HomeCookbooksGreek CookbooksA Bird in the Oven and Then Some: 20 Ways to Roast the Perfect Chicken Plus 80 Delectable Recipes |
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19 of 19 found the following review helpful:
I thought I knew all there was to know about roasting chicken Dec 01, 2010
By Wade Marchand
"mag fields completist"
And then I purchased this book after a recommendation from a friend. Boy did I have a lot to learn.
One of the most vexing issues for me was crispy skin - I could never get mine crispy enough. I learned that if I allowed the chicken to 'dry out' overnight in the refrigerator (or for at least 8 hours) the resulting roasted bird would be tender with a crispy skin.
I also learned a little more about brining. Again, I thought I knew all I needed to know, but it turns out I was over-brining my birds. With a little tutoring from this book, I scaled back the brine time and the resulting chicken was perfect.
I've served the olive and fennel-roasted bird to friends and it was a huge hit - it is surprising, delicious, and aromatic.
I really can't say enough good things about this cookbook. It is written with detailed pantry lists, so no matter how obscure the ingredient the author calls for, there's a detailed explanation and description. Recipes are easy to follow and easy to execute. The leftovers are fun and creative.
14 of 15 found the following review helpful:
Great the first, second and third time! Feb 03, 2011
By Tom and Kris
With all the lousy weather in New York, we had some time to hunker down in the kitchen and make some comfort food- and what's better than roasting a few chickens on a snowy day?
Little did we know that thanks to "Bird in the Oven", we'd wind up making not one, but four fantastic meals- and all from the same two birds!
We started with the "Greek Roast Chicken with Caper Butter and Roast Lemon" along with the "Roasted Golden Beet with Basil" recipes since we already had some Meyer lemons and yellow beets in the house. We'd never even tried skordalia before, but spread on some home made pita, we found it was the perfect match for the ridiculously moist chicken, the sweet caramelized lemons (which we ate peel and all) and the tender beets. The next day, we pulled all the meat off the second bird and made the easy and delicious "Tomato-Chickpea Masala"- which had the perfect amount of sweetness, savoriness and heat, and supplied plenty of left overs for all of us to have lunch tomorrow.
While this was cooking, I made a huge batch of stock from the two roasted carcasses. Since the broth smelled so good, I had a few Meyer lemons left and my car was still covered in ice- I decided to make a batch of the "Lemon Chicken Soup with Rice" for tomorrow. I am happy to report, it is as creamy, complex and delicious as the one I always order from my local Greek diner. With the rest of the broth, I plan to make the "Black Bean and Ancho Chile Soup" for this weekend.
Thanks Mindy- we can't wait to tear through the rest of your fabulous book!
9 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Gravyless Gravy Train Feb 08, 2011
By JMH
I would give this 3.5 Stars if I could. The chicken is a beautiful bird, and for as much breadth as this book promises (20 recipes for roasting a chicken, 80 recipes for chicken side dishes and soups and salads), I find myself wanting more from it!
Don't get me wrong, every recipe in this book so far has been DELICIOUS and is teaching me a lot more options in preparing a chicken. Each recipe is concise and well written, and suggestions like using good quality salt and pepper are all wonderful and well on point.
My main qualm with the book is the exclusion of making gravies, sauces, or jus from the bird. She mentions briefly in the introduction "I am not fancy when it comes to making gravy or sauces for roast birds," she finds it enough to use only the drippings to spoon over the bird. I, on the other hand, am a BIG fan of gravies, sauces, and jus! It seems like such a cop out to write one sentence about them and dismiss them, when cooking with an entire bird leaves ENDLESS possibilities for making these items! Gravy and jus to me is just as exciting as the chicken! She doesn't even mention how to make homemade chicken stock which is one of the most healthy and delicious things you can do with the carcass of a bird! Yes, she has a recipe for broth, but not stock.
Also, this book contains a lot of typos and errors in editing, like in the recipe titled "Scalloped Potatoes with Goat Gouda and Thyme," yet thyme is nowhere to be found in the ingredients list! Then she says that I can substitute thyme for other herbs (but what am I doing with the thyme in the first place)!? She consistently refers to the "Sources" page on 172 however it is actually on 170, and again, typos in some recipes. Makes me wish for a tighter and more professional product. Why must the photography be so good and the editing be so bad?
Overall, it loses half a star for the editing, and a whole star for the lack of sauces, but so far every recipe has been delicious. If you're interested, buy it. You won't regret it.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
final star will surely come after trying next recipe! May 16, 2011
By Lala K
I just returned from a visit with my Grandmother, who prepared a roasted turkey for the weekend. Not only was it absolutely delicious, but I was struck by the seemingly bottomless helpings it provided for other dinners and snacks. Though I'd gotten into roasting chickens a few years ago out of curiosity and a sense of economy, I wasn't always excited about leftovers...so, I was particularly drawn to Bird in the Oven. I received the book in just a few days and couldn't resist immediately trying out a recipe. It was the end of a LONG work day, so I tried the simplest recipe, "sea salt roast chicken with delectably crispy skin". At first, I did a TRIPLE take when I realized the recipe calls for no oil or butter...it turned out AMAZINGLY. So good,in fact, that we had it again last night with my homemade pita and Fox's skordalia recipe (a garlic bomb of wonderfulness!), and I still can't get over the moist and tender meat!! Now to try something more complicated...
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Best chicken I have ever made! Apr 17, 2011
By Nigella Wannabe
"Avid Home Chef"
I love this cookbook from a cookbook author who is new to me. It has simple, yet beautifully detailed, recipes, mouth-watering photos and delicious results. I started by cooking the "bird" that appears on the cover, namely the Pot-Roasted Chicken with Slab Bacon, Celery Root and Rosemary. As the title of my review indicates, it was truly the best chicken that I have ever made. The flavor combination of the bacon, celery root, Calvados, rosemary and juniper berries made the chicken delectable. As an added bonus, it was a one pot meal with minimal clean up. From start to finish, the whole chicken was done in less than an hour.
I have cooked other recipes from this book, all to rave reviews. Ms. Fox cautions in the beginning of the book that you should really use the best chicken available. I tested this theory, using everything from your typical supermarket chicken to a D'Artagnan chicken, and while the latter was obviously drastically superior, the recipes in this book are so good that you can even serve a decent meal with a supermarket chicken.
There is a very helpful chapter full of chicken salad recipes. My only complaint is that when I roast a chicken pursuant to one of Ms. Fox's recipes, I never have enough left over to actually use in a chicken salad and I usually resort to using a charcuterie chicken to prepare these recipes!
I highly recommend this book and I look forward to further books written by this knowledgeable cookbook author.
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