weinoo

Nick - I often do this when I roast a whole bird. Either butter or duck fat - along with a sprig or two of thyme. If I'm feeling really industrious, I'll sliver up a clove or two of garlic and add that under the skin as well - it practically melts into the bird.

The whole idea of a roast chicken (for many people) is that it's supposed to be a fairly simple dish. Many want to take a chicken, maybe rub it with some butter or olive oil (or even better, in my book, duck fat), sprinkle on some salt and pepper, stick it in the oven for an hour and have a nice roast chicken. This recipe, of course, suggests that people want to spend hours and hours on that process. Or that they have rotisseries, and gram scales, and injectors - whatever. But - you still haven't told us what the really great secret to roast chicken is - and that's what kind of bird you're roasting. So please - let us in on that.

Patrick - I saw your post in the thread I linked to above. I'll have to give it a try. But I really have found Bell & Evans (at least the air-chilled, organic) to be better than Murray's? Have you tried it? I used to only buy kosher birds, or Bobo birds, but even they pale in comparison. I roast chicken differently almost every time I roast one. One time, it'll be Julia's method. Another, Thomas Keller's. Another - vertical roaster. Another on it's breast. Sometimes on a rack, sometimes on a bed of potatoes. If I had a rotisserie, I'd use that. A lot depends on the size of the bird. If you're starting with a 2.5# chicken, it's going to roast differently than a 3.7# bird. Cooking it outside - different than inside. Convection oven or no. There are a lot of variables to consider; I don't find it as simple as answering a survey.

Take a look at this post and the rest of the Roasting a Chicken topic for some really great ideas. As Ttogull's post immediately above mentions, it's all about getting a good chicken to start with. Cause if you're roasting a Perdue bird, it's always gonna taste like crap. I've been preferring Bell & Evans organic air-chilled birds lately - nice texture to the meat, and good flavor. If I lived in France, I'd be roasting a Bresse chicken twice a week.

A less bitter cocktail which we found ourselves returning to again and again this winter (and ala Sam as well) is the Grandfather... 1 bourbon / 1 Applejack BIB / 1 Antica / dash peychauds / dash ango / cherry garnish

Matzo ball ramen...

I'd never toasted any matzo before until Perlow mentioned it above. The matzo pieces were certainly not regular in shape although they may look that way. I'll try again with regular matzo soon.

I think they're both fine drinks, but that's just me. Adjusting the ratios, different sweets, etc. all make for a slightly different cocktail. For instance, I like my 1794 2 to 1 to .5.

Not quite true. Have you tried to cook a pizza at 325℉? Frittata at 450℉? But - I understand your point.

I have a Bosch gas range with full convection - probably a good 6 years old. Similar to this. The oven thermometer that I like is clear so it gets lit up from the oven light behind it. But they all get filthy and unreadable pretty damn quickly.

Well, mugen's more macro...you and I - more micro.

I don't know about you, but I might have to rush out and get these... Guy squirts... And all along, I thought Bobby Flay brought us the squirt bottle...

My range actually has a window so I can almost read the thermometer through that window. I also have a pizza stone in the bottom of the oven - once it's heated properly (45 min - 1 hour), the loss in temperature from opening the door and closing it quickly is minimal. Also, once you understand the thermodynamics of your oven, you shouldn't need to open the door to check the temperature very frequently.

I'm not sure if this is serious, if it is, it's pretty ironic that you're posting this statement to a food board. So it's ok for a select few to enjoy food, but if it spreads too far, well, then the allure is lost and it's ruined? Curious. I don't think that's what mugen is saying at all. Actually, I think mugen gets my OP. Fair enough. Guess i just don't follow the point then. I think the point I was trying to make is that, yes, we love pickles. But do we need to pickle every damn thing in sight? I love espresso. But does it have to be a triple ristretto every time? I like bacon and fat. But does it have to be on every dish I eat? I like barbecue. Do we have to smoke vinegar? Etc.

The only way to get an accurate reading of what the temperature in a home oven is is with a thermometer. I actually have two in my Bosch range, and in different parts of the oven they are off by about 25℉.

But lancastermike, you know "diets" don't work. Have some bread - but make it a small piece and subtract those calories from something else you're eating!

I'm not sure if this is serious, if it is, it's pretty ironic that you're posting this statement to a food board. So it's ok for a select few to enjoy food, but if it spreads too far, well, then the allure is lost and it's ruined? Curious. I don't think that's what mugen is saying at all. Actually, I think mugen gets my OP.

Maybe you can get some relief from your credit card company?

So, I made matzo brei with toasted whole wheat Streits' matzot... Feh.

There was a cool episode of Andrew Zimmern's show on last night, which was all about Baltimore. Looked like some fine places and some excellent Korean food. Actually, last night was the original air date... http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/bizarre-foods/episodes/baltimore-and-chesapeake-bay

Have you tried a Fitty-Fitty? Say, with Plymouth/Dolin? Orange Bitters and a twist. Olive on the sie.

Interestingly enough, I actually find that the Bell & Evans organic air-chilled chicken I buy at Whole Foods is my new favorite. And I got some pork twice the week from Heritage Meats at Essex St. Market that was amazing. Tamworth chops and a red wattle shoulder...this was staring at me when I walked in on Tuesday...

Interesting, as I think some of the best of the produce I've eaten and you've mentioned have come from the USGM - but anything can happen! We'll keep you informed on who has what this coming growing season!

Just out of curiosity, what's the excess involved with pickled raisins? I didn't know you could buy pickled raisins but I've made them in the past and thought they were tasty. They seemed like a natural pickling candidate, overly sweet and mostly dehydrated. They suck up the pickling liquid, soften and the sweetness is balanced by the vinegar. Personally, I find it a vast improvement over a stock raisin. Not bashing your opinion, I'm just trying to understand the criteria for "excess" in that case.Okay everyone - lighten up... http://youtu.be/yYey8ntlK_E

I'm having a little bit of trouble understanding this...what vendors are disreputable or what have you bought that is worse than supermarket stuff? Most everything is available for a taste, isn't it? And I've never met a vendor who, if you were to tell them that the corn you bought last week sucked, wouldn't make it up to you. I mean we all know there's no outdoor growing season here during January and February, and apple harvest takes place Aug - Oct, so stuff we're buying in March was harvested some time ago - but that's the case even with a lot of stuff in the supermarkets; either that, or it came from 6,000 miles away.