Macarons!

I love, love, love macarons!  I loved them before I went gluten free, it’s just one of those dreamy treats I didn’t have to give up.  I tried a recipe from Pinterest for my first try, tasty, but there were some improvements to be made.  This recipe turned out perfect, and of course, I had to change it a little.

This had to be one of the most thoughtful gifts I ever received.  I was at a Christmas party for our church and I eyed a plate, the ONLY plate, of Macarons and by the time I sought out the person who brought them to ask if they were gluten free, they were gone.  I asked her how hard they were to make, and she said she’d tried several and loves them too.  The next week she brought over this recipe book because I had asked her about them.  And it wasn’t only thoughtful, but this book is AWESOME!  They have printable pdf files of templates too on a CD included in the back of the book.  SO cute!  You can buy it HERE.

Measure by weight, not volume!

Basic Recipe (my changes in BLUE)

200g powdered sugar

110g almond flour

100g egg whites aged at room temperature

Pinch of cream of tartar

35g superfine sugar

4-6 drops lime doTerra essential oil

Dab of green food coloring paste

Measure all of the ingredients with a digital scale. 

Preheat oven to 320’ for at least 30 minutes.

Sift the powdered sugar and almond flour into a bowl together.  Combine well using a wire whisk and set aside.

In a mixer bowl, beat egg whites until opaque and creamy.  Add pinch of cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form.  Slowly add superfine sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.  Add food coloring his point if you choose to use it.

Fold and stir the powdered sugar/almond flour mixture into the egg whites, adding 1/3 of the mixture at a time.  The mixture will be the texture of thick cake batter, but fluffy and light.  Add the macaron mix to a piping bag with a tip #12 attached.  Pipe onto silicone mat or on parchment paper circles.  Tap the cookie sheet to release bubbles and help the mix spread out within the circles.  Allow to set 30-40 minutes(I found 20 minutes too short to leave an adequate skin).  They will get a skin and look dull.  This skin helps them rise up rather than spread out.  Turn oven down to 300’.  Bake one cookie sheet on the bottom rack at a time for 10-12 minutes, rotate the pan halfway through to allow steam to escape and evenly distribute heat.  Cookies should NOT brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.  Peel the cookies off of the parchment or silicone mat to finish cooling. 

Divide the cooled cookies into pairs of like sizes.  Pipe the icing into the center with enough of it to go to the ends, but not spill out.  Refrigerate overnight for best results.

Icing: 

2 sticks softened/room temperature(not melted) butter (I prefer salted)

4 cups powdered sugar

1 ½ Tbl. Rum emulsion flavoring

2 tsp. almond emulsion flavoring

Beat all of the ingredients in a large mixer bowl on high for several minutes.  Scrape the bowl as needed.  Add more milk or powdered sugar to get a thick consistency.  Cover and let sit 15 minutes and beat again.  A cake decorator taught me if you did this then you don’t have to sift the sugar. 

Lime Curd:

½ cup sugar

Zest of 3 limes

½ Cup Fresh lime juice

4 egg yolks(now you get to use those egg yolks up.

Pinch of salt

¼ cup butter, room temperature

½ cup white chocolate chips

Whisk all of the ingredients except the butter and chocolate chips in a small saucepan.  Over very low heat, bring to a simmer whisking the entire time.  It will thicken up as it begins to bubble while still stirring.   After it’s thick, remove from heat and add white chocolate chips.  Stir until they are completely melted and incorporated.  Allow to cool until just warm enough to melt butter.  Add 1 Tbl. of butter at a time and incorporate all of the butter. I didn’t like the look of orange yolk color with the specks of green zest so I added some green food coloring.   Set aside until cool.

When the Lime Curd is cool, add 1/2-3/4 cup to Buttercream Icing and mix well.  Spoon icing mix into a piping bag with another #12 tip. 

Prepare your cooled cookies to fill with icing by pairing them up with like sizes and shapes.  Turn one of the pair over and pipe icing into the center. 

Refrigerate cookies in a tightly sealed or covered container overnight for best results. 

One of my experiments was too ugly to photograph, but yummy enough to gobble up, lavender macarons with lemon icing.  There are countless variations, but I'm partial to anything with citrus in it.  You can even add mashed berries to icing, or even mascarpone cheese/pudding mix(you need something help it stay together).

