Jun 3 2013

Bacon Stuffed Roasted Chicken with Cauliflower

Posted by Natalie | Perry's Plate in Step-by-Step Recipes

I’ve been dying to share this with you. This recipe for Bacon Stuffed Roasted Chicken with Caulflower comes from TK member Mama Schell. But I really think it came from angels. Or maybe Mama Schell is actually an angel herself. Wouldn’t surprise me.

A roasted chicken with bacon stuffed under the skin cooking over pieces of cauliflower and fresh garlic can only be heaven-sent. You’ll never look at chicken the same way again. Or cauliflower.

You’ll never believe how simple this is, too! Let’s get started.

You only need a few things: a whole chicken, some bacon, a head of cauliflower, and a head of garlic. Oh, and some heat-safe oil (I used grapeseed), salt, and black pepper.

Start preheating your oven while you get the chicken prepped. Once you remove the packaging and the creepy sack of organs (sorry, but it creeps me out), lift the skin and separate the skin from the breasts with your fingers. You can also use the end of a wooden spoon, but try not to rip the skin.

Now stuff two slices of bacon into each side. I folded mine in half and shoved them in there.

I made the mistake of using thick-cut bacon, and you’ll see why it was a mistake in a minute.

Place the chicken in a roasting pan or a rimmed metal baking sheet. I used a baking sheet because I wanted more of the cauliflower to have contact with the pan. Drizzle the chicken with oil and sprinkle with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper and salt.

While the chicken is roasting away, start prepping the cauliflower! Cut away all of the greens and the tough stem, cut it into florets and rinse them off.

Then take the head of garlic, place it root-side up and press hard on it with the palm of your hand. Lots easier than trying to pick apart those blasted cloves.

Here comes the fun part. Ok, not really. Just slightly annoying, but completely worth it in the end.

To make this go quickly, smash each clove with the side of your knife (and the palm of your hand), then the skin should fall off the clove easily. Most of the time.

Put the cloves in a bowl with the washed cauliflower and drizzle with heat-safe oil (again, I used grapeseed).

Hello again, salt and pepper. Set the cauliflower aside for a few minutes.

About halfway through roasting the chicken should look like this. Remember how I said I shouldn’t have used thick-cut bacon? I think that may be the reason why the chicken skin split. I wasn’t too concerned, though, because my entire house smelled like bacon and roasted chicken. That’s enough to take all your cares away.

Spread the cauliflower and garlic around the chicken. Like I said, I prefer using a rimmed baking sheet for this because more of the cauliflower ends up having those dark, caramelized crispy bits on it. And because I don’t own a roasting pan. (Seriously, what’s wrong with me?)

Stir the cauliflower around a couple of times while the chicken finishes up and this is what you end up with. I can hardly stand it. I’m salivating again just thinking about it.

THIS is why you need to make this as soon as possible. I like cauliflower, but I never knew it could taste this good. Just about any vegetable roasted in bacon and chicken drippings will be palatable to any vegetable hater, but if you happen to love vegetables to begin with, you’ll be craving this every. single. day.

Oh ya, the chicken was excellent as well. The breast meat that the bacon oozed on had this incredibly smoky flavor. And I kind of like that the skin split because it made some of the bacon crispy!

Thank you, Jennifer, for this recipe! Check out her TK Recipe Box and her blog, Mama Schell Says for more recipes and beautiful photography.

You’ll find the complete recipe and instructions in the handy printable below!

Printable Recipe

Bacon Stuffed Whole Roasted Chicken with Cauliflower

by mamaschell on December 12, 2009 in Main Courses, Poultry

5.00 Mitt(s) 2 Rating(s) 2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5

Description

Bacon Stuffed Whole Roasted Chicken with Cauliflower and garlic, or the only way to get my son and husband to eat cauliflower!

Ingredients

1 whole Chicken
4 slices Bacon
1 head Cauliflower
1 bulb Garlic (10-15 Cloves)
Salt And Pepper, To Taste
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Clean 1 whole roasting chicken. Gently pull skin away from the breast and insert the four slices of bacon between the skin and breast of the chicken.

