I don’t love cooking for first, or even second dates. I know it seems like it should be my go-to activity (an opportunity to tantalize the taste buds of my potential paramour!), but it gets weird when you cook for a living. First of all, the pressure’s on to impress (as if it weren’t already anyway) and it requires me to try to look cute while chopping onions (just try it). Moreover, it feels akin to asking a dentist out and then asking him to take a quick peek at your molars.
That said, by date #3, I am usually comfortable enough to invite a man into my kitchen, and this is my trusty stand-by meal, assuming he eats poultry (this is San Francisco, so the possibility that he is a raw foodist gluten-free vegan is not out of the question). I get the chicken prepped and into the oven before he shows up (which has the side benefit of making my apartment smell amazing), roast some sweet potatoes or whip up some risotto and throw together a green salad.
Even if you aren’t planning a hot date any time soon, this chicken is great to make on a Sunday, and then eat throughout the week. I tuck pieces of it into sandwiches, wrap it in burritos or pack it cold on a picnic.
Ingredients
- 1 whole (4-5 lb) roasting chicken, giblets removed $12
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil Pantry
- 12 garlic cloves, chopped Pantry
- leaves from 2 sprigs fresh rosemary $1 for a bunch
- 1 lemon, zested and sliced thinly $0.50
- 2 tsp each salt and pepper Pantry
Recipe Serves 4-6
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Rinse the chicken under cool running water and pat dry, using paper towels. Place in a large (at least 9"x13") casserole pan.
- Whisk together the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, salt and pepper (you can also leave the garlic cloves whole and blend it all together in a food processor or blender).
- Pour a bit of the oil-garlic mixture into the cupped palm of your hand and rub it over the skin of the chicken on both sides.
- Gently slide your hands between the skin and the flesh of the chicken and rub some of the oil mixture beneath the skin. Pour a bit more oil into your hands and rub the cavity of the chicken with it. Continue until the whole chicken is covered with the garlic-oil mixture.
- Place a few slices of lemon between the skin and the flesh. Stuff the rest of the slices into the cavity. Arrange chicken breast-side-up in the pan and use kitchen twine or a couple of toothpicks to attach the legs together.
- Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil.
- Bake, covered, for 30 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for another 25-30 minutes, or until the skin is golden-brown and the juices run clear (stab a knife into the thigh to check this).
- Cut into pieces and serve hot.
- If you want to make a pan gravy, pour the pan juices (there should be plenty) into a small pot over high and bring to a light boil. Sprinkle in 1-2 tbsp of flour and whisk constantly (breaking up the lumps) until a thick, creamy gravy forms. Serve alongside the chicken.
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What They're Saying
Laura Kumin @MotherWouldKnow, on Mar 9, 01:34 PM, wrote:
Love the recipe – it’s a classic and close to the one I often make in winter, especially for Shabbat. Great for keeping a man (or woman) as well as wowing one on 3rd date. But I’ve never added flour directly to pan gravy for fear that it would give uncooked flour taste. Instead, I put a bit of melted butter, oil or fat from chicken in small pan, add flour and make a roux (cooking flour) before adding the pan juices to make gravy. I’ll try gravy your way next time.
Liv, on Mar 9, 03:51 PM, wrote:
Hiya
I have your site in my RSS feed, I love seeing what recipes and economical meals you guys come up with.
However, when I click on the title of the post, I get <a href= “http://brokeassgourmet.com/articles/rosemary-garlic-roast-chicken-aka-third-date-chicken?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BrokeAssGourmet+%28Broke+Ass+Gourmet+Full+Rss+Feed%29&utm_content=Google+Reader”> this page</a>.
This comes up with simply a “Nice Try” on a white page… it’s not for every post, but it’s enough to make me comment.
I love the blog, but perhaps there’s a bug?
dead_elvis, on Mar 9, 06:07 PM, wrote:
@ liv – that happened for me, too, but I was able to click through on the mac & cheese-stuffed acorn squash link without issue.
For the record, my browser is Google Chrome, on an HP laptop running Vista (64 bit). If it matters.
And I think I’ll be making this tomorrow, since I love roasted chicken. Too bad it will just be for myself… sniff
Suzanne, on Oct 26, 09:41 PM, wrote:
Let me qualify this by saying that my husband and I made the chicken just as the recipe says, and it was fandamntastic — maybe some of the best chicken I’ve ever had.
But the garlic is not messing around, which leads me to an idea should this recipe be applied in dating contexts: I think you should make the garlic measurement commensurate with how familiar you are with your date. A third date feels more like three cloves of garlic, am I right? Especially as third dates progress past dinner? And then, of course, as you all fall in love over assorted delicious dishes, you’ll eventually realize that you’ve found a twelve-clove kinda guy. :)
Gaby, on Dec 24, 07:15 PM, wrote:
Just tried this recipe for Christmas Eve Dinner – (cheap and easy with the whole family in town) – and WOW were they all impressed!!!
Thanks, name-twin, for yet another fabulous recipe!! I’ll be sure to make this one again and again!
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