Enjoy!!!!

Mushroom Risotto

This was dinner tonight.  I missed the photo because we just couldn't wait to dig in.

2 1oz. packages dried mushroom blend, or your favorites*, chopped
4 Tbl. butter or reserved bacon grease
1 medium onion, diced
2 8oz. packages sliced, cremini mushrooms
2 cloves crushed garlic
splash of olive oil
fresh ground pepper
kosher salt, to taste
red pepper flakes, to taste
2 cups arborio rice
2 bottles non-alcoholic beer(you can us regular beer if you don't mind)
5 cups good beef stock(or use veggie broth)
3-4 cups reserved liquid from re-hydrating mushrooms

Grated Parmesan Cheese and sliced green onions or parsley for toppings.

Get all of your ingredients together, because you do not want to step away once you start this.  Trust me.  You need approximately 9-10 cups of liquid.  Feel free to half this, but I promise, this will be devoured quickly.  Pour 4 cups boiling water over dried mushrooms and set aside, allow to re-hydrate for 20 minutes, at least.  Heat a very large deep frying pan and add bacon grease or butter and a splash of olive oil(to prevent burning).  Add onion and cover, reduce temperature, and cook stirring often until translucent.  Drain mushrooms, reserving the liquid.  Measure 4 cups and add to a medium saucepan.  Add hydrated mushrooms and fresh mushrooms, garlic, a large pinch of salt, fresh ground pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Mix well and cover, reduce heat if needed.  Cook, stirring often until fresh mushrooms cook down and reduce in size.  Add beef stock to mushroom stock in a saucepan and heat to boil and then turn to low for simmering.  Add uncooked arborio rice to mushroom mixture and stir until rice is coated and edges start to turn translucent.  Add one bottle of beer and stir until it is absorbed.  Add second bottle of beer and stir until it is absorbed again.  Add beef/mushroom stock, one cup at a time stirring constantly until liquid is absorbed.  Repeat until all liquid is incorporated.  Add more kosher salt and pepper to taste as needed.  Cover and let rest 3-5 minutes.  Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and sliced green onions.

* The blend I used has porcini, shitake, morel, oyster, and lobster mushrooms from Monterey Mushrooms
**The non-alcoholic beer goes better with beef stock than the white wine I had on hand.  I've also made this using red wine though and it's seriously delish!

Slow-Cooker French Onion Soup

Mise en Place

(Unfortunately my camera died before I could take any more pics.  Email me or leave a comment if the directions aren't clear.)

I've never liked French Onion Soup, I've just never found one that didn't taste like canned beef broth.  So I decided to try THIS recipe. It's fall and I love my husband, and it's relatively healthy.  I followed the recipe pretty darn close, except, I used beef stock I had reserved in my freezer and some from our pot roast last night.  It's a lot of beef stock.  But well worth it.  I used non-alcoholic beer(2 bottles for tasty measure) so it has great flavor.


I tweaked the bread slightly.  First, toast the bread under the broiler for a few minutes on each side.  This helps prevent the bread from becoming instantly gummy.  Spread one side lightly with one clove of roasted garlic.  I made 2 bulbs of roasted garlic today and they spread like "buttah".  Ladel some soup into the bowl, then plop the toasted bread garlic side up on top of the Onion Soup.  Place a slice of Swiss Cheese or sprinkle generously with grated Gruyere.  It's okay to overlap.  Broil for 2-3 minutes, until cheese starts to bubble and brown.  Serve very carefully as bowl will be very hot.


This would be a FANTASTIC get together dish.  Just toast up the bread as above, on a cookie sheet with the garlic and cheese.  Leave on a side plate for people to top their soups as they dish it up.  (We had a funky schedule tonight with meetings and sports, so I did this for the kiddos that came home later, it worked)

Slow-Cooker French Onion Soup

(adapted from http://www.howsweeteats.com)

makes 8-10 servings

4 med. sweet onions, sliced thin

3 garlic cloves, pressed

1/4 cup of butter, sliced into pats

2 tablespoons good balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

2 bottles non-alcoholic beer(such as O'Doul's)

8 cups GOOD beef stock

1 Tbl. dried thyme

1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1/2-1 teaspoon kosher salt

Sourdough or French bread(stale works best)

gruyere cheese, sliced or grated

Add onions, garlic, brown sugar, butter, salt and balsamic and mix until combined in a large slow-cooker. Cover and let cook on high for 60-90 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes, until onions are translucent and brown on the edges and just caramelized. Sift in flour and stir thoroughly, let sit for 5 minutes with lid on. Sprinkle in Thyme, fresh ground pepper, beer, and stir well.  Add in remaining beef stock, and cover.  Cook on high for 4 hours, then turn down to low and cook an additional 2-4 hours.  

