Chicken Dinner

All right, it's not the most flattering photo ever but I think this chicken has every right to be proud. See how golden and puffed the breast is? This is another no fail recipe from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, which is my go to book for Italian cooking.

I decided, rather at the last minute, to have some friends over for dinner last weekend since it was the beginning of spring break and I could blow off my school work. I wanted to make something light, since it was the beginning of meteorological spring* as well, but that would also involve minimal work in the kitchen once the guests arrived. I thought a roast chicken would do the trick and turned to Marcella for advice.

The first recipe in the poultry section immediately caught my eye. 'Roast Chicken with Lemons' sounded like just the thing, since I love lemons and it had only two ingredients. Really simple, really good. Really- give this a try next time you are going to roast a chicken. It was delicious, with a subtle lemon flavor and according to my friends who eat it, rather tasty skin as well.

This is the basic recipe from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, interpreted by me. It looks long but it's actually really easy.

Roast Chicken with Lemons

Serves 4-6 depending on the size of the chicken and your appetite

3-4 lb. chicken, naturally raised if possible

2 small lemons (really, the smallest you can find)

salt and pepper

- Heat oven to 350F.

- Remove and discard giblets if your chicken has them. Trim the excess fat from the chicken, leaving enough skin at the cavity opening to close the bird up later.

- Sprinkle the chicken both inside and out with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Rub in with your hands.

- Wash and dry the lemons. Roll them on the counter a few times to soften and pierce each lemon at least 20 times with a sharp fork or other sturdy yet sharp kitchen implement. Place the lemons inside the chicken cavity and close up the opening with toothpicks or a trussing needle (I didn't have either so punched holes in the skin with a knife and threaded it with cooking twine- probably more than you wanted to know but--). Marcella warns not to close the cavity too tightly as it could lead to explosion (she actually does warn about this). Tie the legs together loosely at the knuckle ends.

- Place the bird breast side down in the roasting pan or pyrex dish. No oil needed- just put the bird in. Roast for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully turn the bird over, trying not to break the skin. I did this by grabbing it on either side with a wad of paper towels and then jiggling it slightly to release the skin from the pan before rolling it over. When you've got the bird breast side up, put it back in the oven.

- Bake for a further 25-35 minutes and then increase the heat to 400F for a final 20 minutes of baking (it needs 20-25 minutes per pound of total cooking time).

- Show off your chicken to your guests, then bring it back to the kitchen for carving. Spoon some of the pan juices over the carved pieces of chicken to keep them moist and serve. (A note-- the lemons are still very juicy and hot- squeezing them could cause a blast of superheated lemon juice to shoot at either yourself of your guests)

*Meteorological winter, as defined in the DC Metro area is December, January and February, the three coldest months of the year. Factoid of the day courtesy of The Washington Post.