Looking For Ideas

[Chris415]

Hi all,

Tomorrow night I'm making dinner for six: my parents, me & DB, and sis & DB. And it's a special dinner, because my mom's birthday was on Tuesday and they are leaving next week for Florida for some time.

I seem to be coming up with the same ideas for dinner: lasagna, salmon, a strata, turkey, but I want something new and different. Aps are taken care of, as is dessert (homemade apple pie). We have two big eaters in the group, so I need to make a fairly large meal.

Everyone is so helpful and has great suggestions, so I thought I'd post this before I go head over heels into my cookbooks!

Thanks a bunch!
Chris

[SandyM]

How about a couple of Psycho Chickens with a nice risotto or orzo to accompany? This will impress, and is very, very easy.......recipe courtesy of our own BB goddess, Gail.

And note: recipe must be followed exactly, or it can't be called Psycho Chicken! :D

PSYCHO CHICKEN

Whole chicken (a small one-- what are they, like 3 1/2 pounds?)
Approx 1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Approx 1 tablespoon garlic, pressed
Approx 1 tablespoon cider or malt vinegar
Dry white wine (sauvignon blanc works well)
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Clean chicken and remove giblets. Hack chicken all over with the tip of a sharp chef's knife to make gashes. (Invariably I find the music to the shower scene in Psycho running through my mind, thus the name, Psycho Chicken-- and lest you think I am thoroughly deranged, this manner of slash and season is actually very common in Cuban cooking.)

In a small bowl, mix together thyme, garlic, salt, pepper and vinegar, and slather liberally on chicken, taking care that mixture gets into slits in the meat. Place chicken on rack in roasting pan (if you don't have a rack, no biggie-- throw the thing directly into the pan) and roast about 2 hours until golden and fragrant, basting every twenty or thirty minutes with a splash of wine and any juices in the pan. Your house will smell wonderful.

Now this is the crucial part, which will make or break the entire dish: If this is cooked properly, your chicken should be running with wonderful juices as you carve. Dredge each slice of carved meat in those juices before placing on platter-- the juices are loaded with garlic and herb flavor.

[adb]

If your crowd likes lamb, there was a great looking wild mushroom and spinach stuffed leg of lamb in Bon Appetit last month. You should be able to get this recipe off epicurious if it suits your tastes.

[JennieL]

How about a pork tenderoin roast with fall veggies and cornbead? I think there was a good post regarding pork tenderoin not too long ago.;)

[Chris415]

Thanks everybody. Ok, Sandy, I've seen you recommend the Psycho Chicken twice today, and you make it sound oh so good! I think I'll make that with a strada, since it's a bitty-sized chicken!

Thanks for the recipe and everyone's help!
Chris

[SandyM]

I'm not getting a commission, I swear.......

(but maybe I should look into it!)