Roasted chicken

This chicken has a few advantages. It is a roaster. It is brined in a flavorful liquid for an extended period so it retains moisture impressively, the flip side of that is it releases very little liquid, and it has butter with extra flavor placed under its skin.

The brine is mild. 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup salt. 1 oz apple liqueur, 1/2 container frozen apple juice. Fennel, black pepper, chile flakes.

So, simple.

The mixture of herbs in the butter is duplicated in another bowl without butter. The compound butter is applied underneath the skin of the chicken.

Sage, black pepper, lemon zest, crushed garlic.

The duplicate bowl of herbs and lemon zest is is applied to the vegetables in two increments. With oil at the beginning, and at the 20 minute mark when the heat is lowered and the vegetables redistributed, the remaining herb combination is added.

Being a roaster means not being a frier, it means being a few weeks older than a regular chicken and that makes a big difference. The tendons are more developed and so are the bones. The birds are altogether tougher. They are also slightly more flavorful. The skin is strong enough to not tear when the connective tissue is separated and the skin lifted away from the muscle so that compound butter can be distributed between the skin and the meat. 

Compound butter is regular butter with any herb or combination mixed with it. This has sage and black pepper but no salt because of the brine.

Over here, on this stove, today, the bird was roasted uncovered at 450℉for twenty minutes. That was a little too hot, and that is what caused this color.

Then covered and lower at 325℉ until the internal temperature at the thigh is 155-165℉.

Open face hamburger

minced sirloin

My bread which is delicious. I have thoroughly enjoyed this loaf, a bit misshapen, it's nearly all gone. But I don't care la la la I have the secret to amazing bread. Powdered milk. Commercial yeast loves powdered milk. 

The loaf was spontaneous starting with 1 + 1/2 cup warm water, yeast of course, then two eggs and butter, sugar and salt and lecithin and flour by the cup until a smooth dough and then powdered milk to adjust to relatively loose dough. 

This is the photo that belongs on top ↑.

Tartine. Open face sandwich, with cheese, broiled. It can be anything, usually ham and sometimes egg in that case croque-monsieur and croque-madame.

This is what I ate. Covered with a salad. It's not so attractive ↓ anymore because of the salad on top. It's shy because it knows it's ugly. 

The melty cheese directly on my bread is my favorite part. It's similar to a deep-dish pizza. 

I am narrowing down what makes these sandwiches excellent and what makes them not so excellent. When I'm done, these will be a masterful variety of sandwiches. Here a hamburger. My problem with this hamburger is that the meat is too tight. It would be a lot better if the sirloin were a slice of meatloaf or a much thinner hamburger. It can also use a sauce. 

Angel hair pasta with onion soup in chicken broth

This is more delicious and more satisfying than I had imagined. 

This is homemade chicken broth stored in a jam jar. That is all the liquid that came out of the recently roasted chicken. It's not much. The broth was all aspic. I hesitated tasting it when it melted. The broth took very little adjustment. I don't know why I don't do things like this more often.  

Apple tart

Scrambled eggs, red pepper with green beans