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.

3.2.2807

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I’m a strong proponent of breakfast. I eat breakfast everyday and without it I am a grump. During the week breakfast is my quiet time. I usually have a bowl of yogurt with granola and I look out the window and watch the people commuting to work and the construction workers making a lot of noise as they work. After breakfast I’m powered up for the day.

But I like breakfast the best on the weekends. On the weekends Ryan and I get to eat together and often we make something special – pancakes with bacon, egg sandwiches, or baked oatmeal, with orange juice and fruit on the side. Recently I made this recipe for breakfast which looks special and is actually simple to make. I was inspired to make this because I’ve been itching to try quail eggs ever since I first wandered through a London grocery store. I’d never seen quail eggs in person before I moved here. And aren’t the eggs charming? Small, speckled, and lovely to look at. That white on in the picture below had two yolks in one egg! I’d never seen that before and it was such a cool surprise.

However, it turns out I don’t like quail eggs. Sigh. They have a higher yolk to white ratio, so they are a bit creamier than chicken eggs. Ryan felt they tasted pretty similar to chicken eggs and liked them. I thought they were gamey and unpleasant. Luckily, this recipe is versatile so if you don’t like or can’t find quail eggs you can use regular eggs (which I did and looks just as cool).

A few notes before instructions. The recipe is written to make 2 servings. If you’d like to make more you need 1 ramekin, 2 potatoes, and 1 chicken egg or 3 quail eggs per person – use this as a guideline to make more. As written, the potatoes will get dark and crunchy on the edges but will be softer in the middle (because it’s a thicker layer). If you want crunchy potatoes all over make the middle thinner or cook for longer (but that could lead to even darker edges). Finally, quail eggs don’t crack and easily or cleanly as chicken eggs. The shell sometimes cracks like a spiderweb but doesn’t actually break enough for the insides to come out. I strongly recommend that you break quail eggs into a separate bowl before putting them in your potato nest. This recipe is from Jo Cooks.

Messy level: The messiest part of the recipe is shredding the potatoes. They get a little liquidy and starchy, which can get a little dirty, but it isn’t so bad. You’ll also need a few bowls for preparing the potatoes, but at the end you should be able to pop all your tools in the dishwasher for an easy clean.

Eggs in a Hash Brown Nest

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

55 mins

 

Author: Jo Cooks

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 4 Yukon gold potatoes
• 1-2 tbsp Parmesan cheese (use more or less based on taste)
• 1 egg, beaten (this goes in the potatoes)
• 6 quail eggs or 2 chicken eggs (depends on preference)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4-5 sprig rosemary, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°/180°.
2. Shred the potatoes using a box grater or food processor.
3. In a medium sized bowl, add the shredded potatoes, Parmesan, egg and mix.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Divide the mixture between two ramekins. Press down in the middle so you make a nest. If your potatoes are large, or you want the final product crispier, you may not use all of the mixture.
6. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until crisp and brown.
7. Remove the ramekins from the oven.
8. If you like the flavor of rosemary, break off a few small pieces from a sprig and scatter them on the potato.
9. Add the eggs to the top of the potato nests. If using quail eggs put 3 in each. If using a chicken egg use one in each.
10. Bake for 5-6 minutes for quail eggs, 6-7 for chicken eggs. (Or until it is done to your liking)
11. Remove from the oven.
12. Arrange the rosemary around the edge of the ramekin for garnish.

3.2.2802

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My kitchen mixer with the juicer attachment on top!

I remembered it again this week for two reasons. I was feeling a bit mopey, and baking cheers me up. Especially if I can make something delicious and lemony. I love baking because I can clear my mind, focus on the task at hand, and end up with a delicious finished product. I call it productive leisure time. And, I was doubly excited to make this cake because I got a new kitchen gadget! I like to call it “my robot,” because the packaging it came in was in many languages and in Italian it was called “robot da cucina.”

Anyway, in our great move across the pond, the American kitchen appliances did not make it. They have different plugs and voltages, and so my American appliances are on a vacation. I’ve been sad about leaving my stand mixer, and was totally intending to buy a hand mixer, when I came across this crazy beauty. It is a stand mixer, with whisk, paddle, and dough hook attachment. It is also a blender, a food processor, and a citrus juicer! It’s all the things I want in one (except a toaster, we bought that separately). Blows your mind right?

So, I took this baby out, and juiced a lemon. Then I mixed the heck out of all my ingredients. And I made a pretty awesome cake. I didn’t feel mopey anymore, because how can you when there’s cake?

This cake has a distinct, but not overpowering lemon flavor. To my taste, the rosemary wasn’t strong. But Ryan says it adds the right amount of flavor. When you get a bite with a fleck of rosemary, it has a pleasant herbal taste that nicely complements the lemon. Also, the cake is super moist. Try it out, it’s not your usual cake, but it’s a yummy snack.

Recipe from Patent and the Pantry

Ingredients:

1 lemon

4 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 rosemary sprigs, finely chopped (plus more leaves for optional decorating)

Butter/cooking spray

Directions:

1. Heat your oven to 350.°

2. Zest your lemon. Then juice the lemon.

3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs for a minute. They will be frothy!

