Brand 1/2 tsp salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1 lb of fingerling potatoes, whole or cut to a consistent size (~1 inch ish )

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
In a small bowl, add rosemary, thyme, garlic, butter, half of the adobo and salt. Make a compound butter by mixing the ingredients well. Pat dry your bird. Place the bird breast side up and gently remove the skin/ fascia away from the bird using your fingers. Be gentle to not rip the skin. You want to also work into the thighs and legs.
Divide the compound butter throughout the bird sections, under the skin. Once you have distributed it throughout, massage the butter under the skin from the top. With any little butter -herb scraps, place into the bird's cavity. Season the entire bird with the remaining adobo, salt, and pepper.
Stuff the cavity with the lemons and onion. Cross the bird legs, and tie off with kitchen twine. Fold back the wings under the bird. Make a nest for the bird surrounding it with the potatoes. Liberally drizzle the potatoes and bird with olive oil. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.

Place the bird in the oven and roast for 15 minutes at 500 degrees F. Drop the temp down to 400 degrees, and start checking for doneness after 35 minutes. Move around the potatoes after 30 min, coating the papas with that gorgeous jus. Use a meat thermometer on the side of the breast. Take the chicken out of the oven when internal temp reaches 165 degrees. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Carve your lovely roasted chicken, and utilize every last drop of jus. You dip the taters in it with every bite.

I love this dish and I hope it warms your soul like it does mine.