Last night I was invited to join a virtual wine tasting of Burgundies. I’m not quite sure how I got into this group but it has been a life line for me throughout this pandemic. My neighbors across the street invited me into the first one and then somehow I got onto another one. For whatever reason, last night’s tasting was anchored in Massachusetts. Both the guy who organizes it and the wine shop are located out in the Cape. This was the second part of a two series about Burgundy. Both classes have featured a wine purveyor who knows the families and is a distributor for a particular group. Last night’s was exceptional - it featured wines from the Henriot family who are (I learned last night) the largest land owners in the Cote D’or. We tasted a Regional Pinot, a Premier Cru (my favorite!) and a Cru Beaujolais. The question before each class is, of course, what to eat alongside the wines?

I had some yummy cheese - most notably a Brillat-Savarin - to go along with the tasting but I knew I would need more sustenance after the class. A good roasted chicken with crunchy roasted potatoes called out to me. I’ve posted the recipe for Zuni Chicken before but will include it here at the end. Apparently my pictures were not that great so I made sure to get some better shots for people who didn’t love them. (Yes, I listen!). The star of the food for me, though, was the potatoes. I recalled that my dear friend from college, Michael, always boiled his potatoes before cooking them so I checked in with him. There’s something about boiling your potatoes briefly before roasting them that makes them the best they can be. I think it keeps the inside soft and the outside crunchy - regardless I used his method and the results were perfection. I hate to admit it but I pretty much finished the bottle of Premier Cru over the course of the evening and by the end I was using the potatoes to scoop up the runny cheese. Does it get much better than that?

Crunchy, Perfect Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

Depending on how many people you are serving should dictate the number of potatoes you use. I do like leftovers so I always make at least one or two more than people.

Last night I used a combination of small, new red potatoes and a good old Idaho baking potato. I don’t peel them when I’m roasting them - the skin is the best part - but I do give them a thorough scrubbing.

Olive Oil -

note: I added the fat from the roasting chicken on top to make them extra tasty as well.

Kosher Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper

Rosemary, Thyme, Basil - you can use any herbs that you like. Last night I just used Rosemary

Directions

Cut the potatoes up into inch like quarters, meaning for the baking potatoes I cut them in half / then quarters lengthwise and then cut them in 1/4 -1/2 inches horizontally. For the red potatoes I cut them into equally sized portions. Take a look at the photo if this is confusing.

I baked my potatoes in the oven while the chicken was roasting but if you’re not preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Throw the potatoes into boiling water - I threw a little bit of Kosher Salt in there with them and let them boil for about 5 minutes.

Drain them in a colander. When they are thoroughly drained, put them in a ceramic dish or on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil on top and gently toss. The potatoes will be soft so you don’t want to mix them too hard - they will break down. Sprinkle your seasonings on top and mix. I just used Kosher salt, pepper and freshly chopped rosemary.

I then put the dish in the oven with the chicken. The potatoes take a long time to get to the perfect crisp. I left them in the oven for over an hour and then (because the class was still going on) I just turned the oven off and let them completely finish. I’ll let the picture below speak for itself. They were delicious!

Zuni Chicken (encore)

Here are some photos of the chicken. The directions on how to make it are in the original Zuni Chicken entry. I’ll include that at the end of the posting so it’s easy to find but here’s the chicken in the making.

Grande Finale - Cut up chicken a top new lettuces, fennel salad, roasted carrot matchsticks and roasted potatoes — Grande Finale -
Cut up chicken a top new lettuces, fennel salad, roasted carrot matchsticks and roasted potatoes

Ingredients

1 Whole chicken - make sure that the cavity is clear. A lot of times the neck and liver are left in the cavity.

1 bunch of Italian Parsley

1 lemon cut in quarters

Rosemary & Thyme (optional) - I only used thyme in the cavity last night since I was using Rosemary on the potatoes

Kosher salt & pepper

Directions

At least one day before you are going to make the chicken, clean it off - meaning check that all the inside parts are out, trim back some of the excess skin in you need. Then, using kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, cover the chicken with the mix. I’ve never measure the amounts - I just place the chicken in a bowl and sprinkle it with the salt on one side, then grind fresh pepper on it, flip it over and do the same to the other side.
Cover the bird lightly with saran / plastic wrap or, if you have room just leave it open so it can air dry. Place in fridge and leave for 24 hours. If you didn’t preplan you can do a quick rest of 2 hours but I think it’s better to give it at least a day.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. It’s smart to leave only one rack in the oven. It’ll save on the need to clean racks if the chicken is spattering.
I like to cook the chicken in a skillet but you can use any type of roasting pan, dutch oven or even a cookie sheet. Whatever you use, place in the oven to preheat
While the oven is preheating, take out your bird. I like to put some paper towels down on a cutting board and then place the bird on that. One of the keys to a crisp skin is a dry chicken so pat the bird down with the towels and let it sit for a while to air dry.
Roughly chop your parsley and then shove it under the skin of the chicken. It’s easier if you loosen the skin first but get it all over- the breast, bottom, through the neck portion.
Squeeze your lemon into the cavity and throw the lemons in as well. Silver Palate used this method with their turkey with oranges. It :refreshes” the chicken. I like to think of it as the chicken’s spa.
Take a handful of thyme & rosemary and throw that into the cavity as well - as I mentioned - this is up to you. I only used thyme this past go round. You can use any herb - sage, rosemary. I think it imparts more flavor to the bird.
When the oven gets to the right temperature, take the skillet or roasting pan out. BE VERY CAREFUL - IT’LL BE VERY HOT.
Lift your bird up and place it on the skillet, breast side up. It’ll sizzle when it hits the surface.
Place in the oven and set your timer for 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes, flip the bird over - be really careful to get under the bird to lift it up and flip it, otherwise the skin may stick to the skillet. If it does, no worries.
Roast for another 25 minutes
Take it out, flip it again. At this point it’s up to you to decide how much longer you may want to cook it. I typically do another 20 - 25 minutes. The correct internal cooking temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit. I usually don’t bother - relying more on the way it looks and smells.
Remove from oven when it’s done and let sit for a few minutes. At this point you can let it rest in the pan or take out and place on a cutting board. Just be aware that it may ooze juices so I’ve learned to be a bit more patient and just let it cool down in the skillet. This can take an hour or more if you are really letting it cool but experts advise letting it rest for 15 minutes.
Once it’s out of the pan I pour off the excess fat, and, using chicken stock I deglaze the pan of all that goodness left in it. I boil down the juices - this becomes (for me) the gravy and next day a hot salad dressing. Last night I poured the extra fat right onto the potatoes and finished roasting them.
Carve the chicken. One of the things I do is to take the legs off separately, then the wings and then I cut the entire half of the breast off the breast bone and try to remove the skin in one piece. Then I cut that piece horizontally. I repeat that on the other side, then place all the meat on a platter and pour some of the gravy on top and then place the skin artistically over the cut breast meat. Serve with whatever rocks your boat at that time. Some of the variations I’ve done over the years are the bread pudding that Zuni uses, simple roasted vegetables that could be made separately or (if you use a roasting rack) under the chicken while it’s roasting or just a salad. Those recipes you can find later in the recipe section. Whatever is left can be used for the next few days in a salad or in a sandwich or just eat right out of the fridge as is.
Enjoy!