Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Golden Skillet Chicken with Vegetables

I happened to catch Jaime Deen's new show on the Food Network a couple of weeks ago.  I was extremely curious about his combination of fennel seeds and rosemary on chicken.  Well, curiosity got the best of me and I did this from memory since I was too lazy to walk to the next room to print out the recipe.

This was a fantastic week night meal...one pan..cooking in the oven; the only thing more I could asked for is elves to clean up the kitchen and dining room.

Reheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


Butterfly a whole chicken (fryer).  One the inside of the chicken make a snip on the breast bone, then hope the chicken, skin side facing you, holding the outer edges of the breast/wing, bend the chicken toward you until you hear the breast bone crack, now the chicken will lay flat. I find butterflying the chicken easiest with with poultry shears, but if you're an ace with a sharp knife, go for it!  

Season the underside of the chicken with salt and pepper then season the skin side with salt, pepper, 2 teaspoons crushed fennel seeds (I crushed mine in a mortar with a pedestal), 1 teaspoon dried rosemary. 



Peel two carrots, cut in half and then in to pieces about one-inch long.  Use about 4 to 6, scrubbed, #1  golden or fingerling potatoes, cut in half, 2 shallots, peeled and cut in half.  Place the veggies in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Toss the veggies to make sure they are evenly coated with the oil and seasonings, set aside.



Pre-heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Once the skillet is hot, place the chicken in skin side down and sear for about 5 to 6 minutes.  Turn over and cook for an additional five minutes and add the veggies to the skillet around the outside perimeter of the chicken.


Place the skillet in the oven and cook for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer registers 170 degrees and the juices run clear.    Remove the chicken and veggies from the oven to a platter.  Loosely tent with foil and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes.  Return the skillet to the stove over medium heat and pour in 1 cup of white wine and de-glaze the skillet for 1 minutes, scraping up the browned bits.  then stir in 1 cup of chicken broth and reduce by half.  Stir in 1 tablespoon of butter.


Carve the chicken into serving pieces, serve with a generous portion of veggies and don't forget to ladle on that delicious pan gravy.  Garnish with a little chopped fresh parsley and you have yourself one heck of a meal!

Now that's a plate full of love! 


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6 comments:

Debbie said...

Love this Katherine. So simple but it looks fantastic!

Big Dude said...

The chicken and veggies both look delicious, especially with the addition of the gravy.

The JR said...

I don't think I even have fennel seed.

A very pretty bird.

David said...

Katherine, We really like roast chicken and roasted veggies too! This is one great looking meal... We've never roasted chicken in a frying pan...and I really like the idea of butterflying the bird! Thanks and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Marjie said...

Butterflying (also known as spatchcocking) a chicken makes it so much easier to season it, and cooking is a lot faster. This looks like a good seasoning combination. Have you tried rosemary with lemon? That's really good, too!

Chris said...

I watch shows like that just for the idea, not the recipe, anyway. Like you, I'll get the basic idea and a few days later, just wing it from memory. Works out better that way, don't you think?