Roast chicken

Sometimes your friends can really shock you. My neighbour casually informed me recently that she'd never roasted a chicken before. If she wants one, she buys it ready cooked from the supermarket. And for some reason, it made me want to cry. Because the scent of a bird roasting in the oven is one of the smells of home to me.

Mind you, I think I shocked her by revealing that my children have clean pyjamas every night. I never really thought that was wierd, but everyone present assured me that it is. Hey ho.

So, to even things up a bit, I made roast chicken last night and put the boys in dirty pyjamas.

Roast dinner, midweek? How decadent! But the nice Abel and Cole folks sent me some organic meat to try. And if you are going to test drive a chicken, it has to be roasted really. Mine always gets a squeeze of lemon juice, half the lemon in the cavity and thyme butter under the skin of the breast. Salt, pepper, oven and voila!

Nothing is going to persuade me that ready-cooked from the supermarket comes anywhere close. That was a very tasty bird.

Though I am prepared to  be swayed on the clean pyjama thing. Maybe two nights. Maybe.  If you want to reveal a shocking something, now would be the time. Just so I don't feel like an odd bod.

Comments

[claire]

I could not agree with you more about the roast chicken - so easy to cook and lots of yummy leftovers and promises of chicken soup.
Not sure I would have shared my pyjama peculiarities without prompting but .... I have clean pyjamas every night and the children have clean ones when the beds are changed (this is the bit that makes my friends think i'm mad)which is twice a week and sometimes three times a week in summer. I just don't sleep properly otherwise. Gosh that's a lot of info and I haven't even had a glass of wine yet!

[lucy@theantidote]

Roast chicken, you cannot beat it, or the lovely smell. Your neighbour is really dpriving you!
Also agree with clean pj's every night. Nothing better than lovely clean babies in sweet smelling pressed pj's - although I seem to spend large amounts of time ironing and washing pj's!

[April]

that looks so yummy! I adore roast dinner in general and especially roast chicken. I love making them because there is always a good leftovers meal and some sandwiches as well - very thrifty

April xx

[trashalou]

seriously? Every night? I don't know now whether I feel all grubby and a bad mother or impressed by your diligence!

[miss chris]

Roast chicken, yum. I don't do it much in the summer, but I do love it when it cooler outside. (Would rather not heat up my kitchen anymore than it is already. Thank you SW exposure.)

As for the pjs... the eldest wears the strangest concoctions to bed and I am over trying to figure out her 13 year old mind. The 3yo, on the other hand, likes to mix and match her fresh ones every night. Hello blue princess top and butterfly bottoms! So sweet.

I also spritz my bed linens after making it each day. (with a vodka/fabric softener combo). It just feels fresher between washings...

[Carole]

I have to admit that I haven't roasted a chicken in a long time....

I am often surprised by the simple things that people don't cook.

[The Coffee Lady]

I am REELING from the clean pyjamas revelation.

I don't roast chickens either. Roasting chicken is Mr Coffee's department.

[Gina]

I don't eat meat and even I roast chickens (with lemon). Those scrawny things in the supermarket look horrible.

Clean pjs every night... gosh I feel really grubby. At least my children are clean... they don't wear anything to bed (probably too much information?)

[Jo]

Well, I'm totally with you on the clean pjs front! Would never have crossed my mind to put fresh-from-the-bath, delicious-smelling chubby 4 year old arms and legs into grubby jimjams (particularly because they are inevitably covered with Marmite/juice etc. from the morning's breakfast!)

As for roast chicken....YUM!! Probably my all time favourite dinner and so easy too!

[UK lass in US]

I've bought some ready roasted chickens before - you can get them really cheap at one place over here and sometimes it's just too darn hot here to want to have the oven going (not to mention our hyper-sensitive smoke alarms like to go off EVERY time I roast potatoes). Usually they're just for my husband to shred and smother in salsa for his mexican food, though.

[Gemma]

NEVER COOKED A CHICKEN!?!?!?!?!? That really is a bad one.

[Lucy Locket-Pocket]

I would probably roast a chicken rather than buy one ready roasted although I do always love the smell of them when you pass them in the supermarket - I think I've never bought them because I always thought they'd be much more expensive that way.

As for clean p-js every night - my children probably do that too but only because they are too lazy to put the pair they've just taken off away and would rather just chuck them in the bathroom for washing - little monsters, I'm trying to train them!

Lucy x

[dottycookie]

We roast a chicken most weekends (just call me Jamie Oliver) but it has to be organic - or at the very least free range, and yes, I can taste the difference. I haven't eaten supermarket roast chicken for years, and won't eat chicken in sandwiches or takeaways. And you thought your PJ thing was weird!

