Spiced Roasted Chicken

Another recipe from Martha Stewart. This recipe yields a moist, flavorful bird. However, I ended up having to continue cooking it for an extra half hour to get to the right temperature. But it's possible the inside of my chicken was still partially frozen. So just make sure you check the temperature of the thigh every ten minutes past the recipe time until you get there. Also, the veggies were not done so I tossed them on a baking sheet for another 15 minutes after the bird came out. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), rinsed and patted dry, legs tied
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, halved crosswise, and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
• 2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 orange, unpeeled, cut into 8 wedges

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl, combine spices. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then rub all over with spice mixture. Place in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid. Arrange vegetables and orange wedges around chicken and add 1/2 cup water. Cover and roast 30 minutes. Remove lid and roast until skin is golden brown and juices run clear when chicken is pierced between breast and leg (an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of a thigh, avoiding bone, should read 165 degrees), 30 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before carving. Serve with vegetables and orange wedges.

Clay Pot Honey Lemon Chicken

                                                     CLAY POT HONEY LEMON CHICKEN

Easy and delicious! The recipe below came from Emeril Lagasse. But of course, I made a few small changes of my own. Enjoy!

1 (3 1/2-pound) fryer chicken
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (reserve lemon shell)
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon melted butter, plus 4 tablespoons, softened at room temperature
2/3 cup honey
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour


Directions

Prepare a clay roaster by soaking in cold water for 15 minutes.

Rub chicken all over with 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice and season evenly on all sides with the salt and pepper. Place the reserved lemon shell inside the chicken cavity. Place the chicken inside the prepared clay roaster and brush with the melted butter. Cover the roaster and transfer to a cold oven. Set the oven temperature to 400 degrees F and cook for 45 minutes.

Combine the remaining 1/4 cup of lemon juice, honey, and soy sauce in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until heated through. In a small bowl, make a paste from the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and the flour. Whisk the butter-flour mixture into the melted honey-lemon-butter mixture. Continue to cook until the sauce has thickened slightly. Remove the clay cooker from the oven and pour the honey-butter mixture all over the chicken, making sure to evenly cover the breast and any exposed areas. Cover the roaster and return the chicken to the oven for 35 minutes. Remove lid and cook another 10 minutes so the chicken will brown up. Transfer the chicken to a platter or carving board, cut into pieces and serve immediately. Transfer the sauce to a gravy boat for serving, or spoon some of the sauce over each piece of chicken.

Coca Cola Chicken: Slow Cooker Version

Just as easy and delicious as the skillet-cooked version. This is better if I'm making a large amount, too large for the skillet.

Ingredients
6 chicken drumsticks
4 chicken thighs

3/4 cup soy sauce
1 can coke

Garnish: scallions and sesame seeds

Place chicken in slow cooker. Add liquids, then push the chicken pieces down so they are soaking in the liquids as best they can. Cook on low for 6 hours. Remove chicken, drain some or all of the leftover liquid into a pan or skillet and cook until reduced to a syrupy sauce. Pour over the chicken. Garnish chicken with scallions and sesame seeds. 

Tender, falling off the bone, delicious! I served these with mashed cauliflower.