Today is Julia Child’s birthday. She is an American icon. The impact she had on cooking, food, wine and the enjoyment of cooking, wine and food lives on in the food bloggers around the world. As a young girl I remember hearing about her shows. Then as I got older I got to watch her on PBS. My favorite show was with Jacques (Pepin) and Julia. Their show was Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home. A companion cookbook to that show was published and my wonderful Mom bought me an autographed copy. It’s that cookbook I used to find this recipe for Julia’s chicken. A recipe all of use thoroughly enjoyed.
Earlier this year we were in Washington, DC and I got to fulfill an bucket list item by visiting the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. It was beautiful. Even my family enjoyed seeing her entire kitchen displayed. We marveled at all her copper pots and pans and how the things she used in her kitchen were not different at all from the things I use in mine.
We eat a lot of chicken and our Sunday meal is often whole roast chicken. This was an easy pick. Roast chicken with lemon and herbs is a more sophisticated version of the roast chicken I normally make. A few notes about how I changed her recipe up. I did not roast any vegetables with it. I used herbs de provence because it’s what I had and we like it best. I also did not truss the bird. It’s not something I ever do and in the interest of time I decided to forego it. I actually made two roast chickens this particular night. I have teenage boys, need I say more?
Ingredients
- 1 fresh 3 1/2 pound chicken
- Salt and pepper
- 6 fresh sage leaves (or 4 sprigs of fresh tarragon or 1/2 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence)
- 1 large lemon, cut in 1/4-inch slices
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
Instructions
- Preparing the chicken:
- Set the rack on the lower middle level and preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Rinse the chicken thoroughly, inside and out, under hot water, then dry it with paper towels. Remove any lumps of fat from inside the cavity near the tail opening.
- To make carving easier, remove the wishbone. Lift the flap of neck skin and insert a thin, sharp knife into each end of the breast; then slice diagonally along both sides of the wishbone. Use your finger and thumb to loose the bone, pry it out at the top, and pull it down. If it breaks, carefully wiggle out the pieces.
- Fold the wings up against the breast, where they will be held in place by the V-rack.
- Salt and pepper the cavity and stuff it with the sage leaves and 3 or 4 thick slices of lemon; give the slices a squeeze as you put them in. Massage the butter over the entire chicken skin, including undersides, then salt generously.
- Arrange the chicken breast-up on the rack in the roasting pan. Squeeze the juice of the remaining lemon pieces over the top.
- Roasting the chicken:
- Set the roasting pan in the oven. After 15 minutes, lower heat to 350°F. When the chicken is beginning to brown rapidly, baste with accumulated pan juices. Roast for an hour. Very carefully test for doneness, checking for easy movement in the leg joint and clear color in the juices. Return it to the oven if there is any sign of pinkness. (A small chicken will roast in about 1 1/4 hours, a larger one may take 1 1/2 hours or more.) When done, remove the chicken from the rack and set it on a board to rest for 15 minutes before carving. This allows the juices to retreat back into the flesh.
Notes
A roasting pan 2 inches deep; a V-shaped roasting rack A board or platter for resting and carving
Roast Chicken with Lemon and Herbs a la Julia by Family Around The Table
Petits Pains by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Crepes Suzette by Grumpy’s Honeybunch
Coq Au Vin by Monica’s Table
Julia Child’s Roast Chicken by Feeding Big
Homemade Puff Pastry by Amy’s Cooking Adventure
Cherry Clafouti by The Freshman Cook
Creme Brûlée by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Cauliflower Gratin by A Day In The Life on The Farm
I love buying local honey. It’s said if you have seasonal allergies you should buy local honey to help combat them. While no one in my family really does, I do like to support local beekeepers. My grandfather had bees on his farm in Illinois. Somewhere I have a photo of him tending them. As I mentioned earlier this week, we don’t have great farmers markets. I purchased this honey when we were staying outside Asheville not long ago Actually, I purchased a lot of honey that day because my boys kept trying different varieties so we came home with a few jars.
Raspberry is my husband’s favorite fruit. He loves them in just about anything. I think I’ve mentioned in previous posts that he comes by it honestly because his aunt is a raspberry lover too. I can’t even tell you how long this recipe has been in my recipe box but I know it’s longer than 25 years. My Mom gave this recipe to me when she and my Dad returned from one of there wonderful trips. They often enjoyed staying in bed and breakfast inns. The innkeeper served these raspberry muffins one morning and my Mom instantly thought of my husband and his love for the fruit. She asked the innkeeper for the recipe and Dawn from Cameo Rose B&B happily obliged. Why it’s taken me so long to make them I have no idea but I will say I will be making them regularly.
I’m excited to be sharing recipes using farmer’s market ingredients this week. My first recipe is a blueberry crisp for two. But first, a confession. We do not have a great farmer’s market nearby but my grocer does has pretty great produce. So I’ve chosen some recipes this week you can make with items you find at a typical farmer’s market.
