Brined & Roasted Turkey Breast

There is nearly no measuring in this recipe. You can measure if you want to, but know I'm already eating and on my second glass of wine. I don't even know if this qualifies as a recipe since it is so simple. 

Turkey is delicious and easy to make in the oven, but I have yet to tackle an entire bird. I also cook for two, so it wouldn't be very practical to wrestle with a 20 pounder.

For the brine, you'll need:

• 1 cup salt
• 1/2 black peppercorns
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• a gallon of water 

I did not measure the water, or the peppercorns, but you should. [Or don't and the world keeps spinning]. Alton Brown taught me all the wonders of a brine. Essentially, a brine is salt solution that, through the magic of osmosis, creates a juicy protein by trapping in the moisture. There are many recipes for brines that start with stock and call for a lot of herbs and spices. Save that for November. For a weeknight meal, this simple brine makes the final dinner incredibly moist.

I let the breast hang out in the brine for an hour after work, turning it over after 30 minutes.

Ingredients & Tool

• a brined turkey breast
• thyme
• sage
• rosemary
• garlic powder
• Kosher salt
• olive oil
• roasting pan
• meat thermometer 

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Rub the turkey liberally with olive oil. Season it all over with the combination of dried herbs of your choosing or use my suggestions. Roast for 90 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

And that's it! I added two sweet potatoes to the pan and some broccoli in another roasting pan.

If only all dinners could be made entirely in the oven. Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

I prefer recipes with minimal steps. I'm more likely to make it again and again and who wants to a sink full of dirty dishes? This recipe is an exception to my-not-so strict rule. This soup calls for roasting the vegetables before cooking them in broth. I usually prefer to make all soups in my slow cooker, but the roasting imparts loads of flavors and it's worth doing on a Sunday when your team is definitely out of the playoffs.

The flavors of this soup seem Middle Eastern to me, but I've already proven that isn't something I know much about it. Still, the honey at the end makes the finished product worthy of company.

Ingredients & Tools

• 2 heads of cauliflower
• 1 large onion [I had 2 medium-sized ones; perhaps I should start measuring onions in cups]
• 6 cups of liquid [I used 2 cups of homemade chicken stock and 4 cups of water]
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons turmeric
• 3 tablespoons Kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons curry powder
• honey
• olive oil
• 2 baking sheets or roasting pans
• large stock pot
• immersion or traditional blended

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. The high temperature will produce excellent color and that brown color means flavor.

Chop the cauliflower and onion. It produces a lot. Split it evenly in two roasting pans or baking sheets. If you overcrowd one pan, the vegetables will steam instead of roast and you won't get the browning.

I used one pan and my dutch oven, since I needed the latter later in the recipe and it's one less thing to wash. Take the wins where you can.

Drizzle the vegetables liberally with olive oil and toss with your hands.

Roast for 30 minutes. Set a timer for 15 minutes and give everything a good toss at the half way mark.

Add the beautifully roasted vegetables to a large stock pot. 

Add the cayenne pepper, turmeric, curry, and salt. 

Mix and cook for 2-3 minutes over low heat to ensure all the cauliflower and onions have been seasoned.

Add the stock and the water. You could easily make this vegan by only using water or vegetable stock. If you use 100% stock, you may want to adjust the salt depending on the salt content of the stock.

Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over a low flame for 20 minutes. This lets the cauliflower soften and the liquid to absorb flavor.

Transfer the soup in small batches to a traditional blender or use an immersion blender right in the pot.

Serve this with a drizzle of honey and hope your team plays more consistently next year.

Simple Roasted Chicken

Roasting a whole chicken intimidated me. The final product looked so impressive, I was convinced it was going to require culinary school-level skills. It doesn't. This is not just a simple dinner, but it is so economical and delicious--a combination that means I make this often. The whole chicken is far cheaper per pound than a package of chicken breasts or drumsticks. Everyone gets to have some of their favorite parts and, if you have the time, you can make your own stock too--also easy!

Roasting is baking, but with a savory food. Do not fear your oven. This verb was another culprit in making me think this recipe was out of reach. If you can successfully preheat and own a meat thermometer, you can do this.

You could dedicate a Ph.D. to researching roasted chicken recipes. The kinds of herbs you use are all just a matter of taste. The oven temperature and internal temperature of the chicken, I think, should be constant regardless of if you make a thyme and rosemary chicken or a beer-can chicken.

Ingredients & Tools

• 1 whole chicken
• 1 lemon
• 1 head of garlic
• 4-5 root vegetables
• 4 tablespoons or 1/2 stick of cold unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons of olive oil
• Kosher salt
• pepper
• baker's twine
• meat thermometer
• roasting pan

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. This may seem high if you've roasted chickens before, but this hot oven produces excellent results: crisp skin, and moist meat, since the cooking time is reduced.

Use whatever root vegetables you're in the mood for. Carrots, parsnips, and potatoes all work. I was in a potato kind of mood and I'll be using the celery in a stock. Chop your vegetables and place in the bottom of your roasting pan. Season them with salt and pepper, but using olive oil, butter, or some other fat isn't necessary since the chicken will take care of that. This is the bed for your chicken.

This is my least favorite task: cleaning and handling raw meat. Do it quickly and move on with life. 

Season the inside of the chicken liberally with Kosher salt and pepper. In more involved recipes, you may be tying a bundle of herbs together, but the title of this post is simple roasted chicken and simple it will stay.

Cut the lemon in quarters and the head of garlic in half--no need to peel. Put both in the chicken. 

Cut the cold butter into thin pats. Use your fingers to gently separate the skin from the meat. Put the pats of butter under the skin. This is going to keep everything moist and flavor the chicken and the vegetables.

Rub the entire chicken [the outside now] with olive oil. I prefer this to butter on the skin because the milk solids in butter burn more easily.

Use some kitchen twine to tie the legs together. I have never attempted to truss a chicken. I will and I'll report back. In the meantime, if you haven't trussed either, just tie the legs together in a very simple knot and tuck the wings underneath so the tips don't burn. Leave the ends of the twine long enough to make removing it after cooking easy.

Roast until the dark meat reaches 165 degrees. This will vary depending on the size of the chicken and even by oven, but it will take roughly 75 minutes. I check the temperature after an hour and fifteen minutes exactly and judge how close to done it is at that time, but don't baste [that's what the butter's for!] or keeping opening the oven. That will just increase cooking time and that will increase the likelihood of a dry bird.

If your bird comes with the plastic pop-up timer, ignore it. As you can see it, it's in the breast and that cooks faster than the dark meat. When you're 75 minutes are up, place your meat thermometer in the leg. At 165, it's done. The breast meat won't be dry because of the butter. Life is good.

This will be your final product. Impress millions or just your family. We ate this the potatoes and spinach. 

The potatoes were amazing because of the garlic. If you need another reason to try this recipe, it's the potatoes.