[Daisie]

Mine probably have clean PJs most nights but it does depend on how much breakfast they have managed to smear on them. Never get dressed before breakfast, bad idea here! Although Francesca was rather in love with one particular new pair and managed to wear them for three nights before I demanded she put them in to wash! Tend not to do cheap ready roasted birds as am sure they are not well loved when alive (hence so cheap) and what do you use to make the gravy?!?
Oh, must just tell you, sorry rambling now, but Elizabeth had a friend home form school for tea once and we were going to all make our own pizzas together. Elizabeth announced that 'mummy has made the base dough and sauce by herself' and the reply from friend was that her mummy had made 'mash from real potatoes', some people's home cooking is just different I guess!?
Love the look of your bird, must go and seek one out for the weekend, yum!
xxx

[juliab]

That's EXACTLY how I cook it! .. i have never had a pre-cooked bird!! x

[Thimbleina]

That is making me feel hungry, I like my chicken done like that too.

Something odd about me - I like the kitchen to be tidy before I go to bed as I cannot abide getting up to an untidy kitchen along with not being able to have the radio on first thing in the morning as my ears need to adjust to the level of noise that happens in our house.

[Emma]

Mmmm. Roast chicken.

In all my 27 years, I've never watched Star Wars. Most people are very shocked at this. Especially those born in the 70s!

[lyn]

Good God. I'm keeping quiet about how long my kids are in the same jimmy-jams.

[Liz in Colorado]

Roast chicken - now there's good eatin'. Especially one made with love.

My nit-pic? I hate sleeping in an unmade bed. The room can be falling apart at the seams around me, but if the top sheet is untucked and the quilts scattered, I get all mad at the Hubster. Care to guess who was the last up that AM?

[Sal]

Not every night surely!!!! How many pairs of PJ's do all these readers own!! I keep mine on for 3 nights, I'm feeling grubby now though! LOL!

[suzie sews]

delicious, big fan of a mid week roast. As for the PJs, oh my I am a dirty Mommy, mine wear then for about a week... thinking about it now though.... ew!!!!

[Karen]

It just has to be home roasted chicken doesn't it? Every Friday night I roast a chicken. Recently I tried to do pasta or something equally 'crazy' but it got such complaints from the residents that I've never dared tried it again :-)

For us it's lemon up the bum, with a splash of soy sauce, water and stock cube sprinkled over, along with cut up onions that we all fight over.

As for clean PJs every night. Now my kids are older, it's a pleasure that they last more than one night!

[Kate]

Well, I'm with you on the chicken - which is not to say I've never ever bought a pre-roasted one - very convenient for instance for a picnic, where it doesn't matter that the skin isn't as crispy as it should be because you are eating it cold anyway... but 99 per cent of the time, we roast our own.

Pyjamas, though, well, i think you're the odd one out :) We probably go 3-4 days - in the summer, if it's really hot, not quite so long.

What weirdness can I confess to? We don't own a Wii and only have 5 channels of telly - is that weird?

[Anita]

I agree, supermarket roasted chicken will never be like home roasted chicken. Even better is "beer can chicken" on the bar-b-que. You don't have to use beer. Any liquid will do. SooOooo good.

As for weird... hmmm. I don't think I have any weird habits. Wink. We are fanatical about our morning coffee... weighed to 36 grams, water to 197 degrees, steeped for 3 minutes in a push-pot before plunging... drink and enjoy!

[Thimbleanna]

Your shocking things are good. Mine are bad, so I think I'll keep them to myself. I do love a good roasted chicken though. And after 30 years of marriage, in this last year, I've finally managed to get the hubby to eat them. Yay!

[Sachi]

My shocking things are bad too but I guess I will share-- my husband and I share a tooth brush and we have for years. I know....
AND I have only roasted a couple of chickens in my day. Yikes.

[Curry]

This is terrible, but I already 'fessed up to never having roasted a chicken in my life before over at http://www.lastnightsdinner.net/ earlier this week. But I've never bought one at the grocery store either! Does that make it a little less egregious? :)

I just started eating meat after being a vegetarian for almost 13 years (most of my adult life)! The roast looks delicious - I can almost smell it. Yum.

[monica]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE roast chicken... and for once my children do too (although I'm still looking for that 3 legged chicken to have a peaceful meal!).

But the pj?????? C'mon!!! I stopped that palava when they were one.

[driftwood]

shop bought roast chicken - but how would you make the gravy if you didn't have a roasting tin of juices?

my children go to bed in pj's and never ever get up in the morning wearing them, they must do somekind of sleepwalking pj removing......... xox

[Rebecca]

I've never bought a ready roasted one! I just cannot imagine??!! I do mine pretty much like yours and almost always mid-week, sometimes just with a crusty loaf and some salad and a bit of cream stirred into the pan juices. A mid-week chicken is heaven and the best part is when you, hopefully, have a few leftovers for chicken sandwiches the next day.

[Rebecca]

I forgot to add, hmmm, pyjamas, I stopped that a couple of years ago, it felt weird though, I had to wean myself slowly.

Also, I am a little freaky about bed making, it has to be perfect, totally perfect, every morning. I hate when my husband lies in or the children come and bounce on it or something. I am definitely a bit weird about it.

[Jannette]

EVERY NIGHT...!?!?!??? Wow. Goh. That shut me up. I just about make them get clean knickers. And roast chicken I do. In theory that is. Husband does it for real. It does smell great..

