Back Home Again

We returned home from our trip to Kitty's family's home in Cleveland, Mississippi today and the easiest thing I could think of to cook was a whole roasted chicken. I rubbed the bird down with the new Ivy & Devine Poultry Seasoning, trussed it up and popped it in a 400 degree oven for about 1.5 hours. I pured off most of the fat and deglazed the pan with some chicken broth and mounted the sauce with a pat of butter. After letting it rest, we served with some Italian Pole Beans and tall glass of diet coke. No fuss cooking that hit the spot.

Bon Appetit!
~Tom

Testing the New Poultry Rub

This week, I received a package in the mail from the company that blends our Ivy & Devine spices. In it was a sample of the new poultry and seafood blends. Last night I tried out the poultry mix on a whole chicken, cooked on the grill (indirect heat) with a pecan limb thrown in for some smokey flavor.

To truly test the blend, I used nothing on the chicken other than a healthy dose of the spice mix, so the recipe is very simple. Enjoy!

Spice Rubbed Chicken

2 Tbsp. Ivy & Devine Poultry Seasoning Blend
1 Whole chicken

Prep
Remove neck and organs from the cavity of the chicken. Pat dry with a paper towel, inside and out. Thoroughly rub the bird, inside and out, with Ivy & Devine Poultry Seasoning Blend. Work the seasoning blend under the skin on the breast. Truss the bird to secure wings and legs. Light charcoal grill, gas grill or preheat oven to 400degrees. If cooking on a charcoal grill, make sure to put the hot coals only on one side, opposite the vent hole or stack. If using a gas grill, preheat only one side and leave the other in the off position.

Cook
Place the bird on the grill (indirect method) or in the hot oven. Cook until internal temperature of the thigh reaches 180 degrees and juices run clear. For a medium bird this could be from an hour and a half to an hour and forty five minutes. This may vay greatly depending on the heat of the grill and the size of the bird. I strongly suggest that you don't worry so much about the time and concentrate on the internal temp.

Plate
Carve chicken into quarters and serve on a warm plate.

Coffee Rub Fillet

From the emails I received, I think y'all want the recipes from last night. Well...here you go!


Coffee Rubbed Fillet 

4 thick cut fillet mignon (2”-2½”)

1 tsp. Ivy & Devine Coffee Rub

1 Tbsp. olive oil

4 pats butter

Prep

Allow fillets to come to room temp, rub with Ivy & Devine Coffee Rub and drizzle with olive oil. Preheat oven to 200° and heat plates while prepping and cooking.

Cook

Make sure that your grill surface is very hot. Cook steaks for about six or seven minutes to the side (for medium rare). Cover with foil and allow steaks to rest for five minutes after cooking.

Plate

Place a pat of butter on the hot plate and top with the steak.

White Vegetable Mash

2 Large Parsnips

1 Head Cauliflower

2 Medium Rutabaga

½ Stick Butter

1 Cup Heavy Cream

Salt

Pepper

Prep

Chop all vegetables into 1” cubes.

Cook

Boil vegetables until fork tender. Pour off all but a small amount of the water. Whip* vegetables and slowly add cream until desired consistency is reached (all of the cream need not be used). Blend in butter and salt and pepper to taste.

*An immersion blender is the best way to achieve a whipped consistency.

Sautéed Mushrooms
1 box fresh button mushrooms
4 cloves garlic
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup good red wine
1/2 cup beef stock
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary
1 tsp. brown mustard
salt
pepper

Prep
Slice mushrooms and chop herbs and garlic.

Cook
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter and cook until it foams. Add garlic, mushrooms and herbs and cook until mushrooms begin to soften. Add wine, stock and mustard and cook over medium heat until reduced to 1/4 of original volume.

Plate
Serve mushrooms and liquid from pan over steaks.