Awesome chicken and a weekend of cooking

This weekend was something else. What else I don't know, but I can tell you that it kicked me in the behind. It left me drained. It left me dreaming of pork and meat and lets just say I only want to eat salad today.



Dishes. I feel like a flunky in a Michelin rated restaurant. I can't tell you how many dishes I washed. Ok, enough with the wah wah wah. I will get on with it.

Friday...



Ah, chicken. I decided that I would give "Spatchcocking" another try since I mutilated the bird last time. Spatchcocking is another word for butterflying. See? you learned something...or not.



I got the Keel bone out on the breast side so it really was nice and flat when it came time to cook. I had bought 2 sour oranges at the farmers market and I wanted to make Cuban Style Chicken. I miss a restaurant that I used to go to in Culver City called Versailles. They made the most amazing cuban chicken. I came up with a marinade that didn't hit the mark for Versailles but was very good.



I made a mojito sauce to marinade the chicken in. No not the drink. There is a marinade with the same name. Recipe will be given if you can get through my blatherings.



Dr. Food BBQed it. He is the grill guy. Actually, he is way more than that. He is my partner in crime with all of this. He doesn't blog so I just pretend that I do all this cooking alone, but I don't. Dr. Food is a Chemist. He is focused. He keeps me grounded when I start getting out of control throwing ingredients in a bowl. He knows all about scales, and measurements, and did I say he is the most patient person I ever met? Well he is. So lets all give a round of applause to Dr. Food (who by the way really IS a doctor of chemistry). I love you Dr. Food. Ok enough with the mush and on to the Rib Roast.



My friend Cathy (waving to Cathy) got her hands on this beautiful Boneless Rib Roast. She didn't know what to do with it so I grabbed it out of her hands and ran to my house with it (good thing I only live next door because I am out of shape from eating too much pork and I don't run that fast. Not only that but her legs are about 3 times longer than mine and she could whoop my ass in a running contest). Anyhow, I got the rib roast and made it for a dinner for all of us (yes, Cathy and her family were there. I did share afterall).



Ewwww. This recipe sounded good but was disgusting. That is what *I* get for getting a recipe out of a magazine that comes free in the mail that says "NO ADS".



Check out the dayglo green under those breadcrumbs and parmesan. Ewwwww. Grosssss. No recipe to follow.



I also made these potato stacks. They stuck to the tin. The tasted ok but uh....I dunno.





The meat? The meat came out perfectly. We went with "low and slow" method and a blast of heat at the end to sear the outside. I sort of didn't do this part because I might have been talking and drinking a bit too much and this is where Dr. Food always comes in and saves my ass.



Sunday. We decided that Sunday would be GRINDAPALOOZA for the 5th Charcutepalooza challenge. Not only were we doing that but I was missing my friends Matt and Margie and my BFF Sam, so we invited them over for a dinner of pastrami sandwiches (of COURSE it was the homemade pastrami!). So we were working away furiously so we would be done by the time they showed up.



Again with the Matt hands.

Here is Margie (love you M!)



She is married to those hands....I mean Matt.



Here is Matt. Those are his hands. (Oh Matt you always crack me up, love you too!)

No Sam. Same doesn't pose for pictures unless you pay him. I was all out of 5's. (Love you toothless Sammy!)

Ok. Carry on.

Really Good Chicken!

1 large roasting chicken

1 cups sour orange juice (or 1/2 orange and 1/2 lemon juice)
10 cloves garlic (minced)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 cup minced onion
2 teaspoons oregano
1/4C Canola oil

Mix all marinade ingredients (I flattened the chicken but you don't have to do this) and marinate for a few hours. Grill or roast chicken as you normally would, basting every so often.