Perfect This Recipe | Lee's Brothers Roast Chicken

So you guys may remember that Heath and I have been testing tons of Roast Chicken recipes the past two weeks in search of THE Perfect Roast Chicken.  Between the two of us, we've tested 11 birds in the past 14 days.  That's a lot of chicken, but guys, I've learned that I'm pretty much obsessed with roast chicken.  It's seriously the best dinner.  So, after much testing, the winner is....Lee Brother's Roast Chicken!   Ina's Roast Chicken was a close second!  The Lee Brother's recipe wasn't even in our planned line up, but our friend Katherine commented that it was their go to recipe so we decided to test it too.  Guys, it was SO good.  (Thank you Katherine!)

If you're looking for a good, classic roast chicken, perfectly juicy with crispy skin, definitely go with Lee Brother's recipe.  It was super easy.  You basically chop a few onions and potatoes, put them in the bottom of a pan, put the roast chicken on top and squeeze half a lemon over the chicken.  Then pop it in the oven.  After about 20 minutes, you flip the chicken and squeeze the other half of the lemon over the chicken and back into the oven it goes.  Using only lemon on the chicken makes the skin crispy and delicious. 

If you really love a simple gravy with your roast chicken, I'd recommend Ina's Jeffrey's Roast Chicken Recipe.  It's really delicious too.  If you're not a lemon lover, I'd cut the lemon way back.  In Ina's recipe, you chop onions and lemons and put them in a dish with the whole bird on top.  You roast the entire bird for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, and while the chicken is resting you add some wine and chicken stock to the pan ingredients to create a simple gravy.  Super good but definitely the lemon stands out.

J.D. and I loved all of this roast chicken so much we've basically decided it's our new Sunday staple.  Basically roast chicken is SUPER easy (the entire bird looks/sounds a little intimidating) but seriously it's as easy as chopping a few things and tossing it in the oven.  It's healthy, and it's so comforting.  Even after having chicken night after night testing different recipes, J.D. and I never once got tired of having a really delish roast chicken dinner.  And finally, it's so versatile.  You can add whatever veggies you're in the mood for along side the chicken.  One night we threw in extra potatoes and quickly sautéed spinach, and another night we made rice and roasted brussels sprouts.  We usually had leftovers that I made into chicken quesadillas the following night.  Super good guys, we'd highly recommend giving a roast chicken a try if you've been intimidated in the past!  (Bonus, perfect for entertaining but you fix it and then forget about while it cooks!)

~Mary Keller

Perfect this Recipe: Roast Chicken

This season's pick for the recipe we want to "perfect" is a simple roast chicken.  It just seems like one of those dishes I should be able to whip out beautifully.  For times like when you have family friends over or your mother in law is in town, it would be nice to be able to cook a perfect roast chicken without giving it much thought.  I think a really good roast chicken is actually supposed to be really easy to make.  We've picked 5 recipes to test that each get rave reviews. 

So here's our line up with recipe links:

Jamie Oliver's "Perfect Roast Chicken."  Jamie Oliver is becoming a favorite around here so I'm betting this one has a strong chance.  He uses carrots, celery, onions and garlic to flavor his.

 

Smitten Kitchen's Flat Roasted Chicken.  This one definitely seems to be the simplest and requires little time.  Her recipe was Parisian inspired which makes it a win in my book.  I think it's important to use a small bird (about 3.5lbs) for this one.

 

Glamour Magazine's "Engagement Chicken."  This recipe is rumored to make men fall in love and propose.  How romantic. :)

 

Ina Garten's "Jeffery's Roast Chicken."  You know how much I love Ina.  She roasts a chicken for Jeffrey every Friday night so I'm thinking this has to be good.  Cute little tradition I think!

 

Café Zuni's Chicken.  I've seen this roast chicken mentioned a million places, raved about from lots of bloggers and even the New York Times deems it the best so we shall see!

