Thursday, August 21, 2008

Honey White Bread & Lemon Tarragon Chicken

Last night's dinner was Lemon Tarragon Chicken, rice, broccoli, corn and bread. Patrick ate every single bit which had been claimed by no one else, explaining that he's hording calories to survive the fall semester in college. I've made this kind of chicken before, but this time I did it differently. Instead of making a paste of butter and spices, I simply loosened the skin on the bird, crammed chopped tarragon and lemon peel under the skin, then patted the skin back in place, squeezed the juice from half the lemon over the skin, drizzled a tiny bit of oil over it, then salted the bird. With the lemon chopped and placed inside the bird, I roasted it at 350 for a while (which is my favorite kind of recipe and timing....sorry!). I used cornstarch to make a gravy from the pan drippings, and it had a nice tang of lemon to it. Plain white rice is a perfect accompaniment to this chicken, because the lemon and tarragon are such vibrant flavors!

Last night was also the inaugural run for the breadmaker. I didn't bake the bread in the machine, of course; I think of a breadmaker as a nice closed mixer, which keeps the flour from puffing out of the bowl and making an obnoxious mess. If you want to use a breadmaker as a mixer, add the yeast into the warm liquids, then follow with the other ingredients and turn it on! This recipe is from Beth Hensberger's Bread Machine Bible.

HONEY WHITE BREAD


2/3 cup warm water
2/3 cup warm milk
6 tsp yeast*
4 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
3 tbsp honey


Add the yeast to the water *Note: if you aren't in a hurry to have the bread get itself finished, you can use only 3 tsp yeast; it will take about 60 to 90 minutes to rise instead of 30 to 40. I am simply waaayyy too impatient to wait - and I rarely plan 3 hours ahead PLUS start the work then! I digress; sorry. Stir the flour and salt into the water and milk, and add the oil and honey before it's completely combined. Using a stand mixer, it will take about 10 minutes to knead; by hand, you'll have to knead about 10 minutes after all ingredients are thoroughly stirred in, until the dough is smooth. Either way, let it rise 5 to 10 minutes, then split into two loaves, let rise about 30 minutes, or until it's about doubled in size. Bake at 375 for 23 to 25 minutes. The crust will be dark, and the honey imparts a different flavor to this bread. Since the boys ate more than a full loaf for dinner, I'd say this bread was a hit!

11 comments:

Pam said...

The bread looks amazing. There is nothing better than homemade bread. I haven't used tarragon while baking a chicken yet... I need to experiment - yours looks fantastic.

Marjie said...

I was afraid of tarragon, too. A member of the wormwood family? That just sounds so unappealing! And yet, it's good with chicken!

Paula said...

That's some bird! I love the color, and you know how I feel about lemon anything! I haven't used tarragon in so long, and then it was the dried variety. Looking at your bird makes me think I should give it another try. Oh man, I should know better than to look on your blog when I'm hungry; I want some chicken and rice.

Glad that the breadmaker passed it's initiation! The color of the crust on this bread looked so toasty golden.

I can see why this dinner was gobbled up!

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog.

That bread looks really good.

pam said...

It looks like the bread machine did it's job beautifully. And a good roasted chicken is one of my favorite meals!

Bunny said...

You have some great looking homemade bread on your posts Marjie!The only bread I've made is a potatoe bread that my family is just crazy for, they can't even let it cool off before they start nibbling it! I love the look of that honey bread!!

Breezy Point Mom said...

MMMMmmm, I just want to taste that chicken so bad.. And we just had a ham steak for dinner today. Sigh... You're amazing.

Prudy said...

I just love homemade bread and I can't think of a better Sunday dinner than roast chicken. I'd love the lemon and tarragon combo.

Greg C said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog and for leaving a nice comment. How in the world do you find time to cook with that many children? I am struggling with only two at home. I love cooking with Tarragon. I have never tried it on chicken but I will now. Thanks for the idea.

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Tarragon is an amazing flavor for a blank slate like chicken. Your chicken looks beautil, the color is so even and golden brown.

Paula said...

Oh man I love homemade bread! I think I need to make some this weekend!
Oh I love the cake too!
Okay I think I have gained 10 lbs since I started reading your blog!
LOL!
and that tarragon is the perfect herb for chicken!