Slice sourdough or French bread into 1" thick slices.  Arrange on non-stick cookie sheet and toast each side under broiler.  Leave door open slightly and watch closely so they don't burn.  Remove from oven and spread each slice with  one clove of roasted garlic.  Fill soup bowls almost to the top, cover with slice of bread and a handful of grated cheese or slice. Set under the broiler for 2-3 minutes(leave door open so you can watch carefully), or until cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Be careful when serving as bowls will be hot!  Sprinkle with fresh parsley or fresh thyme.  

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Marshmallow Vanilla Frosting

This recipe has to be my favorite decadent dessert ever.  I don't like the texture of pumpkin pie but love the taste, and this was positively delicious!

Original recipe:  http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pumpkin-Cheesecake-with-Marshmallow-Sour-Cream-Topping-and-Gingersnap-Crust-350478

Pumpkin Cheesecake

"For crust:

·        Nonstick vegetable oil spray

·        2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 9 ounces)

·        1 cup pecans (about 3 1/2 ounces)

·        1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

·        2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger

·        1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For filling:

·        4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

·        2 cups sugar

·        1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin

·        5 large eggs

·        3 tablespoons all purpose flour

·        1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·        1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

·        1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

·        1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

·        1/4 teaspoon salt

·        2 tablespoons vanilla extract

For topping:

·        2 cups mini marshmallows or large marshmallows cut into 1/2-inch cubes

·        1/4 cup whole milk

·        1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·        1/8 teaspoon salt

·        1 cup sour cream

ppreparation

Crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Grind cookie crumbs, pecans, brown sugar, and ginger in processor until nuts are finely ground. Add butter; using on/off turns, process to blend. Transfer mixture to prepared pan; press onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of pan. Bake crust until set and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Filling:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in pumpkin. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating on low speed to incorporate each addition. Add flour, spices, and salt; beat just to blend. Beat in vanilla. Transfer filling to cooled crust. Bake until filling is just set in center and edges begin to crack (filling will move slightly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool 1 hour. Run knife around sides of pan to release crust. Chill cheesecake uncovered in pan overnight.

Topping:
Stir marshmallows and milk in medium saucepan over low heat until marshmallows are melted. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt. Cool marshmallow mixture to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Add sour cream to marshmallow mixture; fold gently just to blend. Pour topping over cheesecake and spread evenly, leaving 1/2 inch uncovered around edges. Chill to set topping, at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Cheesecake can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled."

I was lazy, and mixed 1/2 cup lowfat sour cream with one tub of Marshmallow Fluff and a Tbl. of Vanilla Bean Paste.  Perfection of the taste buds.

Ravioli with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce

No fat grams were left out in this little impressive dish.  Don't hesitate to substitute fat free or lower fat versions though if you're trying to be reasonable.  This came from some leftover ingredients floating around in the fridge so even the amounts are eyeball estimates.

2 lbs. fresh or frozen jumbo ravioli, cooked and drained.
Bring large pot of water to boil, add about 2 tsp. kosher salt.  Boil according to package directions. Turn off heat when done, but do not drain.  Reserve a little pasta water for sauce.

Sauce:
2 Tbl. olive oil or butter
1/2 large sweet onion, diced
5 cloves garlic minced
kosher salt, fresh ground pepper to taste
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 Tbl. sugar
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup canned pumpkin puree(not pie mix)
1 cup whipped cream

Heat large sauce pan on medium-high heat, add olive oil to pan, diced onions, and spices.  Saute until onions are near translucent and then add sugar.  This will help caramelize the onions, just watch closely so they don't burn or it will make the sauce bitter.  Add garlic and a little broth until garlic is tender.  Whisk in remaining broth and pumpkin.  Simmer on low for a few minutes.  Strain raviolis from water and slip gently into pumpkin mixture.  Add pasta water if needed to coat all raviolis.

