Perfect Sunday Roast Chicken Dinner ( Watch & Try YouTube Edition)

Perfect Sunday Roast Dinner (Watch & Try YouTube Edition)

Something about a Sunday demands a good, wholesome, filling meal; at least to me it does any way. Sunday’s are the beginning of the week, the start of a series of days which are actually an opportunity to do what it is that you want to do and make the most of the possibilities.  To me in order to start the week off right, and as a way to send the past week off with a bang. I say have a good meal. If you have a family living in the home with you it’s the perfect time to sit around and have a conversation over a meal where you aren't pressed for time, or exhausted from the day’s activities, you can sit, enjoy a meal and luxuriate in each other’s company. Even if you are a single person, or you don’t have a large family at home make a good Sunday dinner, most of the meals I prepare are usually just for me or for me and one other person.  Not having a big family to cook for is no excuse for me not to take the time to prepare a delicious meal.  Sunday’s for me are all about refreshment and rejuvenation in preparation for the week, and having a good meal is a part of that process for me. Well that’s enough of me yammering on I’ll get on with the food. 

Perfect Sunday Roast Dinner 

The "Watch & Try" aspect of this post is inspired by the fact that this recipe comes from a YouTube video a featuring Kerryanna Dunlap where she prepared a traditional English Sunday Roast Dinner. The meal she prepared looks so delicious and she did it so seamlessly that I have to try the recipe out for myself to see if I would get similar results. I will attach the link to the videos of Kerryanna making her dinner below. (*Disclaimer these videos and any links contained in this post are the property of the lawful owners, and are only presented here for informational purposes.) 

Total Cooking Time: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

Cooking Time: 1 Hour 20 Minutes

Prep Time: 20 Minutes 

Yields: Servings 

Ingredients

1 Whole Roasting Chicken

2 Medium Onions

2 Whole Carrots

2 Celery Sticks

1 Whole Garlic Bulb

1 Lemon

1 Tablespoons Olive Oil (Use butter if you don’t mind the added fat)

Honey

Cumin

Salt

Pepper

A bunch of fresh herbs; Thyme, Rosemary, Sage, Bay, or a mixture ( if you don’t have fresh and you have dry use the dry , but if you absolutely don’t want to or can’t go out to the store.

*Cooking Tip*  This is link for the actual that the video is following: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/perfect-roast-chicken/

1.     Take your chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before it goes into the oven. Preheat your oven 350 degrees.  Peel the vegetables, wash and roughly chop them. Break the garlic bulb into cloves, removes the peels and leave them whole.

2.     Pile all the veggies and garlic into the middle of your large roasting tray or pan and drizzle with olive oil. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil (or rub with butter and season well with salt and pepper ( I like to add a little Cajun seasoning at this point because I like a little spice), rubbing it all over the bird. Carefully prick the lemon all over, using the tip of a sharp knife. Put the lemon inside the chicken's cavity, with the bunch of herbs.

3.     Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the roasting tray and put it into the preheated oven.  Cook the chicken for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

4.     Baste the chicken halfway through cooking and if the veggies look dry, add a splash of water to the tray to stop them from burning. When the chicken is done, take the tray out of the oven and transfer the chicken to tray or dish to rest for 15 minutes or so.  If you care the chicken to too it will dry out. Cover it with a layer of tinfoil and a towel and put on the side aside.

*Note* If you're doing roasted potatoes and veggies with your chicken, this would be the time to start them. Once you prepare them place them into the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking the chicken.

I served my chicken with homemade mashed potatoes, fresh peas & onions, and honey roasted carrots just like the ones in the video. They were surprisingly delicious I’m not a very big cooked carrot eater in fact I usually prefer my carrots raw but these were very good. The video also included instructions for how to prepare those as well.

Here is another shot of my actual plated dinner: 

The meal was really filling, it was the type of thing you eat and you feel cozy after ward. You feel warm inside and its not just the gravy. Your family or whomever you choose to share the meal with will see this and think a lot of effort went into it, but its actually really easy to prepare. Are there any special meals you like to prepare on Sunday? Do you have a day set aside to cook something special or to share a meal with loved ones. Comment below. Please don't forget to subscribe. 

xx. Toya