The Lovely Month of May

Spring Has Sprung

I cannot even begin to tell you how excited that I am that it’s May. This month comes with so many good things.  The weather is better, flowers are blooming, and it’s my birthday.  I’ve clearly not been very good at keeping up in April, so I promise to make a bit more of an effort this month.

The last couple of weeks of April were so rough  in the United States.  I felt like I should say something and wrote a couple of drafts, but everyone knows it was bad and everyone who could be affected is upset.  I can only hope that the future holds fewer horrible days and that those most greatly impacted recover as fully and quickly as possible.

On a much lighter topic,  my birthday is very soon. I’m hoping that I end up with some less-than-exciting kitchen things (a hand mixer!) which would greatly improve my efficiency in the kitchen and would bring my lovely readers more recipes more often. I’m currently debating between cakes that I hope Matthew will make for me.  I love the sound of this red wine chocolate cake, and this yellow cake, and this more traditional chocolate cake.  There are also a couple of cakes in one of the fabulous French cookbooks Matthew got for Christmas. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Because I haven’t posted anything in a while, let alone something about food, I thought I would present my most basic of university/postgrad cooking, the roast chicken.  It does feel a bit like a winter food, especially when served with potatoes and a lovely gravy, but it is a comfort food fit for any day you need a little home feeling (or the weather in Glasgow is as bad as today’s-dreich with occasional less cold moments). Matthew and I eat a lot of whole chickens because, honestly, they’re cheap and easy and make more than one meal.   We usually have leftover chicken (I buy a decent sized one) that gets used for soup and a third meal, frequently curry or enchiladas. I’m going to leave you with my recipe for a roast chicken and  gravy. I promise I’ll upload pictures of one soon (I forgot to take some last night as I was cooking)!

Basic Roast Chicken with light gravy

• 1 medium sized chicken (feeds about 5 people)
• 1 onion
• 3 large, whole cloves of garlic
• dried thyme
• dried oregano
• mixed herbs
• salt
• pepper
• butter
• foil
• flour
• butter
• milk

Preheat oven to 400° F, 200° C (350° F or 180° C for a convection oven).  Halve the onion and peel the garlic. Place your chicken into a high sided baking dish and remove giblets.  Stuff chicken with garlic and onion.  Place small pats of butter on chicken skin, one on either side of the breast, one on either side near the back, and one on each drumstick.  Season to taste.  Tent chicken with foil. Place chicken in the oven for around 1h 45min, depending on the size of the bird, removing the foil when 45 minutes remain. Baste every 20-30 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool.

For gravy: Make a basic roux (one solid pat of butter, around 5 grams for 2 people, and flour, about a tablespoon).  While constantly stirring, slowly add in some of the juice from the bird while stirring.  Once liquid and roux don’t properly combine, add small amounts of milk until consistency is as desired.  Add the same herbs from the chicken.  Pour over meat and dig in!