Roast Chicken and Caramelized Shallots

After our trip to France (well over a month ago) I decided I wanted to make some Frenchy type food.  And I settled on a roasted chicken and some caramelized shallots!  I've never come close to roasting any type of fowl before and the thought of doing so intimidated me BUT...I'm overcoming my kitchen fears while living here so why not.

Pioneer Woman has a much better, more detailed description of the way she did this so feel free to check that out instead.

WARNING: This is not a low-cal meal.  This has tons of butter all over both items.  But it WAS a delicious meal so I can't be bothered.

The chicken Cast of Characters: a whole chicken, lots of butta, lemons, and rosemary.

It calls for 3/4 cup of butter.  As I can't really measure that out because everything's in grams, I just eyeballed it and threw it in a bowl.

Now zest a lemon or two.

And dump that in the butta bowl.

Take some rosemary and peel it off it's...stem?  And chop that up very finely.

And put that in with the butter and lemon too.

Now mix away!

Add some salt and pepper and mix that in too.

Now take the chicken, that you're completely unfamiliar with, and hold it awkwardly, trying to assess the situation and figure out what to do.

Place it in a roasting pan or shallow dish.  Or something.

And then begin to spread your lemony rosemary butter alllllll over that bird.

In every nook and cranny and crevice.  Don't be shy.

When that's done, squeeze the juice from a half lemon or two over the bird.

And then place as many lemon halves as you can in the...cavity..?

And put a sprig or two of rosemary in there too!  Why not.

And then put that guy in a 425 degree oven to roast for about an hour and 15 minutes.  (Though I think in hindsight I may have overdone mine JUST a bit.)

Now it's time to get started on the Caramelized Shallots!  I've seen Ina Garten make these pups on her show before and I've always wanted to make them...and boy were they GOOD.  Like SOOO good.  Make these immediately!

The Shallot Cast of Characters: lots and lots of shallots (about 2 pounds), lots and lots of butter (3/4 stick, again), parsley, salt, pepper, a good amount of sugar (3 tablespoons), and red wine vinegar.  

So...begin by standing at your kitchen counter (with your husband or a pal or whoever you can get to help) and peel those shallots.  This is a long and annoying process.  You're supposed to peel off all their inedible skin but leave the roots intact.  Booo.

Then melt your butter in a large saucepan, preferably one that's ovenproof.

(I don't have one so I just used this non-stick one.)

Then pour all those painstakingly peeled shallots into the pan o' butta.

Then sprinkle the 3 tablespoons of sugar over the shallots.

Stir around...

Then crank up the heat and let those pups brown up, while stirring them around with the buttery sugar mixture.  Letting them CARAMELIZE..if you will.

Ohhh yeah.

After they brown up a bit, pour in 3 tablespoons of your red wine vinegar.  And go ahead and add some salt and pepper too.

Stir those around a few minutes more and then...if you have an ovenproof pan, just pop it in the oven.  If you don't, pour them in an ovenproof dish and pop it in a 400 degree oven for 15 to 30 minutes.

You can try to time this where your chicken and shallots come out at the same time.  I happened to time it right for the first time ever!  Generally nothing I make is ready at the same time.

The skin and the rosemary look slightly...overcooked, but the actual meat was VERY moist and tender and flavorful!  Yay!

And these shallots....there are no words.  So sweet and rich and heavenly and delicious and yummy.

Serve it up with a salad and you've got yourself a perfect [semi-French] meal!  You can find the recipe for the shallots here and the chicken here.

Drew and I are off to see a concert tonight with some pals and have a low key weekend for the rest.  Happy Friday!