why did the chicken

I have been in a cooking rut for some while, lots of chicken and pestos and pastas. And, last week, a rather bland combination thereof.

Sample one: the lemon-herb roasted chicken.



Really, really good.

The second attempt was, surprisingly, better, but somewhat... the opposite of aesthetically appealing.



I've been playing a lot with leftovers, hence the pasta and pesto. I always have pesto around, just because. I love it, it's easy to make, it goes with tons of stuff, and you can make it a hundred different ways. And all these things lead to meals like this:



Peas, chicken, artichoke hearts, pesto, and orzo. And some cheese, we shall not forget the parm. It hit the spot when I made it, a nice carby combination of green, but it didn't keep well.

The thing with the chicken is, again, that it's an easy recipe and I can make it at the beginning of the week and have sandwiches with something other than deli meat all week. Also, enchiladas, pizza, a la king, chicken salad, etc. I was actually absurdly ambitious the last time I made it and got up at six and put it in the oven before work.

The lemon-herb recipe is great and goes with everything, but I skipped it this week and used Bon Appetite's roasted pesto chicken. And I'll admit, on this one, that while I prefer the homemade kind and I did have some in the fridge, I followed the recipe and used store-bought this time. Which, consistency-wise, was a good choice, and I had a guarantee there'd be enough.

The recipe is courtesy of Bon Appetite's 50th anniversary book. There are additional ingredients and directions for making gravy, but I've yet to do so.

1 6-7 lb whole chicken
1 tbsp fresh rosemary
1 tbsp fresh thyme
lemon zest
garlic
1 stick of butter, softened
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450.

Combine herbs, zest, salt, pepper, and butter, combine thoroughly. Rinse the bird inside and out and pat dry. Loosen the skin on the breast and legs. Spread herbed butter over the breast and legs (under the skin), inside the chicken, and all over the outside of the bird. Massage the butter into the skin as well as underneath, over the breasts and legs to get everything thoroughly coated.

Cook bird uncovered for 15 minutes, then drop the temperature to 375. Cook another hour and 15 minutes or until you poke the chicken in the thigh and the juices run clear.