Recipe vs. Reality

I love when my Bon Appetit shows up in the mail. I become giddy and so excited to check out the amazing recipes with vivid pictures that accompany them; it's what we foodies call food porn. And boy oh boy do I love some good food porn. :) Most of the time I look at my magazine, ear mark some recipes, but never actually cook anything. I mean it is intimidating, but this time I decided it was my moment to make a recipe into reality.

In the September issue of Bon Appetit there is an article that is called "Top 10 Chicken Recipes" and on the cover is a gorgeous picture of a roasted chicken. My mouth was watering and I decided to check it out. This particular recipe is from Sfoglia restaurant in NYC, and it was not a complicated 20 ingredient, chiffonade this, mince that kind of recipe. Ingredients were fresh, easy to find at the grocery store, and was just a good approachable recipe for a beginner cook like myself.

A brick or heavy cast iron skillet is required to weigh down the bird while in the oven, and this was the most complicated thing for me in preparing for this culinary adventure. I headed to the local hardware store and was able to get a heavy brick for 70 cents. Not a bad investment for future poultry adventures. The chicken also needs to be butterflied, and as I am not very confident in my knife skills (and did not want to kill the chicken even more than it already was) I went to the butcher and asked them to do their magic. For my sanity it was well worth seeking out the butcher.



I was amazed at the ease of putting this meal together. I have always just bought the roasted chicken at the deli in my market, but no more I say...NO MORE! I was able to cook a bird twice the size of the market chicken for just $2 more. It was able to provide dinner tonight, and plenty of left overs for the week. (You will see me eating some of my left overs at Screen on the Green tomorrow night!)

So let's compare and contrast:

I think I did a damn good job. The pic in the magazine has more burnt skin on the thighs of their bird, but they also have this fun thing called food stylists! When your sole job is to make people drool over a scantily clad chick you better bet they have some trick up their sleeves. Here is a close up of my lil diva who caused a stir in my apartment tonight:

Delicious. A poultry adventure of savory goodness! I think next time I will add some more garlic and not be scared to put some more salt before I begin cooking. It is still a learning curve right now, but it was still succulent and melted in your mouth, which is always the desired end result for your protein of choice. This episode of "Recipe vs. Reality" was a complete success and now I will be confident that I can take on more recipes in my lovely Bon Appetit magazine.

Bon Appetit: Chicken al Mattone

1 4-pound whole chicken, backbone cut away and discarded, rinsed and patted dry

4 tbsp. fresh lemon jucie

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

2 garlic cloves, pressed

Coarse kosher salt

1/4 tsp. dried crush red pepper

Chopped fresh Italian parsley

You will need a foil wrapped brick or heavy cast iron skillet

Day before you plan to cook:

1. open chicken flat like book and place, skin side down, on a rimmed baking sheet

2. mix 2 tbsp. lemon juice, 2 tbsp. oil, 1 tbsp chopped rosemary and garlic in small bowl (I blended everything in my food processor)

3. Rub mixture all over both sides of chicken (I whispered some sweet nothings to my lil chick while I did this. Figured I would give her a last hurrah before throwing her in the oven.)

4. Cover and chill over night

Day you plan to cook:

1. preheat oven 400 F

2. sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper

3. heat remaining 1 tbsp. oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat

4. add chicken, skin side down, to skillet and cook until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Do not turn over.

5. Place foil wrapped brick (or cast iron skillet) crosswise atop chicken; roast in oven 30 minutes

6. Remove brick and turn chicken over; return brick to chicken and continue to roast until juices run clear when thickest part of thigh is pierced, about 15 minutes longer (I had to get some assistance to flip over the chicken, and just remember that there is hot oil and juices so turn carefully)

7. Transfer chicken to platter and drizzle with remaining lemon juice and sprinkle with red pepper and parsley