I have been craving all sorts of comfort foods lately thinking (erroneously of course) that they will somehow make all of my worries magically disappear. I have been carrying a higher than normal level of stress lately and am still figuring out how to deal with all of it. To add to all of this internal chaos going on in my head, I recently gave up diet soda (my intake of this beverage has probably contributed to corporate profits increasing significantly over the years) which has diminished my desire for sugar laden foods (at least there is one positive outcome here!). So in the absence of diet soda, getting a temporary boost from sugar and in seeking to get to a less-stressful place, I have begun to go for long walks and seek refuge in comfort foods. Which in of itself is not a bad thing, as long as the comfort food choices I am making don't have any other unintended consequences and that the walking gets me back to running.
Of all of the comfort foods out there, for me there is nothing more comforting than a Sunday dinner meal of a roasted chicken with pan gravy. I don't even need the mashed potatoes or the stuffing, just the chicken and pan gravy. A perfectly roasted chicken with a gravy flavored from the juices of the chicken along with the flavors of lemon, thyme, garlic and some chicken stock in one bite can make me feel like all is right with the world, at least for a little while. A little reprieve is better than no reprieve at all.
In my family I am the one who is always asked to make the gravy, even when I am not the one making the chicken, turkey or roast. Even though what goes into or on the chicken, turkey or roast affects the gravy, somehow it always manages to come together, almost perfectly. For years I used to rely on heavy cream to add richness to the gravy, but have learned that the juices of the roast and some of the fat along with some good stock and a little flour can make an incredibly flavorful gravy.
My father was the one who always made the Sunday and holiday dinners. It was a memorable Thanksgiving dinner one year when I (at age 10) thought that the saucepan on the stove was filled with 'dirty water'. I proceeded to empty it so I could wash and put the pan away before the company came (my obsession with no dirty dishes in or near the sink started early). The 'dirty water', I subsequently learned, was actually the stock my father had gotten up early to make. That was a year where there was only enough gravy for everyone to have about a spoonful of over either the turkey or mashed potatoes, you had to choose. Ironically because my father never made me feel worse than I already did when I saw the expression on his face when he discovered what I had done, I felt even worse.
As much as I love making a bread stuffing for a roasted chicken, the flavor of the gravy is enhanced significantly when the cavity of the chicken is seasoned only Kosher salt and pepper and then stuffed with a head of garlic, fresh thyme and a lemon. Such simple ingredients create such great outcomes.
Some melted butter, a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper is all that is needed to season the skin of the chicken. A six to seven pound chicken all tied up (I personally like the larger roasting chickens) roasted at 425 degrees for approximately 90 minutes. No basting necessary. How simple is that?
When I don't have homemade chicken stock, I will use the Knorr's concentrate. It makes more stock than I need, but then there is always a use for chicken stock! Other than the stock, the juices and some of the fat from the chicken, you only need two tablespoons of all-purpose flour, a little more Kosher salt and some pepper. These are the makings of a gravy so delicious that you could be happy with just the gravy!
Once the chicken is removed from the roasting pan, all of the drippings are poured into a bowl. After skimming off two tablespoons of the fat and reserving for use, the rest of the fat is skimmed off and discarded. The remaining drippings are returned to the pan along with one cup of chicken stock and placed on the stove over medium-high heat. Using a whisk, all of the bits are scrapped up. The two tablespoons of fat are combined with the two tablespoons of all-purpose flour and mixed until smooth. The fat-flour mixture is added and whisked into the pan. Continue cooking until well combined and the pan gravy is slightly thickened. A little salt and pepper to taste and you will have a most delicious pan gravy, one where you will want to consider licking the pan. Yes, it is that good.
There is something regal about serving gravy in a gravy boat as it makes serving something simple feel like an indulgence. From my perspective, a gravy boat is a need to have serving item because it is so multi-dimensional. Beyond gravy, it can be used for serving dessert sauces, for chutneys and conserves, and all sorts of other sauces. Hey, it can even be a great container for a flower arrangement!
Allowing the chicken to rest for at least fifteen minutes not only gives you time to make the pan gravy but it creates a much juicier chicken. Even a great pan gravy cannot salvage a dry roasted chicken. I served the roasted balsamic onions with this roasted chicken and didn't even miss the mashed potatoes. Maybe my quest to make comfort food isn't such a bad thing after all.
Recipe
Roasted Chicken with Pan Gravy (a slight adaption of Ina Garten's Perfect Roast Chicken recipe)
Ingredients
a 6 to 7 pound roasting chicken (Perdue roasting chickens are plump and flavorful)
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 large bunch of fresh thyme
1 lemon cut in half
1 head of garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1 to 2 Tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chicken stock
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Remove giblets from the chicken and rinse out the inside cavity. Generously salt and pepper the inside of the cavity, then stuff with lemon and garlic. Place in roasting pan.
3. Tie the legs of the chicken together with kitchen twine and tuck the wings under the chicken.
4. Pour melted butter and olive oil over the chicken. Using a brush or your hands ensure the entire chicken has been coated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Roast the chicken for approximately 90 minutes or until the juices run clear from the leg and thigh area when cut.
6. Remove chicken from roasting pan and place on a platter. Let rest for at least 10-15 minutes before slicing.
7. Pour all of the juices and fat into a measuring cup.
8. Remove 2 tablespoons of fat and place in a small bowl. Continue to remove the rest of the fat. Return the juices to the pan.
9. Add 1 cup of chicken stock to the juices in the pan and cook on high heat for approximately 5 minutes scraping up all of the bottom of the pan.
10. Mix the 2 Tablespoons of fat and flour together until smooth. Add to the pan. Using a whisk, blend in the flour mixture into the juices/stock in the pan. Continue to cook for approximately 3 to 4 minutes until the gravy is thickened.
11. Pour gravy into a gravy boat. Serve with the carved chicken.
In less than two weeks I head back to the midwest to attend my niece's high school graduation. As she approaches the rite of passage from high school to college, I have found myself thinking how quickly the past almost eighteen years of her life have seemed to pass. The concept of time changes the older I get. In reminiscing, I couldn't help but recall so many of the times she and her brother spent time in our home. From going to museums, to the pumpkin patch, to the city, to restaurants, to the neighbor's pool down the street, to the sleepovers, and yes, to the meltdowns, I have been able to watch her and her brother evolve into amazing young adults. As an aunt, I might be just a tiny bit biased in my view of them.
From the time my niece and nephew were babies, my sister and brother-in-law have always been generous in allowing the kids to stay with us for weekends as well as allow us to take them on trips. Sure it gave them a respite and some time to focus on their relationship, but we choose to see this as an unselfish gift. The combination of the quality and quantity of time spent with them explains why we have such a close relationship today as making and creating memories strengthened our bond and further built upon the foundation of our relationship. If someone were to ask me to choose between spending quantity time or quality time with them, I would first wonder why a choice had to be made and then I would wonder whether or not growing the relationship really mattered to them. For me quantity begets quality and vice versa. And I truly believe the relationship I have with my niece and nephew today would not be what it is if my sister and brother-in-law asked me to choose. Thank goodness they didn't.
