Roasted Chicken with Grapes and Kalamata Olives

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Sorry guys, my bad.  I totally meant to post about this last week, and the week got away from me.  Between prepping for our big housewarming party last weekend, and wanting to clear my work schedule for a longtime friend who was coming to town, it never happened.  BUT, this meal was still delicious way back a week ago, and it will still be delicious when you try it out yourself.

Although probably 70% of the recipes on this blog are inspired by Deb’s Smitten Kitchen, this is the very first recipe I’ve tried out of her actual hard copy cookbook, which just came out, and which I got a signed copy of last Monday when Andrea and I stood in line for 2 hours after her talk at Powell’s.

It was about that time of the month for a roasted chicken anyway, and even though this made such fabulous leftovers that it prevented me from doing my usual rip-the-meat-of-the-bones-and-make-stock routine, we’re surviving on Better Than Bullion, and I’m sure we’ll have plenty of turkey bones left over after this weekend (yep, that’s right!  We’re hosting Early Faux Thanksgiving at the new house this year!), so I’m not sweating it.

It all starts with browning a variety of chicken pieces in a pan.  Well no, actually, it starts with me biking home from New Seasons with my hand rummaging behind me in my pannier, eating half a bag of “holiday grapes” (read: gigantic) before I even pulled in the driveway.  Then it continues with Jesse trying to show me how to butcher a raw chicken, using the best chef’s knife we have, which is so dull that it wouldn’t even cut through the skin.  For real.  Thank god for friends who listen, and who buy you the most awesome chef’s knife ever for a housewarming present.  The next time I make this meal, things will go differently.

Anyway, then you brown the chicken pieces in a pan.  I added some coconut oil first to get it going, but once they start cooking, there is more than enough chicken juices to keep things lubricated.

That looks gross.  This looks better.

So while you’re doing this, preheat the oven to 450.  I was working with a whole bird’s worth of chicken here, so it took me a few batches, but once it was all browned, I put them all back in the skillet, and dumped in 1 cup each of pitted kalamata olives and harvest grapes, and a whole sliced shallot.  I put the entire skillet in the oven and roasted for about 40 minutes.

Then comes the fun part.  I transferred all the goodies from inside the skillet to a serving platter with a slotted spoon, and then got to deglaze the pan.  I love deglazing the pan.  Basically, this is just adding half a cup of wine, some fresh rosemary, and a little bit of chicken broth to the cooking juices that remained, heating it up and letting it reduce and thicken, and then spooning it over the chicken and everything as a tasty sauce.  Oh, and on the side I made a pan of cornbread, and some sauteed brussels srpouts.  I’ve been eating it as leftovers ever since.


This Week’s Groceries

New Seasons 11/7

  • Lentils: $6.46
  • Cashew pieces: $10.77
  • Black beans: $3.01
  • Whole wheat couscous: $7.00
  • Farro: $6.59
  • Hazelnuts: $6.49 — I was doing some serious bulk aisle stocking up today!
  • Leeks: $0.65
  • Holiday grapes: $6.61
  • Fresh herbs: $0.57
  • Shallot: $1.20
  • Free range roasting chicken: $11.26
  • Kalamata olives: $5.09

TOTAL: $65.65

REMAINING FOR THE MONTH: $234.35

 

Grocery Outlet 11/7

  • Oatmeal cookies: $0.99
  • Gamesa: $1.49 — WTF is this??  In case you haven’t noticed, I started having Jesse save his receipts…
  • Brussels sprouts: $3.49
  • Whole milk: $1.99

TOTAL: $7.96

REMAINING FOR THE MONTH: $226.39

 

Fred Meyer 11/10

  • Spearmint: $1.99
  • Butternut squash: $3.18
  • Penne pasta: $2.79
  • Limes: $4.25 — Yes, this is a lot of limes.  Our signature cocktail for the housewarming party revolved around a homemade key lime syrup
  • Avocado: $0.88 — for a veggie sandwich I made on Dave’s Killer Bread, to present to a famished friend when she got off the bus from Vancouver
  • Garlic: $0.34
  • Apple fritter: $0.69 — for Jesse, who was feverishly finishing the paint job in the dining room when I got home, with T minus five hours to go until the party started
  • Pears: $3.87
  • Panko breadcrumbs: $3.69
  • Sherry vinegar: $2.69
  • Red onion: $0.73

TOTAL: 31.96

REMAINING FOR THE MONTH: $194.43

 

Portland Fruit Company 11/12

  • Kale
  • Yellow onion
  • Fresh dill
  • Cucumbers
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Roma tomatoes
  • Red cabbage

TOTAL: $11.31

REMAINING FOR THE MONTH: $183.12

 

Grocery Outlet 11/13

  • Strawberry yogurt: $1.49
  • Half and half: $2.39
  • 2 cans artichoke hearts: $4.58
  • Cottage cheese: $2.39
  • Mozzarella/Parmesan cheese blend: $1.99
  • Goat cheese crumbles: $2.99 — to make Smitten Kitchen’s butternut squash salad, which was a huge hit at the party.
  • 2 blue brie wedges: $5.98
  • 2 bottles Santa Cruz sparkling orange juice: $3.58

TOTAL: $18.70

REMAINING FOR THE MONTH: $164.42

 


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