the one where i won't complain about the terrible, horrible, opressively unrelenting humidity

Saturday I purchased a 2 1/2ishlb chicken from Eater's Guild.  Sunday the heat index was around 105 degrees. Sunday I decided I really, really wanted to eat cold roasted chicken for supper. 

My kitchen is not air condidtioned.

I have roasted a number of chickens in the past.  It's really easy, but it's not the best way to cook a chicken. The breasts tend to dry out because the legs take longer. Enter Dorie Greenspan's (well, really, Daniel Boulud's) recipe for roast chicken from "Around My French Table." I got the cookbook from the library on the north side of town (which you should totally go visit because RFID has officially been installed and the self-checkout is freaking awesome plus their collection is smaller and newer so it's easier to spot the good stuff on the shelves!) and it's very, very pretty.  It also contained what will henceforth be my go-to roast chicken recipe.  While I won't discredit the possibility that an expensive organic chicken just tastes better, there was definitely a new technique involved that seemed awfully fussy.  I am here to say it was worth it.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees (did I mention my lack of air conditioning in my second floor kitchen?) Put the bird on its side and roast for 25 minutes.  Flip the bird to the other side (I used tongs and a wooden spoon, but I bet those silicone mitts would be sweet) and roast for another 25 minutes. Flip the bird breast side up and roast for 10 minutes or until the thigh juices run clear.  Take it out of the oven, put it on a rimmed cookie sheet breast side down with the tail propped up on a bowl and LET IT REST FOR AT LEAST 15 MINUTES.

According to Dorie and Daniel, gravity will allow the juices to run back into the breast meat keeping it much more moist than if you just let it rest breast side up.  I am usually unable to resist cutting into the bird within 5 minutes because it smells so delicious and I think I've died and gone to heaven and the only way to make sure I'm not dead is to cut off a leg and go to town because dead people aren't that into eating or chewing.

I will never cut into a bird before resting it this way ever, ever again.

I also managed to carve the bird perfectly for the first time. Usually I end up with a pile of messy shredded meat, but this time I popped those legs out and chopped off those wings and cut those breasts so beautifully I almost took a picture.

I now have chicken carcass sitting my freezer for stock making. As there are cooler temperatures on the horizon and I somehow managed to survive roasting a bird for over an hour, I'm optimistic I can simmer some stock on my stove for 3-4 hours sometime in the near future. 

In other news, 50% of the new windows have been installed downstairs! My friend Molly is going to be the new head of Youth Services at my library!

They say moving, changes at work, and getting married are three of the most stressful events. 

Looks like I might be in for a very interesting fall...