Fabio's Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

Before you judge me, you need to know: it wasn't my idea!

This month is all about "Top Chef", as you know. I told myself I wasn't going to go so Fabio-heavy on the recipes. I understand that not everyone is as twitterpated with him as I am (pun most definitely intended). But I SWEAR this one wasn't my choice! To make a long story short, Hosea's Bacon-Wrapped Halibut got vetoed, much to my dismay. I mean, serious--anything wrapped in bacon is good, right? *sigh*

The majority ruled in favor of Fabio's chicken. (And why wouldn't they, really?) There are 3 elements to this recipe, which I can't link because it came from How to Cook Like a Top Chef. First, there's the chicken. It's stuffed with a grilled lemon, whole garlic cloves, rosemary sprigs and sage leaves. Under the skin, I rubbed minced rosemary, a couple whole sage leaves and a couple pinches of salt. By the way, I'm learning that I'm afraid of salt. The recipe calls for "a few generous pinches of salt" under the skin, and then more with pepper on the skin. Well, I'm pretty sure my pinch equals about a quarter of Fabio's pinch. In fact, I'm positive. I'll explain how I know in my next blog entry. So the chicken was lacking a little in flavor, but not in juice! It was veeeeeeeery juicy.

The second part of this dish is the potatoes. Basically, they're parboiled, tossed in olive oil, smashed garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper, then baked. They're supposed to be done when they're "crispy" but they won't be if you don't use enough olive oil. I imagine that's why 30 minutes wasn't long enough. I also didn't use as much rosemary as I was supposed to, because I just don't like it that much. But the garlic was fabulously strong. (And, in fact, still flavoring my hands 2 days later.)
The third and final component is cipollini onions, caramelized in butter and balsamic vinegar. These were actually my favorite part of the dish. I took a photo of the entire meal, but I decided it wasn't very appetizing. This one's better:

I might make this again, only because it was so highly praised. But it was a lot of work, in my opinion! The cooking time had to be increased for the chicken and the potatoes, and the constant checking got on my nerves a little bit. I didn't have to do everything myself, though, which was nice. Mom helped me. If I try it again, I'll see if I can juggle it all on my own, knowing what I know now. Or at least I'll see if I can handle the chicken by myself!