Sunday, September 25, 2011

simply good

i love food. ( i am sure you already knew that about me) i love all aspects of food. i love the gathering, prepping, and then enjoying what you made. my hubby and i love cookbooks. i probably love them more for the photos, where hubby loves the science behind them. the mixing of ingredients to create a bit of magic. me, i tend to have the short attention span when it comes to steps in a recipe. too long, i lose interest. so when a recipe comes together that is short and sweet and down right good, i LOVE it! of course then i want to share it with everyone . you have to do that with a good recipe yes? my best girlfriend shared this one with me and now i want to pass it along. a 1 pot meal to boot, bonus! i love anything that you can throw in a pot and simmer into sublime submission. it is true, i have a not so small love affair with our cast iron dutch oven. last fall and winter it saw lots of love, chicken and dumplings, potato chowder, and chili, mmmm yes. comfort in a pot. i like that.
this is a sure to become a staple for my family this fall and winter. relatively inexpensive, simple fresh ingredients, 1 pot, all you need is time....
oh and it's a Jamie Oliver recipe... who doesn't love Jamie?
(i am a sucker for boys with accents... it's ok, my hubby knows.)
(and boys with accents who love to grow food and cook? oh.my. ;) )

Chicken in Milk
1 4lb chicken
1 stick of butter (everything is better with butter)
TBS olive oil
10 cloves of garlic in their skins
handful of fresh sage leaves
zest of 2 lemons
2 cups of whole milk
* 1/2 cinnamon stick (*i would say this is optional... i put it in the first time making this recipe and was put off by the intensity of the cinnamon. this time around i omitted the cinnamon and like it SO much more.)

Preheat the oven to 375F, and find a snug-fitting pot for the chicken.
salt and pepper the skin if you like.
melt stick of butter and TBS olive oil in your pot on the stove top. brown your chicken all over rotating to brown evenly. remove the chicken for a moment to dump off the melted butter, leave the brown bits on the bottom of the pot (adds flavor). return chicken to the pot, pour in all ingredients (milk, lemon zest, garlic cloves in skin, sage leaves) cover and place in your preheated oven. cook for 60 mins covered (basting occasionally) then remove lid and cook an additional 30 mins. remove from oven and rest. the chicken will fall off the bones.
drizzle the tender pieces of meat with some of that lemony broth from the pot. don't forget to scoop out the garlic cloves, they will be soft and perfectly spreadable. just squeeze their skins to reveal the soft garlic.(great eaten alone or spread on a crusty bread.) I served the chicken with some homemade mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach. the meat is just so tender.

so there ya have it.
super simple, all you have to do is remember to time it.
comfort food. just the kind of thing fall calls for don't you agree?
oh and your home will smell wonderful while this cooks.

what meals do you love to cook when the weather cools off?
now i want an apple pie to wash this down with....

8 comments:

Jill said...

OK . . . I was a little put off by the name of the recipe, but the photos look so good. I'll have to give this one a try but not on a Sunday. Those are chili days in our house from September to April.

Unknown said...

mmm-kay. I'm gonna try it this week!

Unknown said...

I made this exact same chicken last week! We all liked it a lot. Felt it made a nice change from the usual roast chicken.

sarah jean, said...

yum.my!

now i just need the universe to open up (to me), bring me a dutch oven, then it will be chicken in milk rock + roll time, baby!

thanks for the recipe dearie. x

keli [at] kidnapped by suburbia said...

yum!! i am going to try this for sure [with soy milk and a butter substitute, of course] ;)

Sarah Jane said...

Oh yes, this sounds & looks SO good! I love our dutch oven & cast iron pans. They're the best things ever.

Molly said...

i hope it cools down enough here to make this dish! i pushed it last night with a pot of chicken and vegetable soup. poor hubby was sweating as he ate it. it's definitely not soup weather yet.

Faren said...

That looks so delicious! Living in Texas I have a long way to until cooler weather heads our way but when it does one of my favorite recipes is creamy corn chowder. Here's the link if you would like to try it:http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/09/creamy-corn-chowder/