FIRST KITCHEN BLOGS

Over the weekend I hosted my sister’s “Vintage Circus” themed baby shower. She is having a little boy (Leonardo or “Leo”) at the end of September!  A vintage circus was the perfect theme for a baby named Leo (the Lion!).  Again, the theme guided the party planning but I did not go overboard. I found some vintage clowns at a thrift store; a toy carousal that I spray painted and I used popcorn holders as a vase for flowers. I also set up a tent outside and decorated with draping fabric and ribbons. I spent about $50 on all of the decorations…not bad!  Instead of getting to carnival-y on the food I went for fresh and summery. I also didn’t do anything too heavy because my Aunt Lin made beautiful and decadent circus cupcakes for desert!

Here was the menu:

Caprese Salad and baguette

Fresh Spinach Dip and veggies

Torta di Riso (My grandmother’s Italian recipe)

Fresh Fruit

Pesto Green Beans**

Balsamic Glazed Chicken

The menu was the hit of the party. The combination went well together and left people satisfied but not overly full. I will share the pesto green beans recipe. This was a hit and I used the pesto that I made last week and picked up green beans at the farmer’s market the day before.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures while I was making this dish, but it is very simple so I think just following the recipe you will do just fine!

Pest Green Beans:

Serves 4-6

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 2 minutes

You will need:

2 lb green beans, stemmed

1/2 recipe Presto Pesto

1 cup fresh parmesean cheese, grated

1/4 cup walnuts, toasted

I hate to say this but summer is officially over.  As the weather starts to cool, I start thinking about what to cook for dinner that doesn’t go on the grill.

I ran across a roasted chicken recipe in this month’s Bon appetit that I modified to make it simpler, but still very tasty and healthy.  This version uses not only vegetables of the season, but also a lot of fresh herbs.  (Those herbs that we’re still growing, but will soon be nipped by the frost- at least in our part of the country.)

While this recipe takes a bit longer to make than putting something on the grill, it is easy to make. Using whole chicken is quite inexpensive and you will most likely have chicken left over for sandwiches or salads.  Now that’s a real budget stretcher! 

Roasted Chicken and Seasonal Vegetables

1 whole chicken (approximately 3 pounds)

Lemon pepper

3-4 cups seasonal vegetables, peeled and cut into small chunks or wedges, such as:

     Hubbard or acorn squash

     Small yellow beets

     Parsnips

Fresh sage leaves plus 1 tablespoon chopped sage (divided)

Fresh thyme sprigs plus 2 teaspoons chopped thyme (divided)

Fresh rosemary sprigs plus 2 teaspoons chopped rosemary (divided)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt |

Pepper

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Place a couple fresh sage leaves and thyme and rosemary sprigs under the skin of each chicken breast half and some of each in the chicken cavity; sprinkle chicken with lemon pepper.

Place cut up vegetables in the baking pan and toss with chopped herbs and olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place chicken in pan and surround with the vegetables.

Bake chicken and vegetables about 20 minutes.  Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake another 50 minutes, turning vegetables occasionally. 

(Note: Chicken is done when the thigh temperature reached 165 degrees. The easiest way to check is to use an instant read thermometer.)

Adapted from Roast Chicken recipe October, 2010 Bon Appétit