It was great when Food Network actually concentrated on having cooking shows instead of all of the contests and reality shows that pretty much make up the network today. While it’s nice to go see some restaurants around the country and what they make, I would much rather see recipes and how to cook them. Other than watching Saturday or Sunday mornings, you are pretty hard-pressed to find a time when they actually have someone showing you how to cook something on television. That being said, when I am looking for a new recipe to use something specifically, I do often search Food Network’s website to see if they have anything interesting from when they actually did show cooking. Since I have made a lot of roast chickens, finding a different way to do it once in a while can be a challenge, but I found this recipe from Ina Garten for engagement roast chicken that was simple to do, used basic ingredients and produced great results.

Engagement Roast Chicken

1 (4 to 5 pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons
1 whole head of garlic, cut in 1/2 crosswise
Olive oil
2 onions, peeled and thickly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Remove and discard the chicken giblets (or save them if you are planning to make stock with the carcass at a later time). Pat the outside of the chicken dry with paper towels. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Cut the lemons in quarters and place 2 quarters in the chicken along with the garlic and reserve the rest of the lemons. Brush the outside of the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the chicken in a small (11 by 14-inch) roasting pan. (If the pan is too large, the onions will burn.) Place the reserved lemons and the sliced onions in a large bowl and toss them with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Pour the mixture around the chicken in the pan.

Roast the chicken for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and a thigh. Remove the chicken to a platter, cover it with aluminum foil, and allow it to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce, leaving the lemons and onions in the pan.

Place the pan on top of the stove and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the wine and stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits. Add the stock and sprinkle in the flour, stirring constantly for a minute, until the sauce thickens. Add any juices that collect under the chicken. Carve the chicken onto a platter and serve with the lemons, onions, and warm sauce.

While it is a pretty basic recipe, it is nice to have one like this to fall back on when you want to add the simple flavors of garlic and lemon to your dish. The chicken comes out cooked perfectly and the sauce that you can make from the pan drippings has fantastic flavor to it thanks to the lemons and garlic. If you didn’t want to use white wine (which I didn’t), you can substitute water or just use all chicken stock instead and it will work also. You do want to make sure you are using lemons that are nicely ripened because if they are not you may end up with a sauce that is a little bit bitter to taste. You can always try to even out with a little more stock to cut the flavor of the lemons. I served the chicken with mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts, using a different sprouts recipe that I plan to post tomorrow that can be great for any poultry, especially as a side dish for Thanksgiving.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!