The Art to Roasting Chicken?

The past few times I've roasted chicken, I've under roasted slightly. For fear of over roasting.

Another go at it today.

Seasoniong: 1 T salt, 1 T fennel seeds, 1 tsp cayenne, tons of fresh cracked black pepper
Cavity: small bunch of thyme
Surrounding veg: baby red potatoes, carrots, garlic cloves (not peeled)
Prep: (1) Liberally rain the spice/salt mixture all over the chicken, inside the cavity and out. (2) Tie the drumstick together with twine. Tuck the wings behind the chicken. (3) Place in roasting pan. Drizzle a little olive oil and toss potatoes and arrange around the bird. Season lightly with salt and pepper. (4) One final sprinkle of salt on top of the chicken and then into the oven.

Goal: A crisp, golden, salty skin. Tender, falling off the bone meat. Golden potatoes swimming in chicken jus, soft caramelized garlic encased in papery husks

Checking Done-ness: Bird should be golden. Cut off the twine. Wiggle the drumstick. If it is a bit loose, wiggles very freely, it's most likely done. Poke a chopstick into the deepest part of the thigh. Juices should run clear.

What I've discovered: Due to the quirks of my oven (heat streams out of the upper right stove top burner), I have learned that I need to keep my bird (usually about 3-3.5 lbs) in the oven at 425 for what seemed to me an unusually long time--approx 1 hour and 15 minutes--in order to achieve the desired falling-off-the-bone tenderness.

I've experimented putting lemons in the cavity, brushing melted butter on the skin (basting seems totally unnecessary as it ruins any chance of the skin becoming crispy if you're continually brush juices over it...plus, every time you open that oven, the temp lowers significantly), haven't rubbed herbed butter underneath the skin yet due to laziness but i'd like to try it just to see the difference.

I love asian food, but sometimes, there is nothing better than picking apart a roast chicken with your fingers. For me, the fennel seeds and potatoes are the clinchers.

(Also, love using the carcass to make a richly flavored chicken broth the next day to go with thin noodles or white rice.)

Creme Caramel (bc it's French and sounds prettier than just "flan")

I forgot to take a shot before portioning it. The picture doesn't really do it justice. It was pretty, pale yellow with a glistening burnished top layer. Lighting is bad, plate is bad. And it's all cut up. Sorry! Use your imaginations.

So, I love desserts, but am not really a chocolate cake kind of gal. Creme brulee, cheesecake, fruit tarts/pies, ice creams, sorbet are more my speed. Every now and then I might want a chocolate molten cake (like at Finale's) but generally...I'm more into custard.

I think ideally, you're supposed to use a mix of heavy cream and whole milk...to get a more richness and a more luscious texture. But since I hardly ever find a way to use up all the leftover heavy cream, I just made do with using only whole milk. It's just as tasty but obviously lighter, not as rich.

This recipe is not difficult, but it can be time consuming if you don't plan ahead and make sure you have all your equipment ready. As with anything, read the recipe ahead of time and make sure you have all your bowls and saucepans and sieves and waterbath in readiness so that you're not wasting time trying to find stuff. Also, if you need to make a dessert for a dinner or event, you would have to make this either the day before or early on in the day to give it enough time to chill after the hour long bake.

Creme Caramel Recipe:

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Rack in the middle of the oven.
-Make sure you have equipment for your waterbath in readiness: a baking pan or roasting pan and plenty of hot water to create a water bath.
-Have your loaf pan ready on the side for when you need it (or ramekins).

In a saucepan, heat til scalding hot:
-3 cups whole milk (or 2 parts heavy cream, 1 part whole milk)
-1 vanilla bean, split, scraped

In a medium bowl, slowly whisk until well combined
-3 yolks
-2 eggs
-1 cup granulated sugar
-pinch salt

Combining the milk and eggs to make the custard:
Once the milk/v.bean mixture is scalding hot (stick your finger in. should be too hot to the touch. you'll see small bubbles on edges of saucepan), pick up the saucepan with your left hand and slowly pour into the bowl with the yolk/sugar mixture while whisking continuously with your right hand. This is called tempering. If you pour the hot milk all in at once and/or do so without whisking continuously, the hot milk will scramble the eggs mixture.

Strain the custard through a sieve into another bowl. Set aside and allow to cool while making your caramel.

Making the Caramel:
-1/2 cup sugar, H20 to dissolve

In a small saucepan, pour in 1/2 cup of sugar and add a bit of water to dissolve some of the sugar. Cook on med high/high heat until the sugar has bubbled into a dark brown syrupy caramel. Need to keep your eye on it--it happens fast. Remove saucepan from stove top immediately once desired dark amber color is achieved.


To bake:
Pour the caramel into the loaf pan. Next, pour all of the custard in.

Make a waterbath:
Put the loaf pan into the roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with hot water til it reaches halfway up the loaf pan. The waterbath allows the custard to cook evenly and gently in the oven without scrambling. Cover the entire roasting pan with aluminum foil. Carefully slide into the oven and cook for 55-60+ minutes. It takes less time when you bake them in ramekins. Around the 55-60 minute mark, check the creme caramel. Take a peek and jiggle very gently. It's probably not done at this point. But it's probably almost there. If it still looks liquidy and not fully set, cover back up with aluminum foil and set timer at 10 minute intervals. I ended up baking mine for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.


When the custard looks set, test by sticking a knife in the middle of the flan. It should come out cleanly.

Remove the entire roasting pan from oven when custard is set. Take off the aluminum foil. Allow the creme caramel to cool in the waterbath. Then remove from the waterbath, cover with plastic wrap and put in your fridge for at least an hour or 2 to chill.

To serve:
Take a knife and run it around the edges of the loaf pan. Place a large plate on top of the loaf pan and quickly flip over. Do it quickly so that you don't get the caramel sauce running all over the place.

The texture came out like perfect young silken tofu. Very delicate. Next time I make this I may decrease slightly the amount of sugar used.

Recipe credit:
Joanne Chang's recipe as found here:
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/creme_caramel.aspx