The Mushroom Asparagus Tarts

If this recipe looks familiar, it's because you read Epicurious and it was a featured spring recipe this week. Far be it from me to ignore what the marketing team of a web site I like tells me to do. Originally I picked this to serve ahead of The Pasta Primavera, but I had a lot of food already that night in the main course and didn't feel like going through the making of this. 

Instead I invited Ali over for dinner with me and the Thrifty Sifter the other night and we got to eating. Ali reports that her leftover tarts that I gave her made an excellent breakfast, whilst mine made an excellent lunch.

Flattened puff pastry shells. My grocery didn't have the sheets the day I went. 

This here is a makeshift rolling pin. 

Mostly square pastries. 

Mushrooms they are a satuéing. 

Everyone's ready to bake!

Some pretty awesome salad. This had red lollo, cucumber, apple, tomato, carrot, endive, and celery. The dressing used three tablespoons of Coleman's dry mustard, white wine vinegar, fresh thyme (about a tablespoon), salt, pepper, and olive oil.
 

Ms. Yum Veggie Burger and Ms. Thrifty Sifter. 

Mr. Cooks Dinner

Mr. Cooks Dinner cooks dinner. 

Tartlets complete!

We ate this all up!

A nice, Spring snowy view. 

Ali's dessert fondue!

Your soundtrack for this entry: The Birthday Massacre - In the Dark

The Roast Chicken with Wasabi Sauce

Tonight I'll start off by saying do not make my wasabi sauce. In fact, I'll just not include the recipe to ensure you don't. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good and my chicken is fantastic without it. In that light, let's make a roast chicken.

NOTE: This recipe requires six to seven hours of preparation.

Ingredients:
1 4 1/2 pound chicken
11 cups of water
1/2 cup of coarse kosher salt
2 tbsp. lemon juice
peel from 1 lemon
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs of thyme
2 cups chicken broth


Bring the water, salt, lemon juice, lemon peel, bay leaf, and thyme to a boil in a large pot. Boil a few minutes and remove from heat. Cool the brine in a refrigerator (or on your winter windowsill as I did).

While the brine is cooling, wash your whole chicken. If it has giblets, set them aside for some other recipe. Once washed, place in the brine and soak for six hours.

Drain the chicken form the brine...

...and pat dry. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat the sides of a dutch oven in olive oil (yes, that's my new Le Creuset dutch oven), and then place the chicken inside.

Place cover on the oven and roast chicken for 20 minutes, then add 1 cup of chicken broth. Roast another 20 minutes, then add the second cup of chicken broth. Roast another 20 minutes, then remove cover. Roast an additional 20 minutes or until golden brown.

I made a nice romaine, leek, radish, jalapeno, and parsley salad with balsamic, olive oil, and salt and pepper. 

The chicken came out very juicy and tasty with enough juice for gravy. 

This was my final product, but as I said the wasabi sauce wasn't so good. Enjoy your roast chicken all week as sandwich, stew, or tostada (as I will)!

Your soundtrack for this entry: Black Sabbath - Neon Knights.