Reading… And Cooking… And Eating

My lovely friend Maggie (who is forever spoiling me with kindness in the form of words, stories, and my favorite flowers hung carefully on my doorknob) and her husband Alex (the funniest, most genuine life-of-the-party type complete with British accent to boot) gave me a gift card to a local bookstore for my birthday earlier this month. And I knew exactly what I wanted to spend it on: Saveur: The New Classics cookbook. 

I have already made three recipes from this book and each one has turned out magnificently. In fact, the Christian Delouvrier-inspired Perfect Roast Chicken is so succulently perfect with it’s crispy salty skin, I’ve already made it twice. And so, in the spirit of sharing (and hoping you will go out and buy this book or at least buy it for someone who loves to cook), I share that perfect recipe. Enjoy!

Perfect Roast Chicken

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 3-4 lb whole chicken
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 bunch fresh thyme

Heat oven to 475. * Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat and stir in soy sauce; set aside. Season chicken with salt & pepper and stuff cavity with garlic and thyme; tie legs together with kitchen twine. Transfer to 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

Brush the chicken (or pour, I poured) generously with some of the soy-butter mixture and cook, basting twice more during cooking, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh reads 165, about an hour. Let rest 10 minutes before carving.

* The recipe is perfect, but maybe not for my old stove. I found 475 to be too hot, scorching the outside of the bird and leaving the center undercooked. The second time I made this, I started out at 450 and had perfect results. 

I plan on making at least one recipe from this book per week. This week, Lamb Naravin (French lamb stew) and coconut cake. My mouth is already watering.

P.s. — Saveur online.