WTF Was I Thinking (a review)!?!?! Thanks Eater!

(Picture game is getting pretty strong….  Text on pictures, not so much)

Hi everyone and welcome to another blog here on this…….blog.  I’m in the process of game planning and organizing how I want to best get my point across and share things/stuff/cool things with you.  I’m not sure if writing is going to be my strong suit or get across or be the ideal platform so I’ve been toying with the idea of video.

It took me a long time to figure out how to take pictures and edit and now I’m feeling like I’m pretty dangerous.  No, I’m not a photographer, I just take pictures, and it’s a nice hobby and stress reliever.  I tracked how many photos I’ve taken since I started it as a hobby and the count is up to 44,300 (approximately).  That’s a lot and that has been over the past 5 years so here I am about to get into video and it’s going to look and feel like garbage but that’s ok! So stay tuned for these words to change into video very soon.

I’m going to keep words and whatnot for a series I’m going to call, “WTF Was I Thinking?!?!”.

This………

What you are looking at is the first food thing I ever cooked and took a picture of for this blog on January 21, 2009.  Hahahahaahaahaha, WTF WAS I THINKING!

Looking back at it now.

• No trussing of the chicken
• Skin was wet going in and didn’t roast properly
• Potatoes are cut like garbage
• Bacon bits!!!! hahahaha
• That apple thing…..what was that?
• Can you even sauce correctly?  Gross.

Wait.  I still have this post saved in my draft section.  Let’s review…..

Chicken:

-1 whole chicken

-Brine mixture with added garlic and marjoram

Baste for chicken:

–1 tbsp. melted butter

-1 tsp. oregano

-1 tsp. lemon juice

Stuffing:

-1 green squash, peeled

-1/2 white onion, diced

-1/2 plantain, diced

-pinch of salt and pepper

Potatoes

-2 thinly sliced yukon gold potatoes

-1 tbsp. thinly cut ham

-1 shallot

Gravy

-1 tbsp. lavender

-1 tbsp. corn starch

-drippings from pan

-1 cup water

This is a pretty long process so save this one for the weekend or a special occasion.

CHICKEN!!!!!!!!

First, brine the chicken for about two days. Add two cloves of garlic and1 tsp. of marjoram to the brine mixture. When you are ready to cook the chicken make sure you take it out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before, take the chicken out of the bag and pat it down with a paper towel.  Pre-heat the oven to 400F.

STUFFING!!!!!

Combine all the ingredients in a medium sauce pan on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Then stuff the bird and tie the drum sticks close to the bird so you don’t lose heat as you cook the bird.

BACK TO THE CHICKEN!!!

Place the chicken in a roasting pan and cook until your thermometer that is placed in the thickest part of the thigh reached 170F. It should take about an hour. About 20 minutes before the chicken is done baste the chicken with the oregano, butter, and lemon juice. Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes.

POTATOES!!!!

Once the chicken is done put the potatoes, shallots and ham on a cookie sheet. Squirt some olive oil on top of the potatoes and cook at 450F for 10 minutes

STUFFING!!!

You need to steep the lavender first in a tea maker (takes about 10 minutes so do this before the chicken is done). Once you are done with that pour the liquid into a medium sauce pan on high heat. Pour in the cornstarch and the drippings. Reduce about 20%. Then serve on top of chicken.

There you have it. You’ll get an immediate taste of lavender from the gravy and about 10 minutes later you’ll get a kick of citrus that will linger for a while.

Enjoy,

Eric

Hahhahhahah. That sounds awful.  ENJOY!

So here’s what’s going to happen.  I’m going to make this again in a way that I would make it today, 8 years later (it’s probably still going to suck). That post will be coming soon and I’ll give you some behind the scenes on it from the daily blog.

That is that!

Hey, while I have your attention:

EATER IS AWESOME and has been super supportive of me for years.  Big thanks to Adam Callaghan for the shout out today in Eater Seattle (CLICK HERE TO READ IT). 

That’s it for today. Make sure you subscribe and follow in the appropriate places.

Also, let me know in the comments about dishes that made you cringe that you have made or if there is something you want to see me cover here!

Thanks,

Eric