It’s November, which means I’m already thinking about what Ryan and I will be making for Thanksgiving dinner. Weeks ago while at the pub with our Italian friends, Alessia and Raffaello, we invited them over to have Thanksgiving with us. I’m totally excited to have them over, introduce them to new foods and share our traditions with them. And I think they’re excited too. But the truth is I’m nervous. Making Thanksgiving dinner can be a little nerve-racking anyway because I want it to go well, but the pressure is increased because I want to impress our guests who have never had this meal before.

So I decided to practice. I’ve made a turkey twice before. The first time in 2011 under the tutelage of my Uncle Willie. I did most of the work, but he was telling me what to do as we went. The second turkey was in 2012. I did all the prep myself but my mother-in-law Susan was there during the cooking to add her experience and moral support. This time it is all me. I went to the grocery store to get my practice turkey, and they didn’t have any. Sigh.

As a stand in, I bought a whole chicken. I know it’s not totally the same, but it’s not totally different. Also I’ve only roasted a chicken once so I figured this is an important skill to cultivate. [Side note: In the US, I never roasted a whole chicken because I always bought whole chicken parts. That packaging doesn’t seem to be a thing here. I can buy all the various parts separately, but I can’t buy a package that has breasts, thighs, wings etc all in one.]

Stocked up with herbs, butter, vegetables, and a chicken, I was ready to roast. I found the preparation process really fun because everything smelled so good. This recipe is adapted from one I found on the Pioneer Woman Cooks‘ website. I used sage, rosemary, and thyme for the herbs. It all smells so good! I love that rosemary makes me think of Christmas and that thyme smells herbal and a bit floral. I’ve never used sage before, but I liked the thicker texture and its subtle pine smell. I ended up making more herb butter than I needed, but it’s a learning process right?

Basically, I chopped up a bunch of herbs and mixed them with butter. I then used my hands to slather the chicken with herb butter. I put a ton all over the outside. For extra flavor, I even got in between the skin and the meat and added more herb butter. There’s a picture below. It’s not beautiful, but I wanted you to know that you should just go crazy with the seasoning. I also stuffed the chicken with some garlic, veggies, and a lemon to add flavor.

In the end, this chicken came out so flipping good. I mean SO GOOD. I started making it and then while it was in the oven Ryan left to go to the Arsenal match. The apartment started to smell really good and the chicken started to brown. Some of the herbs turned crunchy and too dark, but I just scraped them off at the end. Once the chicken was done I took it out and photographed it for the blog. And then I dug in. I dug in hard. The first bite was a moist explosion of delicious chicken flavor, followed by herbal hints, and finished with a salty crunchy bite of skin. I was alone, but I thought, “damn this is good.” It was so good I ate half the chicken myself (and I may or may not have been standing up over the counter eating directly from the roasting pan).

When Ryan got home he pulled out the chicken from the fridge and ate a bite. He turned around and gave me an “oh yeah this is delicious,” face. He also explicitly said the same thing. And then he ate the other half of the chicken. That should be a ringing endorsement. This chicken is so good that two people can eat a whole chicken in one sitting without any need for sides, plates, drinks, or normal meal-time behavior.

Messy level: Not so messy dish-wise, but very messy on your hands. Slathering your hands with butter then massaging a chicken isn’t clean. Still, I’ll give it two spoons.

Herb Roasted Chicken

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

 

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 5 sprigs thyme
• 2 sprigs sage
• 2 tsp salt
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp pepper
• 4 tbsp butter
• ½ lemon
• ½ onion
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 large carrot
• 4 garlic cloves

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450/230°.
2. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and place it into a roasting pan.
3. Remove the herbs from their stems. Chop the herbs finely and mix them up.
4. Measure out about 2 tbsp of chopped herbs. (If you have more you can use more). Put the herbs in a small bowl. Add in the salt, garlic powder, and pepper.
5. Add the butter to the herbs and spices. Use your hands to mix everything all together so that you create an herb butter. Set aside for now.
6. Roughly chop up the onion, celery, and carrots. These are just for smell and flavor, so if you're not going to eat them they don't have to look beautiful.
7. Crush the garlic cloves. To do this, put the flat of your knife over the clove, then press down with the palm of your hand until you feel the garlic break and flatten.
8. Squeeze the juice of the ½ lemon into the cavity of the chicken. Stuff the chicken with the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and onion. Again, doesn't have to be pretty and it may not all fit.
9. Using your hands, rubs the herb butter all over the chicken. Be generous but you don't have to worry about how it looks. You may not need all the butter.
10. For added flavor and moisture, gently butter in between the skin and the meat. (You can get in there at the top of the cavity)
11. Cook in the oven for 1 hour, or until an inserted thermometer reaches 160/71°.
12. Let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes. If you cut it too soon all the juices fall out! Be patient!
13. For the sake of presentation, flick off any herbs that have gotten too dark and crispy.
14. Carve it and serve.