 



Each of these use different techniques.  Of course, they are all roasted, but some of these recipes use high temps, some low, some have quite a few things to season the chicken, and others just simple salt and olive oil.  So I'm really curious to figure out which one wins out.  Over the next two weeks we'll be testing each of these contenders.  We'd love if you do the same to share which one you love.  If you already have a go to recipe please share.  We'll take notes and report back on which one is best.

 



p.s. As far has past perfect recipe results, we can say definitively that Jamie Oliver's pizza dough really is the best.  It is our Friday night staple in this house and is a tried and true go to.  And for Fish Tacos, Cooking Light's Blackened Baja tacos are the clear winner.

~Mary Keller

Images via Jamie's Oliver and Lucy Dylan Weddings

Perfect This Recipe | Herb and Onion Stuffing

Bad news, Andy and I were both sick this weekend so our stuffing experiment was pretty sad. The good news is we did find a winner that we're excited to include in our Thanksgiving menu!

I'm going to be honest with you, we only made two of the five stuffings I discussed here. I knew I wouldn't have the energy to do them all so I picked the two that were most appealing to us. I thought I'd like the Whole Gain Stuffing with Apples, Sausage and Pecans best but I was very pleasantly surprised by the simple Herb and Onion Stuffing.

More thoughts on both...

Whole Grain - this stuffing was too sweet for us. The recipe calls for sweet Italian sausage but if you decide to make this one I would recommend a less sweet sausage. We also used a loaf of 8 grain bread from Nova's, a local bakery near us, which may have been sweeter than some whole grains but overall we just weren't impressed.

Classic Herb - this was the perfect stuffing for us. It was classic yet super flavorful! It used almost double the amount of herbs as the other recipe which we loved. It is truly a simple stuffing - bread, onions, celery, herbs, an egg and stock so if you like a more interesting stuffing you may want to add some nuts or other flavors here but Andy and I definitely agreed this will be included in our Thanksgiving day line up. We used Nova's brioche for this recipe.

Sorry I can't report back on the others. Let me know if you tried any of them, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

- Heath

The one photo I took of whole grain stuffing above. Note - stuffing doesn't make the pretitest subject for photos :(

Perfecting a Recipe | Stuffing

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching Andy and I have been wrapping our heads around menu specifics. You know - who is making what, timing for the oven etc. While the menu at my mom's house is pretty static, the one recipe that we don't have mastered in our feast is stuffing. Crazy huh?! It's a thanksgiving essential, so this year we're going to test a few beforehand so we know we have the best on the big day!

Here's the line up of what we're trying...

Classic Herb Stuffing - a classic herb stuffing with lots of fall flavors

Cornbread, Bacon, Leek and Pecan Stuffing - we're substituting sausage here just because we're not sold on bacon but cornbread, leeks with pecans must be good

Mushroom, Fennel and Parmesan - lots of interesting flavors in this one including sun dried tomatoes, but I love anything with mushrooms

Whole Grain Stuffing with Apples, Sausage and Pecans - love the combination of flavors in whole grain, sausage and green apples

Classic Sage and Onion Stuffing - another classic that's heavy on the sage which I love

Oh and one minor detail, since stuffing isn't exactly something you want to make every single day, we're going to have a stuffing-a-thon this weekend and make smaller batches and knock them all out in one day. Pre-baby my crazy (read loves to entertain) sister thought she could have a baby and host a stuffing-a-thon party shortly after. Well things have changed so it's just us this weekend, but if you're up for it I bet it would be a fun little Saturday afternoon get together this fall. You could do any Thanksgiving recipe you're looking to master too.

- Heath

PS I've always wanted to try Oyster Stuffing. Has anyone tried it?

Perfect This Recipe | Fish Taco Winner

Last week MK and I spent the evenings Perfecting our Fish Taco recipe. Today we have results. That delicious photo above is this Blackened Baja Taco recipe and it was the winner! We'll go into a few more details next but let me just tell you they were awesome and super easy.

