An Ode to Ina

One of my many guilty pleasures is watching the Food channel, particularly when the Barefoot Contessa is on. Other than the sometimes excessive use of butter and cream in her recipes, there is very little that I would not love to dish up as easily as her, especially on a weeknight when you have very little time to indulge in the gastronome within. 

That said, if there's one thing I've learnt about entertaining and cooking dinner for friends during the week it's that making things that you know are good (and don't require any more guinea pig efforts from your spouse) is the best course of action.

Of course using your imagination is a great idea, but keeping things very simple is often best. That's why I always keep a whole chicken for roasting in my fridge, and I can never go without canned tomatoes. Put the two together, sprinkle some fresh herbs (if available - if not, don't even give it a second thought), throw some tender baby spinach in a bowl with an easy vinaigrette and even quickly steam some rice (in a pot - I'm not the rice cooker type)...and voila! 

I know it's not the most refined menu ever, but I'm pretty sure our guests left happy and quite full, which makes the Ina Garten in me beam with pride.

A Speedy Chicken (almost) Cacciatore

When you are ready to cook the chicken, first preheat the oven to 425*F (220*C).Wash the chicken (inside and out) and liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Cut a lemon in half and place both pieces in the cavity with a bunch of parsley, tarragon and a couple of cloves of smashed garlic. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken (although I must admit that I often skip this step depending on my level of commitment to the bird). Place it on a roasting rack in a pan. Rub the outside of the chicken with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken for 1.5 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh.While the chicken is roasting, finely chop a medium-sized onion and smash one clove of garlic (feel free to chop the garlic and leave it in - I like to remove mine once the sauce is cooked) and let simmer until onion is soft. Add 1.5 cans of chopped tomatoes as well as one large tomato chopped (for texture) and stir. For seasoning, add 1-2 bay leaves, chopped flat-leaf parsley, chopped oregano, a small teaspoon of vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Once the sauce looks like it's reducing well, add 2.5 cups of white wine (or chicken stock) and let simmer on a low flame. By the time the chicken is out of the oven, the sauce will be done.

Once the chicken is cooked, wait about 10 minutes to carve and place all the pieces into a baking dish and cover with the tomato sauce. Lower the oven temperature to 180-200*C and cook for about 12-15 minutes. 

Perfect Rice

In a pot, drizzle some olive oil and add an amount of rice appropriate for the number of guests (I usually use about 1-1.5 cups for 4 people). I like basmati rice - the other varieties lack the depth of flavour that basmati has. Stir the rice in the olive oil to make sure that each grain is coated. Once done, add twice the amount of chicken stock into the pot, season, and cover with the lid. Bring the stock to boil and then lower the flame to the lowest setting. Cook the rice for 12 minutes and then leave covered for a few minutes before serving.