Basic Roasted Chicken

After spending a weekend in Carmel being my best basic self with my best gals, it only made sense to come home and make some basic betch food. What's even more perfect is that Monday is truly the most basic day of all! Why, you ask? Because The Bachelor is on, duh! Most women in America, along with their significant others, are cozying up on the couch with a big ol glass of white wine and settling in for a night of lolz and trolling. Or, in my case, you desperately try to get a friend to come over and watch with you because your roommate gets the heebie jeebies from the show and you spend the night hoping her dog will come cuddle you.

Bachelor season brings me so much joy, I can hardly describe it. From the first episode where we get to meet the cast to the cringe worthy weekly episodes of girls doing WHATEVER it takes to get a rose, I love it all. I have always known people who knew people (loosely) who have been on each season and I can only hope that one day I will know someone who goes on the show. If anyone out there is interested in being that person for me, please DM me immediately and we'll get something in the works.

I'm always looking for new recipes, whether it be in a cookbook, online or literally by asking people if they have grandmothers that have any sweet recipes I can steal. When thinking about my week in terms of food, my training, work searching and planning out my social life (jk I don't have one), I was trying to think of the most basic thing to make for dinner. And what's more basic than chicken? If you find something, let me know, because it simply does not exist.

If you're a basic b that gets bone chills from handling raw meat, I do have to say that there's something weirdly satisfying from handling a raw bird. Maybe it's just me? Anyways, all I am trying to say that if you're like the lovely ladies of The Bachelor and you're trying to win a man (or woman) over, you need to learn how to roast a fucking chicken. So I give you this gift, and let me know how it goes.

This recipe is a bit altered for a few reasons. The first being that I had carrots on hand and wanted to roast them with the chicken, and planned on using some of them for the chicken broth I was going to make with my giblets and bones. The other reason is that I didn't have kitchen twine and if we're being open and honest, just as the ladies of The Bachelor are, I don't know how much that actually matters. It is supposed to help with consistency in the cooking but that puppy is going in the oven for almost two hours so whatevs. I found it on Platings & Pairings, so shout out to Erin. I'll have a glass of my best Sauvy B in your honor tonight.

Ingredients:

4-6 lb whole chicken (neck and giblets removed)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

2. Rinse your chicken with cold water inside and out and dry well with paper towels.

3. Combine olive oil with spices in a small bowl and mix well. Rub your spice all over the chicken.

4. Place your chicken breast side up in an oven safe skillet or roasting pan. Place in your preheated oven and immediately reduce the heat to 375 degrees.

5. Roast your chicken for approximately 20 minutes per pound, or until the temperature of the breast meat registers 180 degrees.

6. Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes in the pan. After the chicken has cooled, remove and place on a cutting board and let rest for an additional 10 minutes before carving. Reserve the pan droppings in the pan to make your gravy!

7. While the chicken is cooling on the cutting board, defat your pan drippings by skimming the top with a spoon and reserving only the solids in the pan. Place your pan on your stove burner over medium-high heat, add 1/4 cup white wine. Reduce this mixture by about half.

8. Combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl and mix to combine well. Add the mixture to your reduced drippings and heat until the gravy has thickened.