Weekend Roast: Chicken, Brussel Sprouts, and Fried Potatoes

Ta-dah!

Since Brian and I took up cooking, we have had a few noteworthy recipes, the most recent being the ever delightful salt-and-pepper chicken.

Chicken. It sounds easy enough, right? But many things can go wrong when push comes to shove: It might come out dry; the meat might be flavourless; or worse, the skin might not crisp up.

We looked to New York Times Cooking for a comprehensive guide on making a simple roast. Per the recipe, we sprinkled both the inside and outside of our chicken with kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, lemon zest, and crushed garlic. Then we patted it dry and threw it in the fridge for an hour and a half.

When its time was up, we took the chicken out of the fridge and stuffed it with lemon slices, garlic cloves, and sprigs of rosemary, thyme, and sage. We placed the chicken in an oven proof pan and prayed that it be good as we slipped it into the oven to roast for 50 minutes. 

Brian's brussel sprouts - looking good!

Heavenly fried potatoes

While waiting, we got started on our sides: We made braised brussel sprouts and fried potatoes, the latter a recipe from Brian's dad. Just as we had finished making our sides, the chicken was ready for basting, and already, it looked really good. We popped it back into the oven for 10 minutes, let it rest for another 10, and dug in.

Crispy and delicious! Five stars!

It tasted as good as it looked: The chicken was juicy, crispy, and just plain delicious. It was so popular at the dinner table that I made it again for dinner this past weekend--along with the sprouts and potatoes!

Chicken is a classic dish and such a joy to make. Swiss Chalet, you've got competition. :)