Engagement Chicken

Is the way to a man's heart is through his stomach? I know Gabe loves my cooking but when I met him I made pumpkin bread ( he hates pumpkin) which he gave away.

If you want to win your mans heart, find out if he likes chicken before you make this!

This is from another cookbook in my collection, 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know. This is the first recipe in the book. 

The story behind this recipe goes- a  fashion editor at Glamour magazine gave the recipe to her assistant, who was in search of a dish to prepare for dinner with her boyfriend. She made the chicken. Her boyfriend loved it. He had seconds. And shortly thereafter, he proposed.

Cooking really CAN get you what you want! (Within reason, of course...) Cooking for a loved one makes them feel good and special...make their favorite dish and the world is your oyster!

Now on to the recipe.....

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (approximately 4-5 pounds)

2 whole lemons—1 for stuffing in the bird, 1 sliced for garnish

1 whole head garlic- cut it 1/2 crosswise

2 Spanish onions- peeled and thickly sliced

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup chicken broth 

1 tablespoon AP flour


Directions:

Position an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the giblets from the chicken, wash the chicken inside and out with cold water, then let the chicken drain, cavity down, in a colander for 2 minutes. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.

  Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Cut the lemons in quarters, place 2 quarters in the chicken along with the garlic and reserve the rest of the lemons. Brush the outside of the chicken with about 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the chicken in a small (11 by 14-inch) roasting pan. Place the reserved lemons and the sliced onions in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Pour the mixture around the chicken in the pan.Roast the chicken for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and a thigh. A meat thermometer should read 180 F. Remove the chicken to a platter, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce.


 Place the pan on top of the stove and turn the heat to medium-high. Add 1/2 cup broth and stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits. Add the other 1/2 cup of broth and sprinkle on the flour, stirring constantly for a minute, until the sauce thickens. Add any juices that collect under the chicken. Carve the chicken onto a platter. Now the "secret" is to pour the juice from the pan over the sliced chicken. This is suppose to be be the "marry me juice"!



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