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I recently came by a recipe for Bloody Mary soup in a magazine and I was really excited about it. I love Bloody Marys, but it isn’t always appropriate to have one. Soup, though, I can have any time of day. But when I made the recipe it came out really thick. The recipe called for pureed beans and celery, which gave it a chunky and stringy texture. I was not a fan. So I decided to try my hand at making a soup recipe all my own. I’ve never made up a soup recipe before! I did a bunch of research, used a bunch of recipes as inspiration, tinkered a bit, and then I came up with something brand new that I really liked.

Let me warn you by saying I like Bloody Marys really spicy. I love this soup because the initial taste is sweet and full of tomato flavor, but then quickly the heat starts to tingle in the back of your throat and then rushes forward into your lips. It’s wonderful. Although, I didn’t give Ryan any warning when he tasted it and his eyes popped out a little bit. But I love spicy flavors in a soup. For me, they are a cure all. I think it will help clear your sinuses when you’re sick or can pep you up when it is cold and dreary outside. I also think Bloody Marys are a great hang over cure. I mean, not that I’ve ever been hungover. But if you were hungover, I think this would be both soothing and invigorating. If you were having a wild holiday party, make a batch the night before, then in the morning heat the soup, line cups with Old Bay, pop in a celery stick and you’ve got warming morning cocktails to serve your house guests.

Now if you’re not into spice, don’t worry! In the instructions below I’ll be sure to tell you how to adjust the seasoning to fit your palate. That’s the great thing about cocktails, right? You can fix them to suit your taste!

Since I’m from Maryland, I love Old Bay and will put it on everything. I put it in the soup in place of some salt, I sprinkled it on top for seasoning, and I lined the rim of the bowl. If you don’t have Old Bay, no worries. You can use some salt to season instead. Finally, if you want an added kick, consider adding horseradish cream. I like it because it adds spice from the horseradish and simultaneously eases the spice because of the cream. If you’re not interested in the cream, the soup is still excellent without it. Ok, now you’ll be ready for all your weekend partying. You’re welcome.

Soup recipe inspired by delicious magazine and Mark Bittman’s winter tomato soup. But I think it’s mostly mine and I’m really proud of that. Horseradish cream from BBC Good Food.

Messy level: I don’t have an immersion blender, so for me, this recipe is a three spoon mess. I used a tray to roast the tomatoes, a blender to puree the tomatoes, and a pot to simmer the soup. That makes a lot of things to clean and a lot of opportunity for spills. If you have an immersion blender, then you’ll have a little less clean up.

Bloody Mary Soup with Old Bay

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

 

Serves: 4-6 bowls

Ingredients

• Soup:
• 5-10 garlic cloves (use less if you want less intensity)
• 800g/28oz canned, whole peeled tomatoes
• olive oil
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• ½ tsp celery salt
• 1 tsp Old Bay
• 1-2 tsp chili flakes (I used 2 tsp, use less if you want less heat)
• 2-4 cups chicken or vegetable stock (use more stock if you want to dilute the heat)
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• juice from ½ lemon
• Tabasco sauce (optional)
• celery stalks (optional garnish)
• vodka (optional)
• Horseradish Cream (optional):
• 1 tbsp horseradish
• 4 tbsp of crème fraîche
• salt and pepper
• juice of ½ a lemon

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 350°/180°.
2. Pour some olive oil on a baking sheet.
3. Take the garlic cloves off of the bulb, and cut a little bit off of the top. Don't peel them. We'll pop them out of their skins easily after roasting. Put the prepared garlic on the baking sheet.
4. Drain the canned tomatoes. Reserve the liquid.
5. Cut the tomatoes in half.
6. Put the tomatoes on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the tomatoes with more olive oil. Season the tomatoes with salt, celery salt, Old Bay, and chili flakes.
7. Roast in oven for 20-30 minutes. The tomatoes are ready when they have started to dry out and get a little bit dark and brown in spots.
8. Remove from the oven. Add the tomatoes to a blender (add to directly to a pot if you have an immersion blender).
9. Let the garlic cool a bit so you can touch it. Pinch the bottom of the garlic and it will shoot up through the top (where you cut before) and it will be easily free from its skin. Add the garlic to the blender.
10. If there are crunchy bits on the baking sheet pour a little stock on them. Use a spatula to scrape them off. Pour the crunchy bits and the stock into the blender. (The crunchy bits are yummy caramelized tomato juices)
11. Add the reserved tomato liquid to the blender. Blend until mostly smooth.
12. Heat the tomato puree in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in 2 cups of stock, the lemon juice, and the Worcestershire sauce.
13. Taste. Too spicy? Add more stock. Not spicy enough? Add Tabasco sauce ¼ tsp at a time.
14. Simmer for 20 minutes so all the flavors can mingle together.
15. While the soup is simmering, prepare the horseradish cream. In a small bowl mix the horseradish, crème fraîche, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
16. Serve the soup in a bowl, top with a dollop of cream. Pour in a splash of vodka if you like. Garnish with a stalk of celery and a sprinkling of Old Bay.

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This post is part of Our Growing Edge, a monthly blogging event to encourage bloggers to try new food related things. Jules from The Kiwi Diaries is the host for this month’s event.

If you have a blog and you are eating or cooking something new this month, you can get more information here about how to join.

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