a changed woman.

When I was a kid I used to hate squash. I hated everything about it, from the taste, to the texture (oh lord, the texture!), to the way it smelled when it was cooking. Mushy and bland, I thought it was a child's worst food nightmare. And so I promised myself I would never, ever, be a lover of squash, and moved on with the rest of my life.

And I didn't look back.

Until, about five years ago, when I met John and he claimed to be the biggest squash-lover there was. He was shocked at my life long contempt for the soft and seedy vegetable and begged for me to give it another chance. Ah, the things we do for love....I gave in and agreed to try some squash- and I'm sorry reader, but I can't say I remember whether it was Butternut, or Delicata, or Acorn, I just remember it was some kind of winter squash- and we roasted it in the oven with a bit of olive oil, sea salt and pepper. We may have even drizzled a bit of maple syrup on it. Regardless, I took one bite, and in that moment, the Earth shifted beneath me. It was good. Really good. Apparently I had been missing out on something unbelievably delicious, and suddenly a whole new world opened up in front of my eyes. And John- who continually claims that in our relationship, their is an odd pattern where he is always wrong (even when he's not, that blessed man) and I am always right- was ecstatic over his victory. And rightfully so. He had proved my food bias to be wrong in every way. Visits to the farmers market now included my once enemy, the squash- and was hence added to my list of vegetables that could and would inspire a wonderful, seasonal meal.

And so. Yesterday John and I were shopping for dinner, tired from cooking a pretty extravagant meal the night before. We wanted something easy. Something simple. We headed over to some fine looking corn, bright yellow and vibrant, and it was added to the basket. For part of our previous dinner, I had roasted some whole, vine tomato's in olive oil, garlic cloves, thyme, salt and pepper, until there skins split open and their juices ran out and onto the pan. They were heavenly. There were still a few left over, so I thought, why not, I'll make a Corn and Roasted Tomato Salad. Basil, arugula, and some Cypress Grove goat cheese was added in the mix. And last, but not least, we eyed some beautiful looking Delicata squash and threw them in the basket too, to be roasted later as an accompaniment to the rest of our meal.

At home, and listening to Billy Holiday (because everyone should do this while cooking in their kitchen), I tossed slices of the leftover roasted tomato with the corn (taken off-the-cob, of course), basil, arugula, goat cheese and some salt and pepper. I drizzled the whole thing with the lovely roasting juices I had saved from the pan the night before, and at the last minute splashed a bit of balsamic vinegar on top. It was phenomenal.

Meanwhile, I roasted the Delicata squash in the oven with thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper. They came out golden and fragrant and wonderful. And I enjoyed every. last. bite.


Roasted Delicata Squash

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
   
2. Cut the squash in half, length-wise, and remove the seeds. Cut each piece in half again.
   
3. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, a pinch of salt and sugar (or honey, or maple syrup, I suppose), and some freshly ground black pepper. Add some sprigs of thyme leaves, and place in the oven.
4. Roast for about 30 minutes. Enjoy.
   

The Perfect (Perfect!) Roast Chicken

So after some rainy day blues, I was craving something comforting and mindless from the kitchen. This roast chicken hits the spot every time, and there's always leftovers the next day (my boyfriend particularly likes to make chicken salad sandwiches with it). I have made many, many a roast chicken- each one a bit different- but this combination of ingredients produces the most fragrant, aromatic, and flavorful roast chicken I have EVER tasted.

I totally get that you can find an already-cooked rotisserie chicken at most grocery stores these days, and every once and awhile I give into my laziness and opt for one instead of cooking my own- but there is something so comforting and old-school about roasting your own chicken. And the smell that permeates from the oven will make you thank yourself for not giving into the convenience of a store-bought chicken (believe me, I can smell mine roasting away right now, and it's like heaven).


Like I said, this recipe is pretty mindless and simple. I know the browned herb-butter portion of this recipe takes a little extra time than your usual "throw-it-all-together roast chicken", but I promise it won't disappoint- the butter creates the most amazing caramelized skin on the chicken that is the kind of thing I dream about at night (yah, I know, I'm kind of a foodie).


So without further adieu, here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon minced rosemary
• 1 teaspoon minced thyme
• few sprigs thyme
• few sprigs rosemary
• 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 4 carrots, cut into chunks
• 2 celery stalks, cut into chunks
• 1 large onion, cut into large chunks
• 1 small yam/sweet potato, cut into chunks
  
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 1 orange, quartered
• 2 bay leaves
• tiny sprinkle of fennel seeds (optional)
  
• Olive oil

On a side note: I know this seems like a lot of ingredients, and I know that not everyone has all of these lying around in their kitchen or pantry. But that's the beauty of this meal- you can substitute and/or omit anything you like, for the most part. This is just what works for me. I think the only ingredients that are a must would be the garlic, lemon, butter or oil, onion, salt & pepper- from there you could experiment with different vegetables or herbs to your preference. But please, add SOME kind of herbs- it makes all the difference.


Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Heat butter in a frying pan over medium high heat. When butter is just melted, add two teaspoons of minced rosemary and thyme and cook until butter just begins to lightly brown. Remove from heat.
  
• Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and remove neck.
  
• Pat dry. Generously salt and pepper the inside and outside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with few sprigs of thyme and rosemary, half the lemon slices, half the orange slices, half the garlic head, and one bay leaf. Stuff sliced garlic underneath skin of chicken.
  
• Tie the legs together with kitchen string.
• Place the onions, celery, carrots, yam, remaining half of garlic head, and remaining orange and lemon slices around the bottom of a roasting pan and toss with salt, pepper and olive oil and few more sprigs of thyme and rosemary, if desired. Place chicken on top.
• Pour herb butter over the top of chicken, and lightly rub into the skin. Sprinkle a few fennel seeds over top of chicken.

• Roast chicken for 1 hour-1 1/2 hours; until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh (or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 160 degrees).
• Once removed from oven, cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes (this is what makes the difference between a DRY chicken, and a MOIST chicken. This allows the juices lost during cooking to go back into the chicken, which makes your chicken VERY happy).
  
• Place chicken and vegetables on a platter and enjoy!