Comments on: Foodie 101 – Roast Chicken

By: Laura Hobbs

Laura Hobbs — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:27:24 +0000

George, definitely check out the monastery birds. They’re in the frozen section. And sauces are a great idea – thanks!

Sardon, sounds like YOU may be the expert on pizza! :) I love hearing about the chemistry side of cooking. And I, personally, am a thick crust girl. I’ll definitely add pizza to the list, too.

Mary?! Is that really you?! Welcome – I’m glad you found the Flyer!

By: Mary Swift

Mary Swift — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:38:48 +0000

Laura – I was happy to find this Fayetteville site (I haven’t been home in ages), and even more excited to see that you write the foodie section for it! Your recipes look absolutely fantastic and I can’t wait to try some of them, despite my lack of cooking skills. Thanks for sharing!!

By: Sardon

Sardon — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:01:52 +0000

Laura, you should teach the people who don’t know how to make pizza how to make pizza dough and sauce. I learned in high school from an Italian girl, who calls the sauce “suga.” I didn’t learn until college Chemistry why the suga needs to be “brewed” for at least two hours is to break down the long carbon chain starches into short carbon chain sugars. Just like with beer, people like sugars just like yeast do.

You might need a video to demonstrate kneading. I was taught to push the dough in the pan, but switched to rolling it out with a rolling pin for thin crust. Pushing the dough then letting it have a second rise in the pan is the Ye Olde King Pizza puffy crust trick.

By: George

George — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:42:51 +0000

Thanks for the tips and the imagery. :) That’s cool that Richard’s sells the local monastery birds. I’ll have to check that out.

I think a 101 on any basic sauce (marinara, alfredo, hollandaise, gravies, pesto, etc) preparation and applications would be sweet. A lot of them are super easy and way better than store bought. I’m pretty good at some (farmer’s market marinara), but really suck at others (gravy). It’s always good to get another perspective.

By: Laura Hobbs

Laura Hobbs — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:43:56 +0000

Hi, y’all!

Lacy, Me’s right – check out my post on Schweizer Brot for a great bread recipe. I’ll be sure to do more in the future, too.

Misty, at least you can build a mean birdhouse! You’ve got one up on me in that department. :)

Me, I’m glad someone else knows just how invaluable that Cory-Ricker bread recipe is.

Rynne, a whole meal is a great idea! I’ve jotted that one down in the orange notebook. As for my hair, Taylor Housley-Sutton (a/k/a “Girl Taylor”) at Dead Swanky cuts my hair. She is so lovely and irreplaceable!

Mullva, food snobs, unite! Thank you for the kind words.

Alannah, I’m glad I got under your skin (pun intended). More baking to come, I promise. And techniques and cooking terms are a great idea – that’s gone down in the orange notebook, too.

burgerboy, I use regular 100% cotton string that you can find at the hardware store. It is all natural, no colors or dyes, and doesn’t impart any flavor to the chicken. As for a rack, it often comes in a set with a roasting pan. I just bought a new one recently that came with a roasting pan, rack, lifting prongs and a baster.

Michael, you’re exactly right. Thanks for the comment!

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:59:07 +0000

When smoking chickens and turkeys if there’s enough to need to hang them to make space, I use regular synthetic twine.

Some roasting pans come with racks, if not you should be able to find one at Walmart, Target, Kohls,or any place else that sells kitchen supplies.

By: burgerboy

burgerboy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:26:31 +0000

Question: What kind of and where do you get string used to tie the legs together?

And where do i get a rack to roast upon? Does it come with a roasting pan?

By: Alannah

Alannah — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:40:20 +0000

I made roasted chicken tonight because you got it stuck in my craw for the past two days. Mmmmm….thanks for the inspiration.

I’ll echo Lacy – I need help in the baking dept. It would also be nice to go over cutting techniques, and basic cooking terms and when and why to use them (blanching, steaming, roasting, grilling, etc).

By: Mullva

Mullva — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:10:50 +0000

Laura,
Cool post!

I don’t cook a whole lot, but as a self proclaimed food snob your pictures and post are beautiful! I might even try the roast chicken.

Keep up the good work!

By: Rynne

Rynne — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:23:57 +0000

Laura, I LOVE your foodie posts. They are so yummy and make me want to cook more at home. I like seeing a whole meal too, like the salad, main course, dessert. Give it up!!
ALSO – Who DOES cut your hair??

By: Me

Me — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:32:28 +0000

@Lacy – She has one on making bread and it is fabulous! I think she got the recipe from the same person I got it from and I have never had better homeade bread!

By: Misty

Misty — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:20:57 +0000

Love this. I chose shop over home ec in high school, and I’m starting to regret it. I mean, is it really life-altering that I know how to make a car out of balsa wood? I would much rather know how to roast a chicken. Oh wait, now I do. Keep ‘em coming!

By: Lacy

Lacy — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:28:09 +0000

Bread making would be boss. It seems so daunting to me with all its active yeast, flouring, rising, kneading, resting…My Kitchenaid mixer seems made for it.