The Coming of Fall

     There is one reason I've been waiting for fall. For coldness and chilly toes and red noses (my nose gets very red when it's cold, all the time. It's a curse.) I have been waiting to be able to turn my oven onto 400 degrees for an hour and more without my apartment getting like a sauna. And I've been waiting to do this for one special reason: Roast Chicken.

     There is something about fall weather that calls out roast chicken to me. Maybe its the sudden thunderstorms of Philly that keep getting me soaked and cold, or the long dreary gray walks under sunless skies, but a perfectly golden roast chicken with crispy skin and moist insides just sounds better and better all the time. Which is why I made a roast chicken on Thursday night.

 

     But let me tell you, this was not any roast chicken. This was a celebration dinner with my friend KK who was visiting. It was also an opportunity to roast lovely slices of sweet potato underneath the chicken, so they could catch all the chicken drippings. Deliciousness. It was a roast chicken that was accompanied by the Disney movie Tangled because that is what grown up chicken-roasting college girls watch. And it was the most perfect roast chicken I have ever eaten.

     Partially, it's the recipe. I use Nigella Lawson's super simple roast chicken recipe: stick half a lemon inside the chicken, massage its breast with butter and salt and pepper, and place it in a 400 degree oven: that's it. But maybe it was me using an entire lemon instead of half, or brining the chicken for an hour before roasting it, or the accidental purchase of the best chicken at the store- but this roast chicken turned out to be the moistest chicken I (and KK) have ever eaten.

     I cannot even fathom telling you how good it was. You will just have to make it yourself, cut through that crispy skin into the succulent meat because both dark and white were equally delicious, and find out for yourself the perfection in the simplicity. Then find out again the next day when you make roast chicken sandwiches out of the leftovers and sit there chewing on the couch going: Ahhhh who knew leftover chicken could be so delicious.

Simple Roast Chicken
Adapted from Nigella Lawson's How to Eat

1 Whole Chicken for Roasting
Salt
Sugar 
Cloves (optional) 
1 small Lemon 
1 tbsp Butter
Pepper

This recipe starts with buying a whole chicken for roasting. Once you bring it home, if you are planning to cook it the same or the next day, take out its giblets and stick it straight into a large bowl filled with water, a tablespoon of salt, a tablespoon of sugar, and 2 cloves (optional). If the chicken is for the next day, cover it and place it in the fridge in its brining bowl. (Whenever you plan to cook the chicken, try to brine it overnight before because this means it stays extra moist.) If you are cooking the chicken the same day, try to let it sit in its brine for at least an hour, to get it all moistened up.

Once you are ready to cook, pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Take the chicken out of the water, allowing all the water inside it to drain out. Pat it dry thoroughly with paper towels because otherwise the skin won't get crisp. Next, stuff a small lemon inside the chicken (I tend to look at my chicken first and then go out and buy the largest lemon I think will fit inside it). Once that is done, take half of your tablespoon of butter and massage it into the chicken Under the skin of the breast into the meat itself. Take the rest of the butter and rub it around on the skin of the chicken. Then, sprinkle a little salt and pepper onto your hand, and massage that under the skin into the breast of the chicken. Get yourself a little more salt and pepper and rub it over the rest of the chicken. You don't need a lot, just a sprinkling.

Once the chicken is duly massaged, place it on a roasting rack on top of a roasting pan and into the oven. Nigella says it takes 15 minutes per pound plus ten minutes. I generally have my chicken in the oven for about an hour, and the best way of checking if its done is to stick a knife into it and see if the juices coming out are red (not done) or clear (done!).

Note: I never roast my chicken alone. In the roasting pan, I generally spread a generous amount of olive oil. I either cube up russet potatoes or slice sweet potatoes thinly and then turn them around in the olive oil so they get nice and coated. I try to spread them apart in a single layer, then I sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and some spices if I have anything (generally a little paprika and red chili powder on potatoes, and cinnamon and a little bit of honey over the sweet potatoes). If you have a large chicken, the vegetables will probably be done before the chicken, so take them out about 45-50 minutes into cooking time regardless of your chicken. Leftover roast veggies go great in roast chicken sandwiches!

My Jewish Roots

     

     I miss Brookline, Massachusetts. (That is where I'm from, for those who may not know.) I miss Super 88, the amazing Asian supermarket and food court unrivaled in all the world, and Baja Betty's for Mexican food, and PC Cafe for bubble tea. But, right at the moment, what I miss the most is Cheryl Ann's Challah Bread. Which is funny, because I don't really get it at that often in Brookline. But when we do, its always delicious, especially toasted and covered with a huge slathering of butter. Challah...that amazing rich egg bread with the slightly sweet note...Mmm.... I was lost in wanting it. Then, I had a revelation. I write a blog! I can make bread and blog about it. Its actually all for a good cause, its not just me avoiding studying for my Chemistry midterm because I have a random craving for Jewish breads. So, I made Challah Bread. 

     Making bread might sound like an arduous, awful task. It is really not that bad. There is the simple problem that most people don't own yeast, but once you buy a packet, you can keep it for two years without anything happening to it. You also need to have some forethought. You have to have the time to just sit around for two or more hours and wait for dough to rise, especially for this Challah which needs three risings to make it extra great. Other than that, all you generally need is flour and butter or oil. Challah is an egg-bread so it also uses, you guessed it: eggs. Beaten egg for the two egg washes are what give it that golden brown gleam and amazing crust. In general though, making fresh bread, and having that fresh bread smell in your kitchen, is so worth it that I would use any number of ingredients to achieve it. Here, I need just six. 