We made each taco with a few different sauces, slaws and topping but were sure to test the fish alone to make sure knew which one stood on its own as the best. The Blackened Baja Taco recipe could not have been easier. Mix a few spices, rub your fish of choice down and you're ready to cook. For this recipe we made the jalapeno onion slaw included in the recipe and it was perfect. The onions gave each taco a good crunch, the sour cream, cilantro and lime were cool and fresh and the jalapeno and spices gave it heat. Prep for the entire meal took about 10 minutes total. We're also talking about making a larger batch of the spice mixture to keep on hand for making fish tacos even faster in the future.

Next on our list was Katie Lee's Fish Tacos. They were similar in flavor to us but just didnt quite have enough oomph. We also made her chipotle sauce which was included with the recipe and topped the tacos with her Black Bean, Avocado and Mango Salsa. To me it was just too much but I may just prefer a more simple taco. I will say the salsa was a great change from the regular ole Pica de Gallo though!

If we're being honest the next three just weren't that great, nothing to write about really. Now we are obviosuly not professional food critics but the rest just weren't worth making again in our opinion.

Did anyone else test recipes and have good results? Like I mentioned earlier we're definitely making these again. They are the perfect easy weeknight meal and pretty healthy too. I'm planning to mix the "taco seasoning" this week to keep on hand already mixed and ready for fish tacos.

Hope you guys found a go to recipe!

- Heath

Perfect This Recipe | Fish Tacos

Now that my kitchen is almost back together, I'm ready to get back to cooking!  When Heath and I first came up with the idea of "Perfecting a Recipe" we put together a list of favorite meals that we wanted to really master.  Classic dishes that we wanted to be able to whip up with little thought.  (First we tried pizza dough, and there was a clear winner!)  Next up is a summer favorite: Fish Tacos!  A really good taco, homemade guacamole and a not-too-sweet Margarita is really one of my all time favorite meals.  This week we'll be testing out lots of different Fish Taco recipes to decide which version we personally like best.

Here's our line up:

A Cup of Jo's Best Fish Tacos You'll Ever Have (With Panko!) - this recipe is baked with panko, looks like it may be a healthy alternative to a fried taco!

Cooking Light's Baked Fish Taco - add a few spices to the fish and pop them in the oven, looks very easy, and perfect for a weeknight!

Smitten Kitchen's Fish Tacos, learned straight from Playa Del Carmen, Mexico - looks like a classic, simple version without much fuss.

Cooking Light's Blackened Baja Tacos - looks quick and easy in a cast iron pan, and the blackened crust is a little different!

Katie Lee's Fish Tacos - marinated and then simply sautéed.

Grocery List:

Lots of Tilapia, Mahi Mahi or Preferred White Fish

Egg & Panko

Lots of limes & Cilantro

Onion, & Red Pepper

Tortillas (corn or flour)

Pantry items: Paprika, Thyme, Oregano, Cayenne Pepper/Red Pepper, Brown Sugar, Garlic Power, Cumin, Coriander, Salt, Black Pepper and Oil

Garnish Ideas:

Cilantro Leaves, thinly sliced cabbage, thinly sliced onion, roasted corn, sliced avocado, jalapenos, hot sauce, tomatillo salsa, sour cream

Above is the main grocery list and recipes if you'd like to test these recipes along with us.  (The grocery list is really for the items to cook the fish, not for all of the cream sauces that are listed with some of these recipes.  For the purposes are our experiment, we really wanted to figure out what spices and method of cooking we like best for the fish!)  We'll be posting some fun garnish, topping and salsa ideas on Wednesday if you'd like to try those too, and then we'll report back next Monday on which combination and recipe we like best!  Let us know if you have an awesome recipe we should try too.

