Bacon Roasted Chicken

We had a few strips of bacon left from a pack and wanted to do something creative with them.  We also had a whole chicken we were planning to rotisserie, but the weather took a turn so using the grill wasn't an option. 

Solution:  Bacon Roasted Chicken!

We didn't follow the seasoning elements of this recipes.  We marinated our bird in our favorite Noble Made Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce overnight, and didn't add any other spices or butter.  We also used a bottle of beer instead of beef broth at the bottom of the roasting pan. 

But the recipe did come in handy for some basic roasting-with-bacon guidelines:

• Lay the chicken breast-side up and lay the strips of bacon across like a blanket (use toothpicks to keep them in place.

• Roast at 450F for the first 15 minutes.
• Then lower to 350F for 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Finally, take the bacon off the top to allow the skin to brown for another 15 minutes (we also let the bacon roast a bit longer in a separate pan.)

The end result was super juicy and tasty!  We served it on a bed of sauteed kale, carrots, and peas to balance out the savory bacon.  Delish!

Watermelon Margaritas

Warm weather is upon us but most public spaces are still closed.  So on those days we miss sitting outside at our favorite restaurants with a pitcher of refreshing libations, this recipe for Watermelon Margaritas does the trick.  Only 3 ingredients!

• 1 1/4 cups watermelon juice (1 small ripe watermelon yields ~3-5 cups juice)
• 2 1/2 Tbsp lime juice
• 5 Tbsp silver tequila (5 Tbsp = 2 1/2 ounces)

Mel enjoyed it as is, but DJ added 5 Tbsp of orange juice to his glass to balance out the tart lime.  A delightful treat for sunny days in the yard!  And throw one of DJ's awesome cowboy steaks in the mix and we are #winning!

S.I.P. and Chill

S.I.P. might sound like a great name for a new wine bar, but actually it stands for Shelter-In-Place.  Today marks the start of the 3rd month we been staying home to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic.  No one in our house has gone to school, work, or to any public place since March 12th. 

It seems odd to be writing a blog entry about a virus, but this is a time we will certainly never forget (nor should we) so it felt fitting to make note of it here.  And in fact, staying home has led to many creative food experiments.  We do have the option to do curbside pick-up from some of our favorite restaurants, so sometimes we'll splurge on takeout on the weekends (reheating every dish until steaming/bubbling as a precaution).  But for the most part, we're coming up with interesting ways to make the food we're able to get delivered via Fresh Direct (thankfully we have a reserved weekly spot), Instacart, Whole Foods, and some specialty butchers who offer truck delivery.  The bags are dropped off by our garage door and we meticulously wipe down every item with Clorox to be extra cautious (produce gets washed with soap and water).  Some pantry items we even leave on a shelf in the garage to let them air out longer - we figure it doesn't hurt.  It's quite the system to say the least.  We will definitely never take walking around stores shopping for granted again!


Boston Pork Butt

We ordered this cut of meat for the challenge of cooking low and slow for a long time to make it tender.  Also... it's also pretty amusing for our kid to tell people we're having butt for dinner (the meat is actually from the pig's shoulder; not sure how it got named.)  The sight of the perfectly caramelized skin was so mouth-watering, it was very difficult to be patient waiting for the slow roast. 

After 11 hours, the end result was delish!

Pork Loin Roast

DJ decided to go cowboy-style on this one and sear the loin directly on the hickory wood chunks.  It was then slow smoked on the rotisserie with pecan wood chips.  The flavor was amazing, and we were extremely impressed with how well the meat reheated over the course of the week. Stayed juicy and smokey for days.  Fantastic!

In addition to grilling more, we also decided to keep ice cream in the freezer for days when we really need a sweet treat to soothe our sheltered-in souls.  Ben and Jerry's had announced their new flavor - Netflix and Chill'd - months ago, and Mel was immediately intrigued because it includes all her favorite snack flavors.  A wondrous mix of sweet and salty.  So it was a no-brainer to include it in our grocery cart, and it did not disappoint! 


Pretty great when the name of your snack food mirrors exactly what you're doing during shelter-in-place.  Lots of shows, movies, and chillin.'  Since this will likely be the only blog entry we devote exclusively to this historic window of time, it feels like the best place to share some of the screen selections that are getting us through it all. 

MOVIES

• Knives Out
• Bad Boys for Life
• Planes
• Planes Fire and Rescue
• Despicable Me 1-3
  

SHOWS

• Top Chef Masters - LA
• The Big Family Cooking Showdown (British)
• Tiger King
• Million Dollar Listing NY
• Altered Carbon
• The Expanse
• Indian Matchmaking
  
• Doc McStuffins
• Thomas and Friends
• Ask the StoryBots
• Ready, Jet, Go
• Rusty Rivets
• Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood
  
• Paw Patrol
• Gigantosaurus
• You Tube videos about the solar system & dinosaurs
  

Thankful every day for our good health, our home, our beautiful yard, grocery delivery, liquor store curbside pickup, and Internet access.  These times are challenging, but we remain grateful for everything we have and will be all the more appreciative of all the little things once this pandemic is a thing of the past.