Tag Archives: Fall Food

One Pan Roast Chicken and Vegetables

I love the holiday season, but with that we are all rushing to get so much done. The days are already filled with work, family and friends. When the holiday season arrives there are the extra activities of shopping for gifts, decorating the house and extra entertaining. So with that I love when I have a recipe that is easy, simple and delicious. This one pan roast chicken and vegetables is just so easy to assemble and it looks and tastes just amazing. My recipe suggests certain vegetables to surround the chicken, but you can easy use other vegetables if you like such as carrots, asparugus, scallions, cauliflower or sliced peppers and onions. If  any of the vegetables seemed to have cooked too quickly, just take them of the pan , cover with foil and put the pan back into the oven to finish roasting. The dish is not only easy to make, it’s all a quick clean up. Especially, if you use a nice non stick pan such as scan pan, it’s about a 1 minute to clean up. So find yourself some extra time for the holiday acitivities with this quick dish.From by the bay wishing you speedy food memories!
Maryann
blog one pan chick
One Pan Roast Chicken and Vegetables
Serves 4 
 
Ingredients
1 organic chicken – 3 to 4 pounds
2 thick slices of bread, such as sourdough
2 heads garlic, sliced across the middle
2 bay leaves
6 – 8 shallots peeled
4 ounces brussel sprouts
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and sliced
4 small purple potatoes, sliced
5 strips of thick bacon
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon maple syrup
salt and pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F . Drizzle the bottom of the baking pan with olive oil. Place two slices of bread in pan. Bring chicken to room temperature and season with salt and pepper inside the cavity and outside. Place chicken on top of the bread in the baking pan. Wrap the chicken with bacon, drizzle with maple syrup and top with butter. Add the remaining vegetables around the chicken. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and season with salt  and pepper. Place in the oven and roast chicken until the bacon is crisp and the chicken is 175 degrees F and the juices run clear, approximately 1 1/2 hours. If the vegetables look dry add a little water or white wine. Let chicken rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Serve with the roasted vegetables and bread from the pan.
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Merlot Turkey Gravy

Here is the prefect gravy recipe. It’s base is an enhanced chicken stock, which has the flavor punched up with merlot wine and turkey pan drippings. The result is so delicious that you will have a hard time not putting this on top of everything on your Thanksgiving plate. Remember gravy is imperative to a successful Thanksgiving meal! Hot gravy can make up for any missteps in timing with your meal, where a dish might have gotten cold.

From by the bay, wishing you hot gravy food memories!

Maryann

 

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Merlot Turkey Gravy

Gravy Base

6 cups chicken stock, if store bought preferably organic low sodium

Giblets and neck from turkey

1 sprig rosemary

1 spring thyme

1 onion, peeled and quartered

1 celery stick, chopped

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Gravy

1 1/3 cup merlot

6 tablespoons flour

6 cups gravy base

4 tablespoons butter

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

1 tablespoons fine grey sea salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions for gravy base

Combine into a soup pot chicken stock, rosemary, thyme, onion, celery, peppercorns, giblets and neck from turkey. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 1 hour. Cool and strain broth and keep refrigerated until ready to make gravy. This can be done one day in advance.

Directions for gravy

Place seasoned broth into a saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Melt butter in a bowl and then add flour. Whisk until it is a smooth paste. Take one cup of hot broth and whisk into flour mixture until smooth. Pour this back into the broth and whisk to blend. Add bay leaves, molasses, salt and pepper and whisk again. You can have this prepared as the turkey is roasting. Once the turkey is done and removed from the roasting pan pour pan juices into a measuring cup. Spoon off fat and discard. Add remaining juices into broth in the saucepan. Place roasting pan back on heat and deglaze with the merlot. Scrap pan to get all brown bits, let reduce to half, about 2 minutes. Add to the gravy. Whisk together and let simmer until reduced to a sauce consistency. Remove bay leaves, mix adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve with turkey.

 

Spiced Pomegranate Molasses Glazed Turkey

 

The leaves are falling, their is a definite chill in the air and it will soon be time to gather loved ones around the table to celebrate Thanksgiving and kick off the holiday season for 2013. I can’t think of a better centerpiece for your Thanksgiving than this spiced pomegranate molasses glazed turkey. One of the most important aspects of making this recipe is in the shopping for the turkey. I suggest first and foremost that it’s fresh and second if possible organic. Preparing a fresh turkey makes a big difference in the end result and I find it’s definitely worth both the cost and the effort. The brining process works best with a turkey that has no additives since the additives often include salt solutions. I have found the a fresh turkey such as Bell and Evans works deliciously. I’ll be posting additional recipes all month so that you have a perfect Thanksgiving meal to share with friends and family when the big day arrives!

 

From by the bay wishing you pomegranate glazed food memories!

Maryann

 

 

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Spiced Pomegranate Molasses Glazed Turkey

1 16-18 lb. turkey, preferably organic

Brine

16 cups cold water, or more to cover turkey

1 cup fine sea salt

1 cup light brown sugar

4 cloves garlic

3 oranges

2 tablespoon black peppercorns

2 onions , peeled and quartered

3 sprigs rosemary

To roast turkey

2 oranges, cut in half

1 pomegranate cut in half

1 bunch rosemary

2 tablespoons fine grey sea salt

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

To baste

8 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature

¼ cup pomegranate molasses

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions

Prepare brine by combining water, sea salt, sugar and peppercorns. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Then add to the brine the garlic, oranges, onions and rosemary. Clean turkey with cold water removing any giblets and or neck. Keep giblets and neck in the refrigerator to use later for gravy base.  Place turkey and brine into a resealable plastic bag or into a large non reactive bowl covered with plastic wrap. The turkey should be covered with the brine, if not add more water. Refrigerate over night.  The next day remove the turkey 40 minutes before planning to place into the oven. Preheat oven to 425F. Remove turkey from brine and pat dry with paper towels inside and out.  Season the turkey cavity with salt and pepper.  Fill the cavity of the turkey with the oranges, pomegranate and rosemary. Tie turkey legs together and place into roasting pan. In a small sauce pan melt butter, mustard and pomegranate molasses together on a low heat. Use this to baste turkey once before placing into the oven. Roast the turkey at 425F for 30 minutes then lower the oven to 350F.   For an 18lb turkey cooking time will be approximately 3 hours. Use a meat thermometer to check that the meat registers 175F at its thickest part of the thigh. Baste the turkey about every 30 minutes with the butter and syrup mixture. If the turkey browns too quickly tent that part with aluminum foil. When ready remove from the oven. Take turkey from the roasting pan and place on a cutting board to rest before carving, at least 20 minutes. If you are serving later then 20 minutes from removing from oven tent turkey with aluminum foil until ready to serve.

 


Pear Sauce

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It was a fine autumn weekend and I wanted my dinner to be inspired by the beauty around me, the trees are just starting to turn color, the sky is blue and there is a slight coolness in the air. I had to look no further than my fruit bowl to come up with this twist on applesauce, using pears instead! This is a real easy recipe with the end result a sweet and delicious sauce. The sauce is sweet from the nature sugar in the peats and requires little sugar to make. The sauce is a perfect  alone or as a complement to pork or poultry. It also makes a great breakfast on top or waffles, pancakes or with some yogurt and granola,  Enjoy!
From by the bay wishing you autumn pear food memories!
Maryann
Pear Sauce
Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients
4 pears peeled, cored and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Directions
Place all the ingredients into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool. Place into a food processor or blender to process. Place in an air tight container and refrigerate until ready to use. It will keep in a refrigerator for about 1 week.