4. Add the sugar and beat for 3 minutes, until mix is pale .

5. Add lemon zest, juice, and olive oil. Beat until well mixed (1-2 minutes).

6. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, rosemary, and salt.

7. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Mix until just combined! Don’t beat the heck out of your batter. The more you beat it, the denser your cake will be.

8. Spray or butter a loaf pan. Or you can line with parchment paper. Pour in the batter. You can sprinkle a few decorative rosemary leaves if you like.

9. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the cake comes out clean. The top should be golden. (You can see I over stabbed the middle of my cake to check for done-ness).

10. Let cool for a few minutes, then slice and serve.

Messy level: With my new juicer this was so easy! Before, I would have hand juiced and this would have been a 3 spoon at least. But, overall this is pretty easy and straightforward mixing. The lemon is the only crazy bit, so I’m giving it 2 spoons.

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Throughout the store there are jugs of oil and vinegar, and next to them there are small tasting cups and pieces of crusty baguette bread for dipping. I tried a basil olive oil that made me feel like I was sitting outside at a cafe in Rome eating a caprese salad. I tried a blood orange oil that had a nice tangy citrus accent. And I tried a thick syrupy dark chocolate balsamic that tasted like a decadent and sinful dessert. I held myself back though, and just bought a delicious smelling rosemary olive oil that I knew I could use often. I also bought a jar of caramelized garlic because the man from the store raved about it and I like garlic.

And then I also bought the chocolate pasta because I just had to know what it tasted like. There was more practical flavored pasta, like mushroom, sweet potato, and lemon basil – but those will have to wait for another time. I bought the chocolate pasta.

But what do I do with it? My first thought is to make a dessert take on spaghetti and meatballs. I could make some kind of fruit cookie-ball thing and then make a fruit sauce to go on top. But there’s so many other options – berries, Irish cream, whipped cream, nutella….

What would you do with it?

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Yes, you read that right, I’m a big fan of Brussels sprouts. Growing up, I had always seen on kids on TV scrunch up their faces, stick out their tongues, and groan “eww Brussels sprouts.” So, I thought they were going to be gross and inedible. But then, a few years ago my friend Emily got them in her farm share and had me over and served them to me for dinner. I was nervous. I was 25 years old, I’d never tried a Brussels sprout, and I didn’t want to embarrass myself by refusing to eat my veggies. I cautiously speared one with my fork and tried it. And I liked it! Everything I had thought before was wrong! It was like when the character in Green Eggs and Ham finally tries the green eggs and ham, and realizes that after repeatedly saying  “I do not like them Sam-I-Am,” his world is blown and he does in fact like the new and strange looking food.

So now I’m crazy about Brussels sprouts. When they’re well-cooked I just want to scarf each sprout down like it’s a handful of popcorn. And this recipe is that good. I ate them fresh from the oven and later warmed in the microwave. I also ate them cold, while riding a school bus with fifth-graders after a field trip. This recipe is good in all conditions. Before I found this recipe, I found a lot of other recipes I didn’t want to make.  Apparently a ton of Brussels sprouts recipes include bacon. Don’t get me wrong, bacon is great. But I didn’t want to have to make bacon just to make the dish. And I wanted to make something that would let the vegetable flavors shine. I also wanted to roast the Brussels sprouts because I love when the inside is soft and chewy while the outside leaves are crispy, blackened, and a bit sweet.

Today’s recipe is adapted from a Whole Foods recipe. I was nervous about the proportions of rosemary, pine nuts, and cheese because I thought they would overpower the Brussels sprouts. I was wrong. The rosemary adds a great scent that evokes memories of the holidays and helped get me excited about the colder fall weather. The pine nuts add a nice toasty crunch. And finally the cheese… ahh the cheese. I love cheese, but I often feel that people use cheese to mask vegetables and I didn’t want to do that. So at first I added only two tablespoons of cheese. But Ryan, who never over cheeses anything, said he thought more cheese would be good because it really accentuated the flavors of the rest of the dish. So I think you should taste test between 2 tbsp and 1/4 cup to see what you like best. And if you’ve never had Brussels sprouts before, I hope you’ll try this  and let it change the way you think about this vegetable.

Ingredients:

1 pound Brussels sprouts

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp pepper (or more to taste)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (use 1 tsp in using dried rosemary)

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Cut off any brown bottoms and pull of yellow leaves from Brussels sprouts.

3. Put the Brussels sprouts in a medium bowl. Add oil, pepper, salt, and rosemary. Stir until the sprouts are well coated.

4. Spread the Brussels sprouts on a rimmed baking sheet. Cook for 25 minutes.

5. Sprinkle the pine nuts over the roasted Brussels sprouts. Cook for 5 minutes more. By the end of cooking, nuts should have a darker brown color and the Brussels sprouts should be dark brown-black in color.

6. Remove Brussels sprouts from the oven. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Messy Level: 

This gets one spoon. The whole thing goes from bowl, to baking sheet, and then you can serve it back in the bowl you used for mixing. There is very little work and mess in this recipe!

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