French Roasted Chicken: For Lack of a Better Adjective

Appropriately, I'm writing this entry while taking a break from a snoozer of a book on the historical supremacy of French cuisine and the creation of a notion of cuisine that predated the Revolution but which really took off during the era of French nationalism that characterized the period of Revolution and Empire. (The irony being that this era coincided with the French people being generally starved and decrepit from constant warfare). The majority of the book is a polish job on Antonin Careme,  the Bobby Flay of the early 19th century, but it does have some interesting points on what made modern French cuisine so different in an era.

Notably, its simplicity. As Careme penned his authoritative and highly critical works, the aristocracy and high bourgeoisie was still working through its obsession with choking down rare cuts of various beasts encrusted in an inch of nutmeg, cayenne, cinnamon and Christ knows what else. The obsession with spices, which we can originally blame on the Romans, was more a tip of the cap to conspicuous consumption than to flavor. Careme, in a move which would define French cuisine, rejected overspicing in favor of the more refined flavors obtainable through herbs, essences and stocks. The ingredients became the centerpieces of the cuisine, and it was a good thing.

It is worth mentioning that Careme was also a snobby prick who couldn't resist a chance to show someone up, a trait which endeared him to me immediately in light of my ongoing hate affair with Pinterest. Although it's a great place to stumble onto good recipes, excellent blogs and great ideas, these are generally isolated islands of excellence afloat in a buttery sewer of American food culture. Here, simplicity refers not to the ingredients, but to the recipe writers themselves. Every time I see the word bake used as a noun, I get an urge to kill.

So to pay  homage to Careme and throw the finger to the boobs of Pinterest, here is a simple, relatively healthy and really cheap chicken recipe that can be prepared in minutes, baked in about an hour, and keeps well for leftovers for the next day. It's what we should be making at home, not "bakes."

French Chicken
4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (or a whole chicken, make sure you cook it longer...)
2 potatoes
2 carrots
10 garlic cloves (crushed and depapered)
1 small onion cut into wedges
4 shallots (or more onion)
4 sprigs of parsley
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
4 sprigs rosemary
2 tsp dried thyme powder
salt
pepper
butter
olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup water

Prep:
1. Take the chicken out of the oven an hour beforehand to allow it to reach room temperature, which will help it cook evenly. Preheat the oven to 475.

2. Soften about 1/4 cup of butter and mince up a few thyme and parsley leaves and mix in a good amount of salt and pepper and dried thyme. Set aside. This takes about 5 seconds, don't be put off by the idea of herbed butter.

3. Cube the carrots and potatoes, chop the onion and quarter the shallots, and throw the fresh and dry herbs into a large bowl. Douse them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Really, don't undersalt this. If you think you've got enough, just toss in a bit more for good measure. Mix well.

4. Place the vegetables in a glass pan and pour the wine and water over them.

5. Lube up the chicken pieces with the herbed butter and glob any of the remainder on top of the thighs. This will melt into the pan and mix with everything else beautifully.

Cooking:
1. Put the pan in the oven at 475 for 25 minutes to seal and crisp the chicken.

2. REDUCE THE TEMPERATURE to 350 and cook for about 30 minutes until the legs appear to have shrunken noticeably. With a full chicken, cook for at least 45 minutes, or until a meat thermometer says it's okay. You don't want to underdo it.

3. Baste a bit and let the pan sit for about 10 minutes to rest.