Family Dinner- white wine roasted chicken with vegetables

Whew!  I can't believe it is already Friday!  This week was a whirlwind at work.  I had hoped to post this blog on Wednesday.  This is one of the busiest times in my field and I didn't get home from work before 7:30 much this week.  Until tonight, that is.  We finally had a delicious family dinner this evening.  I was home by 6 and had the time to assemble this dish and blog about it.

It was good for us to sit down and enjoy a nice home cooked dinner.  I just love quiet weekends and we have one on tap for this weekend finally.  We haven't had one since before the holidays so this weekend is going to be well enjoyed by us both.  My husband even played a little Miles Davis for me without even asking!  He knows me so well- jazz is king in my book, especially when I am enjoying dinner!

I think there's an assumption out there that roasting a whole chicken is hard and that you need to do a lot to pull it off.  That isn't the case at all, I can assure you!  The best thing about roasted chicken is the fact that you can make several dishes with the leftover chicken as well.  

My husband loathes most vegetables.  For some reason, he gobbles up the ones that are in this dish and any recipe that gets my husband to eat vegetables is a winner in  my book.  He especially likes the garlic chips that add so much flavor to the vegetable medley.  A tip about cooking with wine: buy an inexpensive white wine.  Choose a variety that you enjoy drinking.  I usually run to the liquor store and buy a cheap bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to cook with.  Don't buy cooking wine found on the grocery store shelf- it is filled with sodium and the flavor is off.

And once everyone has enjoyed this meal, bone the chicken and save the meat for soup night.  Let the chicken come to room temperature before you put it into the fridge (putting hot food into a cold space causes bacteria to grow).  Chicken will keep in the fridge for three days or in the freezer for up to two weeks.  Stay tuned- I am going to tell you how to make the ultimate chicken soup with the leftover chicken next week!

Try this out on your loved ones, I am sure it will be a huge success and everyone will be cheering your name at the dinner table!

White Wine Roasted Chicken with Vegetables
1 3.5-4 lb. whole chicken, gizzards and neck removed from the cavity
2 cups of sliced onion
1 cup of sliced carrots
1 cup of sliced celery
4 garlic cloves, sliced 
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1/8 c. fresh chopped sage
a small amount of fresh dill, finely chopped
4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c. white wine
3/4 c. low sodium chicken broth
salt and pepper

1. Slice the vegetables and garlic. It is a piece of cake with your food processor!

2. Add all the sliced vegetables to a cast iron la cocotte or a 9x13 glass baking dish

3. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in your baking dish

4. Rub olive oil generously onto the skin, then salt and pepper to taste

5. Pour the wine and broth around the chicken and on top of the vegetables

6. Add the fresh herbs

7. Into the oven at 400 degrees fahrenheit for 45-60 minutes. Make sure a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh reads at least 190 degrees fahrenheit before eating.

8. Dinner is served!