Serve with grated parmesan cheese and candied pecans.

This is copied from the Lion House Desserts cookbook, however, I usually use a graham cracker crust instead, shortbread is my favorite, and I double up the lemon mixture. You can never have too much lemon custard in my opinion. This is the dessert I'm "expected" to bring to Thanksgiving and Christmas get-togethers.

Lion House Lemon Truffle Pie

Baked 9-inch pie shell
½ cup water
2 Tb. Sugar
1 egg
1 Tb. Cornstarch
1 Tb. Sugar
Zest of ½ lemon
1 ½ Tb. Fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tsp. butter
1 cup vanilla chips
1 8-oz. package cream cheese
½ cup whipped cream, sweetened
1 Tb. Toasted almonds

Put water and 2 Tb. Sugar in saucepan and bring to a boil. In a large boal, mix egg, cornstarch, 1 Tb. Sugar, and zest of lemon. Slowly add hot water to egg mixture in bowl; then pour entire mixture back into pan. Heat until thickened, stirring often. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and butter. Stir until mixed and cool.

Pour 2/3 of filling in bowl. Add vanilla chips to the filling remaining in pan. Stir until chips are melted. Place cream cheese in bowl. Add filling with vanilla chips to cream cheese and beat together. Spread this mixture in bottom of pie shell. Spread remaining 2/3 of lemon filling on top. Chill for 2 hours.

Top with whipped cream and garnish with toasted almonds or sprinkle toasted almonds over whipped cream and serve on side. Makes 1 pie.

Blackened Chicken

6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast Halves, pounded thin
3-4 Tbl. Olive or Canola Oil
2 Tbl. Paprika
1 Tbl. Cayenne Pepper(you can use less but we like a lot of heat)
1 Tbl. Dried Oregano
1 tsp. Salt(kosher or sea)
1 tsp. White Pepper
1 Sprig Fresh Rosemary, chopped
1/2 tsp. Ground Thyme

To De-Glaze Pan:
1 cup red wine
2 Rounded Tbl. Brown Sugar
1/2 Stick Cold Butter, Sliced into Tablespoons

Bring chicken up to room temperature, about an hour on counter.  Combine the spices together and spread evenly on the bottom of a 9x13" pan, reserving some.  Press each side into the spices until well coated and rub reserved spices into chicken.  Set aside.  Using a large non-stick skillet turn heat on to medium/medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, until pan is hot.  Add oil and when "ripples" start to appear it is hot enough.  Add chicken, spread out as even as possible.  If chicken doesn't fit well in pan you may need to do this in batches.  DO not move the chicken around, just leave it alone.  Cook about 7 minutes on one side.  Flip and do not move the chicken around again, it's tempting, but you can do it.  Turn heat down to low-medium.  Juices should run clear if you cut into it after about 5 minutes.  Put lid on and turn off heat.  Let rest about 10 minutes.  Remove chicken from pan. 

To De-Glaze Pan:
After removing chicken from pan, turn heat back up to Medium.  Add wine and scrape drippings and spices from pan while bringing the mixture to a boil.  Add brown sugar and let reduce by about half.  Remove from heat.  Add one pat of butter and mix until incorporated.  Add another pat and mix again, repeat until all butter is incorporated.  Pour over chicken if desired.

White Chocolate Lemon Filled Cream Puffs

Puffs:

1 cup water

1 cup butter(2 sticks)

1 cup flour

4 eggs

Electric mixer

Preheat oven to 400’.  In a medium size saucepan bring water and butter to a boil.  Add flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until it forms a large ball, about 1 minute.  If you have a Kitchenaid, transfer mixture to bowl and using whisk attachment beat on high.  If using a hand mixer, you can use the pan, turn off heat and whip fast.  Add one egg at a time until mixture is well mixed and all eggs are incorporated.  Use a small cookie scoop and drop level scoopfuls 1 1/2” apart on cookie sheet lined with parchment or silpat.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove to cookie sheets right away.  (They’re full of air and almost cool to the touch as soon as you pull them out, but be careful still).  This recipe yields about 48 good size cream puffs.  If you use an even smaller cookie scoop(I played around with extra batter using a tsp. size, and they puffed up to the perfect bite size.

