Recipes from Helle

Okay with this recipe, the amounts are somewhat….. variable as it been a while since I made it but from experience I have learned that it is always good no matter what amounts are used. Also, if you have issues with playing with raw chicken, this is not the recipe for you as it requires you to stick stuff under the skin.

• 1 3 or 4 lb whole fryer
• 10 -15 or more large basil leaves
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• 1 tsp ground sage
• 1 stick butter
• 3 tsp salt (or more or less whatever you feel like)
• 3 or 4 tbsp minced garlic ( I always use more but I REALLY like garlic so…)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Chop or snip all fresh herbs into fine pieces and place in a small bowl with the ground sage, salt, butter, and garlic. Mix all these ingredients together and prepare to get a little icky. Around the neck hole where the skin has edges, pull skin up gently to create pockets between skin and chicken. If you’re ambitious (and sometimes I am) you can get these to go all the way to the tail and underneath to the drumsticks. You will be filling these pockets with lumps of herby butter and smashing it around. Don’t worry too much about being even with the butter- just try to get half on top and half on bottom. If you really feel creative you can stuff shallots in the cavity and I also take the woody stems from the herbs and fill the chicken with them sometimes. Now that you have your chicken all stuffed with buttery goodness, stick it in the oven and let it cook for a good 30 minutes or so. Then turn the temp down to 375 and let it cook till done. I can never accurately time this as I take it out several times to check, but I know 45 minutes should get it the rest of the way done and if you’ve cooked whole chickens before, you should have a general idea of how long it takes. Sorry, I’m not actually Martha or The Contessa– I just cook at home and have people compliment my cooking.

Things you should know:

Upon occasion when I’m feeling really decadent, I add 4 oz of cream cheese to the butter mixture. Sometimes I also add 1/2 a cup of plain yoghurt. This makes everything extra creamy.

This dish is really good with homemade garlic mashed potatoes. If you want my recipe you’ll just have to wait till next time. Cheers! Oh and Toi? I shall try to continue to supply you with the recipes altho they may not all be gardeny