[annie]

It`s the one thing my student daughter left home being able to cook and her roomies think she is fabulous. Clean pj`s - they seemed to be mix and match when they were younger. Have even known the youngest sleep in her new swimsuit and one one occasion her new red wellies. If they are happy and smiley, so is everyone else and that too me is all that matters.

[Cybèle]

I have no idea how long my kids wear their pjs because they change them themselves. I just wash them and put them back in the drawer in case of youngest and on the shelf to be put away in case of eldest.
Another weird habit - or non-habit really - is that I never wash my youngest's hair. It just doesn't get dirty. It's soft and smells nice, but it's never washed. It gets wet in the bath from time to time, but no shampoo. I'm sure once hormones kick in, he can't get away with it anymore, but at the moment it seems to be self cleaning!
(and the roast chicken is making me feel hungry. I don't do anything to mine, just add a bit of S+P and into the oven. Yummmm)

[Simply H]

Ohhhh, and I thought you were classy with original artwork in your utility room - but clean pj's every night, you are even classier now! Wow! We are much more grubby in our house and they wear them for 2 or 3 nights at least!
I'm with you on the roast chicken though, yum! Yours sounds delicious, will have to try it.
Shocking revelations - we don't own an ipod in our house and I didn't even know how to work one until a year ago when I had to use the one at work! Is that weird?

[Kristy]

Does your neighbour know just how much fat is sprayed onto those 'roasted' chickens as they cook?
We have a two night limit on pj's. I have fresh every night though!

[Lisa]

My girls have clean pajamas every night too. It's not weird, it's clean. Ironically, I'm not exactly a clean freak, but I just like clean pj's.

[Two Owls]

This makes me feel better as I always feel guilty and slightly decadent when pj's have only one nights wear before going in the wash!
For me, the teapot always has to be warmed with a swill of boiling water before the tea is made, my husband thinks this is odd and totally unnecessary, but then he makes awful tea.
Love your blog.

[TeddyStartedIt]

No fresh PJs in our house, but we love home cookin' every night of the week. And that chicken you made looks so good I think I'll have to roast one this afternoon -- even if it IS 98 degrees here today!

Love your blog, and I'm letting everyone in my world know it:) http://teddystartedit.blogspot.com

[lazylol]

Yum. I could just eat some of that chicken.

I love that clean pjs and bedding feeling but I confess I usually wear them twice.

[claire]

I have a phobia of the eiffel tower - makes roast chicken and clean pj's look ordinary eh?

[Rebecca]

Clean pj's every night - that's a lot of washing!

[babybug]

i never roasted a chicken :(
i did roast a turkey, ONCE!
we sleep in clean pjs everynight, too :)

[Lisa]

This is a cute discussion! Had to join in :) I do roast the chickens in our house... even though I am a vegetarian! I have no idea how they taste but no-one complains.
As for the pjs... well I stopped with fresh ones every night a couple of years back, but they are obviously replaced if breakfast is spilt on them (often!). If not, it's a change three times a week. Works for us all, especially the washing machine! Basically, you were right... you're not the wierd one!

[Elizabeth]

My sister puts her son in clean pyjamas every night too. When I was last staying in a hotel with them he asked me on the third night if I only owned one pair of pyjamas otherwise why hadn't I changed them!

My weird thing is having to have matching pegs on each item of clothing on the washing line and, preferably, they should match the item too - although contrasting colours can just about be OK.

[Isabelle]

I'm ashamed to say that, once dry at night, my children only had clean pjs every few days unless they actually got them dirty. Which they sometimes did, of course.

Other shameful admission: I'm an English teacher and I've never read any of the Brontes. I know the stories and everything; just never fancied them much. Too much head-tossing for me - or so I think. One day I must remedy this.

[Twiggy]

My Mum thinks I'm weird cos Twiglet has cleaned ironed pjs every night. I however, don't :)
twiggy x

[Lesley]

Right there with you on the roast chicken - especially after seeing Hugh's revelations about the awefulness of the cheapo supermarket chickens!
In fact, we have a little free range lovely to roast tomorrow - not a home grown one, in case you were worried!

I was a clean pj's every night Mum until very recently. Don't quite know what called a halt to that singular display of cleanliness but they now manage two or even three nights before I whisk them away for washing.

Ahem - I also used to iron pj's - but that too has ceased, I'm pleased to say!!

xxx

[grumpy]

Don't they say that a British summer is three sunny days and a thunderstorm?

Well, we've had a nice few days and tomorrow, thunderstorms are forecast.

Although we invariably roast a free-range chicken, today was our summer exception - a Rannock Smokery "Smoked Chicken" with salad and it was great. Even looking forward to the left-overs tomorrow!

My PJs are falling to bits but will have to wait until Christmas for replacements!

[lina]

Mmm. I do roast chickens, but hardly ever...must rethink that. PJs here are changed 2 -3 times a week, but used to be more frequent when they were really little. I can't imagine how much washing that must create! If I could be bothered I'd have clean sheets every day but quite frankly I'm too lazy...