Filling:

1 8oz. block light cream cheese

1 tub whipped topping(not fat free)

1 box vanilla instant pudding mix

1 ½ cups milk

½ cup water

¼ cup sugar

Juice & zest of one lemon, separated

1 egg

2 Tbl. Cold Butter

1 pkg. white chocolate chips.

In a large mixer bowl, allow cream cheese to come to room temperature.  When soft, beat on high using a whisk attachment.  Add pudding mix and milk and whip on high until smooth and creamy.  Set aside. 

In a small bowl, beat egg with lemon zest and set aside.  In a small saucepan, bring water and sugar to a low boil, until sugar is dissolved.  Slowly add hot water to egg mixture, whisking, and then add the mixture back into the pan and return to heat.  Keep stirring with whisk until thickened to custard like consistency.  Remove from heat and add cold butter and lemon juice.  Mix well.  Add in bag of white chocolate chips and whisk.  Let set for a minute and come back and stir again.  The heat from the mixture will melt the chips and it will be just about room temperature by the time they’re done melting and mixed.  Pour lemon mixture into cream cheese & pudding mixture and blend well.  Fold in Whipped Topping, you can just use the whisk attachment on low spead. 

Fill a decorators bag with a large star tip attached with mixture.  This will have to be done in batches, so don’t overfill or it will make a BIG mess.  Poke tip into side of puff and fill, you’ll feel the weight of the puff change.  Overfilling is not an issue, but may be slightly yugly(my word for yummy/ugly, it’s all good though).  Spread a little of the cream filling on the bottom of the plate you’ll be serving them on, this acts like a glue so the cute little guys don’t roll off!  Layer, and sprinkle with powdered sugar, layer again, more powdered sugar.  I use a tiny fine sieve strainer or shaker.  Randomly place fresh raspberries around the platter.

Raspberry Dipping Sauce

Okay, this is the EASIEST and BEST dipping sauce ever, use it over brownies, ice cream, cheesecake, etc….  A friend told me about this.  Literally, 1 minute!

In a large mixing bowl, pour in one bag of FROZEN raspberries and 1 jar of strawberry preserves and mix.  Set in fridge, covered, and allow the mixture to thaw and set up just right.  Give it a good stir before serving.  Something about the juices from the berries with the pectin from the jam.  Yum.  I made mine last time using strawberry freezer jam, and my oh my!

Chili (I served this at Girls Camp Fundraiser)

INGREDIENTS:

2 cans black beans(do not drain)

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

1 can tomato soup

 2 Heaping Tbl. each Chili Powder & Cumin
2 Tbl. Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce

 1 Medium Onion, Diced

1 Jalapeno Pepper, finely diced, most of the seeds removed

1 Anaheim Pepper, finely diced, most of the seeds removed

3 Cloves Garlic, Minced

1 Tbl. Beef "Better Than Bouillion"

1 3 lb. lean Beef Roast, cooked and shredded

1 lb. chorizo, cooked and drained

Sriracha Sauce to Taste

DIRECTIONS:
In a large slowcooker, combine all ingredients EXCEPT meat.   Add enough water to the cans of beans to rinse all of the grainy fibery goodness out, about half to two thirds up the can.  Swirl around to loosen up all the residue and add "bean juice" to the crockpot.  Stir all the ingredients.  Cook on High 1 hour and turn down to Low for 5-6 hours, until onions are translucent and soft.  In a large non-stick pan, cook chorizo.  Pour into a fine sieve strainer and drain.  Go back and scrape the "bits" left in the pan, you can add a little water to help.  Pour the "bits" and drained chorizo into the chili mixture.  Add shredded beef and stir well.  Cook for one more hour.  The beef will soak up a lot of the liquid and it will thicken up.  Add Sriracha Sauce to taste if you'd like to add more heat.

**I slow-cooked the roast the day before in the crock-pot.  I use London Broil in the crock-pot A LOT, and this would also work well, any cheap cut will do, even pork.

Serve with Honey Corn Bread or Muffins.

Updated, my favorite version(10/10/15)

INGREDIENTS:

3  cans red kidney beans(do not drain)

2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

 1 Heaping Tbl. each Pasilla Chili Powder, California Chili Powder, & Cumin
1 Tbl. Worchestire Sauce

 1 Medium Onion, Diced

1 Tbl. Minced Dried Onion

1 Jalapeno Pepper, finely diced, most of the seeds removed

3 Cloves Garlic, Minced

1 Tbl. Beef "Better Than Bouillion" 

1 tsp. ManSmith's Dry Fire Seasoning 

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Combine above ingredients in crockpot and cook on high one hour, then turn down to low and cook another 5-6 hours.

