thursday things – DNA Tests, Ikea candy, and more

CIWxapsUAAEX9iE

Summer is in full swing here and it’s so hot that our local news has completely given up on even attempting to forecast the high temps. Today’s high temp is “- -” … maybe tomorrow they can just be honest and put some question marks or an interrobang. Or just pull a Siri and put a big fat “HOT” up there instead of numbers at all…   Continue reading

kitchen update (and a chicken recipe)

spatchcock

I’m not going to pretend this post is about the delicious roast chicken I made. This post is about the kitchen. I took some new pictures from more angles, and yes I know I’m like some moron who went on vacation and comes back yammering on about how much fun they had and waving around pictures that you couldn’t care less about. I do promise this will be the last post filled with kitchen pictures until something significant changes. I’m looking for a new wall color or a backsplash for the kitchen area FYI, if anyone has suggestions…

Our tired, old kitchen…

Our sparkly, new kitchen can be seen below!

The cabinets are Ikea’s Adel Medium Brown, the counters are Silestone’s Silve Nube. The stools – super cheap Target stools. Not bad for like $25 a piece or something like that. Those canister lights have really gotta go, though…

not the best light, I know

The sink is some overpriced stainless steel sink from the company “Blanco”, BF says it’s “a really good sink”, and that we got a great deal on it though. I’m no sink expert, so I’ll have to take his word for it. The faucet is one of Ikea’s stock faucets, it has a weight at the bottom so it can never wear out like some extendable faucets tend to do.

Sofa will be changed out, eventually… walls will be painted, floor will be re-done (possibly hard wood? or possibly stone). All of these things are in the future… for now, I don’t want to do anything else that would keep me out of the kitchen.

Since it is a food blog after all, I give you simple roast chicken. Although you might not think it’s as glorious as pulling a whole bird in-tact bird out of the oven, butterflying your chicken is a great way to prepare your roasted chicken. Lying it flat keeps it all at one level for even cooking and air circulation, which means all the skin gets nice and crispy. You can serve it whole (as pictured here) or even cut it into pieces on a smaller platter. I actually like the way it looks once it’s all cut up, but you could leave it whole like this.

Butterflied Roast Chicken

Printer-Friendly

  • 1 whole roasting chicken (appx 4 pounds), butterflied (if you have a butcher, they will do that for you. If not, here’s a helpful video)
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Garlic and Onions (optional)
  • Whatever veggies you desire for roasting (notice I chose broccoli and cauliflower, because they come together in one pack at Trader Joe’s :-))

*Preheat your oven to 450F

1. If using garlic and onion- cut your garlic bulb in half cross-wise, and quarter your onion. Place these on the sheet under where your chicken will sit.

2. Pat your chicken DRY… really dry. You don’t want any moisture on there! Set on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.

3. Generously salt and pepper both sides of your chicken – rub it in nice and good. Wear gloves if touching the chicken grosses you out- you must rub the seasonings in! Once you’ve given it a nice massage, set it on top of the onions and garlic, skin side up.

4. Roast in the oven for 45 min to an hour, until cooked through (breast should read about 150, carryover cooking will finish it while it’s resting). If the skin browns to quickly, tent with aluminum foil.

5. Once done, remove to separate plate or cutting board, and let it rest. While the  chicken is resting, toss your chosen veggies on the baking sheet with the chicken drippings. Use the drippings – trust me. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on them and roast for 10 – 15 minutes until browned. (More brown than this cauliflower – I can’t help that I got hungry)