Herbed Chicken On Toast For 2 Recipes

TWO SIMPLE HERB-ROASTED CHICKENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat a large roasting pan with cooking spray.
• Mix herbs, garlic, oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl to form a paste. Rub the herb mixture all over the chickens, under the skin and over the breast and thigh meat. Tie the legs together with kitchen string. Place the chickens in the prepared pan, breast-side up, preferably not touching each other.
• Roast the chickens for 45 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees and continue roasting until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, without touching the bone, registers 165 degrees F, 45 minutes to 1 hour more. (Be sure to check the temperature of each chicken. One might be done before the other.) Transfer to a clean cutting board; let rest for 10 minutes before removing the string and carving (see How To).

ROAST CHICKEN WITH GARLIC-HERB BUTTER

Steps:

• The day before roasting, combine butter in a bowl with zest of one lemon (reserving the lemon), garlic, chives, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and mix to combine. Dry the chicken with paper towels and place on a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Season chicken with salt and pepper, inside and out. Using your fingers, gently release the skin from the breast on either side of the breast bone. Place a heaping tablespoon of the compound butter under the skin on each side and smooth down to coat each breast. Do the same at the other end, where the thigh joins the open cavity. Distribute the remaining butter on each side under the leg skin. Place chicken in the refrigerator, uncovered, to allow the skin to dry.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Roughly chop the celery, onion, and carrot and place inside the chicken cavity, along with leftover herb stems and half the zested lemon. Cut the baguette to approximately the length of the chicken and place, open-faced, on a rimmed baking sheet. Lay the chicken on top of it. Pour water or chicken stock in the pan so the bread doesn't burn. Bake, 10-12 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, chicken will begin to brown. Add more water or stock to the pan if the bread looks too dark. Reduce oven temp to 400 F and continue cooking, 35-55 minutes, depending on chicken size. (Final internal temperature should be 165 degrees F at the thickest part of the thigh.)
• Test the chicken for doneness by sticking a knife into the thickest part of the thigh-the juices should run clear (i.e., not pink). When done, remove from oven and let the chicken rest 5 minutes before carving. To carve, first remove the wings. Next, cut the skin close to the leg, then cut from the back and follow the bone along the joint and remove the leg. Remove the breasts by cutting down the middle, following the bone (save the rest of the chicken carcass for stock). Cut the baguette into four pieces and serve with the cut chicken on top.

CREAM CHICKEN ON TOAST

Steps:

• Melt butter, add flour making a paste. Remove from heat and gradually add milk, stirring constantly. Return to heat and bring to a boil, add chicken and salt and pepper to taste. Allow chicken to become hot and remove from heat to serve on toast.