Add the ingredients below and more water if needed and cook on low for another hour.

2 cups cooked and shredded Beef Roast

2 cups cooked ground beef(drain the oil)

1 cup finely diced cooked bacon

1 Tbl. Cocoa Powder(good quality)

I (heart) Rachael Ray's Drunken Risotto with Grilled Chicken....

I'm not going to repost the whole recipe, I'm still feeling "satisfied". This was unbelieavably yummy and got thumbs up from the whole gang. I didn't have any greens(missed the store today), but I didn't miss them either. I also used dried chanterelle mushrooms instead and they were perfect. 1 ounce of organic dried chanterelle mushrooms at my Safeway went for around $7.00. Non-alcoholic red wine works perfect. If you don't want to use any kind of alcohol, just substitute additional chicken broth.

LINK TO RECIPE

Rachael Ray's Devil Chicken

Chicken Fra Diavolo with Fennel, Onions and Potatoes and Warm Tomato and Roasted Garlic Sauce

This was SOOOOOOO good. I was dying to try it, watching her make it made my mouth water. I used 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts instead, and they were tender. I couldn't find fennel bulbs and used leeks instead. They were sweet and flavorful. Couldn't find the cipollini onions so I substituted with sweet yellow pearl onions. I also used yellow and red fingerling potatoes because, well, the produce was limited today. Thought I had a garlic bulb but I didn't so I used some Trader Joe's Bruscetta instead of the tomato and roasted garlic mixture, yum! Even with all the substitutions it was all so perfect. This would be an impressive meal for guests.

16 cipollini onions or 4 medium onions, quartered lengthwise
2 small spring chickens (about 3-3 1/2 pounds), halved, backbone removed and split (ask your butcher to split for you)
5-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), for liberal drizzling
3 tablespoons smoked sweet paprika
3 tablespoons grill seasoning, such as Montreal Seasoning by McCormick
3 tablespoons chili powder – the redder the chili powder you choose, the redder the "Devil"
1 1/2 tablespoons ground fennel
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
2 bulbs fennel, trimmed of tops
1 1/2-2 pounds small Yukon gold potatoes, halved or left whole, depending on size
1 head garlic
2 pints grape tomatoes
1 handful basil leaves, roughly chopped
1 handful flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Preparation
Pre-heat oven to 400ºF.

Place a medium-size pot filled with water over high heat and bring to a boil to blanch the cipollini onions. Blanching the onions for a minute will allow you to easily wipe away their skins with a kitchen towel. If your store does not carry cipollini onions, peel 4 small to medium onions and quarter them with root ends intact.

While the water is coming up to a boil, prepare the chicken spices: In a small mixing bowl, combine the smoked paprika, grill seasoning, chili powder, ground fennel and poultry seasoning. Drizzle the chicken halves with some EVOO, a couple of tablespoons total, and coat the chicken halves evenly with spice – they will be deep red in color.

Drop the cipollini onions in the boiling water for a minute, drain and peel. Trim the top and root ends with a sharp paring knife, and add them to a roasting pan.

Quarter each bulb of fennel lengthwise and cut the core out of each piece by cutting into it on an angle twice. Half each piece again (you want 8 wedges per bulb) and add them to the roasting pan. Combine the potatoes with fennel and onions, toss the vegetables with a couple tablespoons EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the chickens on top of the vegetables in the center of the pan – the red chickens will be surrounded by the white vegetables.

Cut the end off the head of garlic to expose the cloves and drizzle the garlic with a little oil. Wrap it in foil.

Transfer the chicken and the foil-wrapped garlic to the oven. Roast everything about 45-55 minutes, until chicken juices run clear.

When the chicken is about halfway done, coat the tomatoes with a tablespoon EVOO, season with salt and pepper, and add to oven to roast, about 20-25 minutes.

Remove the soft garlic cloves by squeezing them from their paper skins. Mash them in a bowl with a fork then add the roasted tomatoes, basil and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve the chicken halves with some fennel, onions and potatoes alongside, topped with a liberal mound of roasted garlic salsa.