sleep study

dear ina

dear ina,

i can't tell you how much i love your roast chicken recipe. love. i've made it countless times, and it never fails me. it's pure comfort food... so simple and fresh and beautiful, and the house smells amazing every time i make it. it's everything i love about cooking. and, frankly... you make me look good.

sincerely,

alison rae

p.s. if you ever need an assistant call me. i'll peel carrots all day long.

perfect roast chicken {ina garten, from the barefoot contessa cookbook}

1 5-6 pound roasting chicken

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch fresh thyme

1 lemon, halved

1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 spanish onion,thickly sliced (i use two)

*i like to add 4-5 peeled and sliced carrots to the roasting pan with the onion

1 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

{preheat oven to 425 degrees}

remove the chicken giblets. rinse the chicken inside and out. remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. place the chicken in a roasting pan. liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of the lemon, and all the garlic. brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. scatter onion slices around the chicken. {if roasting carrots or other vegetables, place the chicken on top of the carrots and onions for roasting.}

roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. remove to a platter and cover with aluminum foil while you prepare the gravy.

remove all fat from the bottom of the pan, reserving 2 tablespoons in a small cup. add the chicken stock to the pan and cook on high heat for about 5 minutes (a splash of white wine is great here... pour a glass for yourself too), until reduced, scraping the bottom of the pan. combine the 2 tablespoons of chicken fat with the flour and add to the pan. boil for a few minutes to cook the flour. strain the gravy into a small saucepan and season it to taste. keep it warm over a very low flame while you carve the chicken.

slice the chicken onto a platter and serve immediately with the warm gravy. {i usually serve this with just the pan juices spooned over the warm chicken, roasted onion, and roasted carrots. but, who can resist gravy?} garnish with lemon, and fresh thyme.

darling {easter} things

vintage letterpress typography

flopsy and mopsy

sunrise shirt dress {anthropologie}

organic cotton produce bags {oh, little rabbit}

easter table {august's first easter}

bunny ears

eggs from our chickens

easter egg tree in our first apartment

portrait with black bunny {the black apple}

darling bow tie {hunter gatherer}

hoping to find the new oliver + s book in my easter basket

oliver + s

darling brunch table {design sponge}

april snow

save it for a rainy day

out and about {cannon falls}

august and i drove to cannon falls last week on the most beautiful spring day. it felt so good to go for a drive and have lunch with my sweet boy at the old market deli. antiques, good food, coffee, ice cream, fourth and main fabrics. on the way home we met 3 geese who live on a farm nearby, and we may have picked out a kitten to bring home in a couple weeks:)

little darling {laya}

i had the pleasure of taking photos of this sweet little baby girl today {laya} for my etsy shop. seriously... how cute is she? totally not helping my baby fever over here.

laya is wearing my hand knit baby bonnets, and playing with my owls, and one of the pocket matryoshka dolls available in the shop.