Place whole chicken (breast side up) in a roasting pan. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper or any other seasonings you may like.

Bake chicken in the oven at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.

While chicken is baking, cut up cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. Peel garlic cloves, leaving them whole, and place cauliflower and peeled garlic into a bowl. Toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Add cauliflower and garlic to the roasting pan with the chicken. Reduce heat to 400 degrees and cook for 30 more minutes, or until chicken is done.

Serve and enjoy!

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Be sure to check out Natalie’s own beautiful food blog, Perrys’ Plate, where you can see her growing collection of lovely recipes. There’s always something new to see there. Go visit now!

Jan 20 2012

Baked Hushpuppies

Posted by Natalie | Perry's Plate in Baking, Step-by-Step Recipes

Have you ever had a hushpuppy? A true hushpuppy is a cornmeal-based dough that’s fried into little balls. Sometimes onions and peppers are added, but that’s basically it. Hushpuppies have very strong ties to the American South, like fried dill pickles and fried okra (two more of my favorite fried goodies) and are commonly served as a side dish at seafood restaurants.

Oh, and they’re deliciously addictive. I head straight for these when the competitive BBQ tents go up here in Reno, Nevada. Sorry ribs, I’ll catch you later.

Tasty Kitchen member beachbumwannabe (aren’t we all??) submitted this grease-free version, and I was dying to try it. Baked Hushpuppies are pretty good. They’re not identical to the fried version, but they’re a great, lighter alternative. Plus, they’re a great little dipper for soups and chilis. Or a finger food at a party buffet.

If you happen to be a hushpuppy purist and red flags are going off all over the place, just think of these as mini corn muffins. Ah, better?

First, gather your ingredients. You’ll need cornmeal, flour, an egg, baking powder, salt, cooking oil, milk, an egg, green onions, peppers, and honey.

Grab a medium-sized mixing bowl and toss in the cornmeal and flour. For mine, I used whole wheat pastry flour to add some whole grains. It’s a great replacement for all-purpose flour in things like this because you can’t tell the difference.

Add the baking powder.

And the salt.

Give it a good whisk.

Grab another smaller bowl. Crack the egg into it and shake it up a bit with a fork.

To this, add the oil. I used grapeseed.

And add the milk.

Next, chop the green onion and peppers. The recipe suggested a combination of red bell pepper and jalapeno. I used them, too. I also de-flamed my jalapenos because I have small children, but if you want more heat in these, leave a few seeds in the mix.

Add the green onion to the egg mixture.

You’ll only need about 1/3 cup of chopped peppers, so combine them how you like into a measuring cup. Save the rest for an omelet. Or a frittata.

Add those to the wet mixture, and stir it well.

Add the entire egg mixture to the cornmeal mixture. Give it a whisk, but just until it’s moistened.

Know what? A whisk wasn’t such a great idea. Use a rubber spatula instead.

If you’ve got a mini muffin pan, good for you! Add a tablespoon of dough to each cup. If you’re using a regular muffin pan, add 2-3 tablespoons per cup.

My pan has 24 cups, but I only had enough dough for 21. If you have extra cups, fill them halfway with water. It helps to distribute the heat more evenly on that end of the pan. You wouldn’t want any scorched hushpuppies now.

Bake them for about 8-10 minutes (longer for a regular muffin tin) or until they’re firm and a little golden brown on the sides. Pretty, aren’t they? They’re about to get better, though …

Oh yes. Drizzle honey over the warm hushpuppies. Then pop one in your mouth. (Or five. Don’t judge, I’m pregnant.)

Thank you so much, beachbumwannabe!

Notes:
1. I omitted the sugar in the recipe because I like my cornbread on the savory side, but for these, I think I would add a tablespoon next time.
2. I live in Nevada, and I think because of the dry air, my dough turned out drier than it should have. Add a little more milk if you think your dough may be too dry as well.

Printable Recipe