~Mary Keller

Image via Aggie's Kitchen

Perfect This Recipe | Jamie Oliver's Pizza Dough

Margherita pizza on Jamie Oliver's dough

In the past week I have become a pizza expert. I can say that with confidence after eating pizza for almost two meals a day for 5 days, but hey I’m not complaining! Andy and I make pizza a good bit; it’s one of our favorite meals to enjoy making and eating together. Up until now we’ve attempted to make one homemade dough that didn’t turn out too well and just reverted back to using Trader Joe’s dough. This experiment has definitely changed our view of pizza dough.  Check out our thoughts below as well as what worked with our oven and a few tricks too! 

Jamie Oliver's Recipe was by far the best pizza dough we've ever had at home. We were blown away! It makes 4 balls of dough too which I appreciated. If I take the time to make dough it's even better if it makes enough to freeze for later. We did use some semolina flour mixed with the Tipo "OO" flour and it was the perfect flavor and texture, as close as it gets to the pizza we had on our honeymoon in Italy! The biggest surprise for me on this dough was how it formed a raised crust. I learned when you toss the dough (like a true Neapolitan dough maker) you are using gravity and centrifugal force to create a thicker edge therefore forming this crust. I can tell you we did not toss our dough, only rolled, and somehow it created the perfect crust. Side note - it supposedly takes a year to master the task of properly tossing pizza dough. 

We made the remaining doughs using the dough hook on our KitchenAid Mixer. I think you could probably do this with all the recipes as I couldn't tell a difference. Next time I will try Jamie Oliver's with a mixer as well. I used this version of Smitten Kitchen's recipe and it was just OK. The You Tube recipe was our second favorite but didn't come close to Jamie Oliver's. I don't think we realized what we were getting into with the Basic Neapolitan dough recipe. It took 4 days and was good but not worth it. Trader Joe's was fine as usual but after tasting Jamie's Oliver's I think we'll be making batches of this dough to freeze and use in the future. 

While we're rolling out our dough we preheat our oven to 525 (the highest setting our oven will go) with a pizza stone on the bottom rack. We then use a lightly floured pizza peel to place the dough on  the pizza stone to pre-bake for 1 minute. Don't worry, bubbles may form just pop them and move on. Once the dough is par-baked we brush the crust with olive oil and sprinkle a little salt and garlic powder. We recently started doing this and it makes a huge difference! Next we add toppings and pop it back in the oven. We bake between 6 and 8 minutes, but keep our eye on it because it doesn't take long to overcook.

Which dough did you guys enjoy? Did you figure out what process works for you? I hope so!

- Heath

Perfecting a Recipe - Pizza Dough

There are a handful of recipes that we'd love to be able to whip out, good classic recipes that we wish we could make without thinking.   In the past when we've compared recipes, too much time has passed and we forget what we did and didn't like about each recipe.  We decided to spend a week focusing on one single recipe.  That way we will hopefully "master it" - we'll memorize it and hopefully know our oven's quirks and our own personal likes and dislikes. 

Next week we're perfecting homemade pizza dough!  That means we get to have thin, crusty homemade Italian pizza every night for dinner.  We will be trying out a different dough recipe every night for dinner.  We'll make notes, compare cooking times, ingredients, etc., and decide which one is perfect for us. 

First, we'll try Jamie Oliver's Classic Pizza Dough.  It looks like his secret is Italian "00" Flour.  Next we'll try Smitten Kitchen's Rushed Pizza Dough (recipe listed here) because if possible it would be nice to avoid the normal hour+ that dough usually takes to rise.  We will test this delicious looking homemade Margherita Pizza Recipe from Italy on You Tube.  We'll try this Basic Neapolitan Pizza Dough too, and lastly because I'm curious, we'll try Trader Joe's Dough.  I'm curious to see if we'll see any difference!

While I'm partial to thin crust pizzas, this is a great site for a handful of other types of pizza dough if anyone is interested!

- Mary Keller

Image by Buff Strickland via Camille Styles