Original Dough before Any Rising

     For my Challah recipe, I used Smitten Kitchen's "Best Challah (egg bread) recipe." She made two loaves, and I cut it down to size for one. Other than that, I didn't change a thing. Well, I didn't add raisins or get poppy seeds for sprinkling (I....wasn't going to buy those), but I'm sure you won't mind the omissions. Check out her web site too, she has great pictures of her bread! She made circular loaves and straight ones, but I just made one circle because...I messed up in the braiding process and had to hide it. My advice to you: just follow the directions, even when they seem weird. When they say to double back a strand that you Just moved, just squish it down and then move it in the opposite direction. Fiddling with directions often gets you into trouble. Sigh. 

Notice how beautiful braid turns grotesque on top. Someday, I will fix that.

     I know the instructions seem really long. But, its only the braiding thats a little tiresome. (You can also avoid it completely by just forming your challah into little buns instead of having one big loaf to braid.) The other instructions are just spaced out and extra detailed because I know a lot of people probably haven't made bread before, and its always good to know Exactly what someone means when they say "knead" or "punch down" the dough. Its really quite easy once you know how. And its so worth it. To have fresh bread on which to slather butter may be one of the greatest things in the world. This bread is moist and flavorful. And best of all, it has that Challah Crust. Those two egg washes really do the trick. So, someday when you have time, make this bread. You won't regret it. 

Braiding Prep. 

 Best Challah Bread 

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, Adapted from Joan Nathan 

Makes 1 (large) Loaf 

1 package Active Dry Yeast (2 1/4 tsp) 

1/2 tbsp and 1/4 cup Sugar 

1/4 cup Vegetable Oil 

3 Large Eggs 

1/2 tbsp Salt 

4 cups All-Purpose Flour 

Preparing Yeast: In a Large bowl (you will be using this to make the dough in), dissolve yeast and 1/2 tbsp Sugar in 7 oz lukewarm water. Leave alone for five minutes, until the yeast is bubbly. 

Starting Dough: Whisk the oil into the yeast. Then, beat in the 2 eggs, one at a time. Next, beat in the 1/4 cup of sugar and the salt. After thoroughly mixing, gradually add the flour. Add enough flour so the dough comes together (I used about 3 3/4 cup total). Now, it is time to knead. 

Note: I mixed the dough with a wooden spoon, even though it was hard work, because I don't have a KitchenAid. You can also use a mixer with a dough hook to mix the dough together and then to knead. 

Kneading Dough: Turn the dough onto a floured surface. To knead, fold the dough, push it down, then turn it, and repeat. Do this until you have a round of dough that seems "cohesive, pliable, and elastic" (as Smitten Kitchen says in her bread making page) and is smooth. 

First Rising: Clean out and grease the large bowl you were using. Return the dough to it, and cover it with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until it is almost doubled in size. 

Note: You can also let the dough rise in an oven that you heated to 150 degrees and then turned off, especially in this weather when there are few warm places.  

Prep for Second Rising: Take the dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface. "Punch it down" i.e. sprinkle the top with a little flour and press down on it Gently with flattened palms to deflate the dough. Try to push it into a rectangular or square shape if you can, but don't push too hard, it just takes a little. 

Second Rising: Put the dough back in your greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise again in a warm place for half an hour. 

Prep for Third Rising: If you want to add 1/2 cup of raisins you can add them here, kneading them into the dough. Otherwise, turn the dough onto the floured surface. In order to make the braided challah, take the dough and divide into 6 balls. You could stop here and have 6 smaller Challah Buns. Or you can braid them: 

Braiding the Challah: Roll each ball into a strand of dough about 12 in long and 1.5 in wide. Place each strand in row, parallel to one another. Pinch the tops of the strands together. Then: 

1) Move the Outside Right strand over 2 strands 

2) Take the 2nd strand from the Left and move it to the Far Right 

3) Take the Outside Left Strand and move it over 2 strands 

4) Move the 2nd strand from the Right over to the Far Left 

5) Start over with the Outside Right strand 

6) Once Done Braiding You have Two Options: 

          A) For a Straight Loaf: Tuck the ends underneath. 

          B) For a Circular Loaf: Twist it into a circle, pinching the ends together.

Grease a baking sheet, and place the loaf on it. Beat the remaining egg, and brush some of it onto the loaf. (If you don't have a brush, like me, you could use a spoon or just your fingers, as I did). At this point, you can freeze the loaf if you don't want to bake it today. Or, let it rise in a warm place for another hour. 

Baking: Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush the loaf with more egg. You can sprinkle the bread with poppyseeds here if you are using them. Then, bake it in the middle of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until it is golden. Cool the loaf on a rack. 

Rack= Tray out of Toaster Oven placed over Empty Slow Cooker

Notes: 

If you froze the loaf, take it out of the oven 5 hours before you want to bake it. 

Any of the three risings can be done in the fridge for a few hours instead of just an hour, allowing the flavor to develop more. Remember to take the dough out and let it get to room temperature before moving on to the next step.