Differences in Flour Explained - Sift Out Your Flour Issues

I have been having an email conversation with another foodie who taught me a thing of too about meringue and was I ever thankful! But alas, we can all learn from one another, and soon she was asking me questions about flour and which flours are perfect for certain types of baking and cooking needs.

What is it about flour and how does it handle and stand up to our various baking and cooking needs? This simple question I wished to resolve and find out - and what I learned was more than I could almost handle since there seem to be several different points of views as to which flour is best to use for certain baking and cooking situations.

And as a result, a new article idea was born and hence the following is a result of today's research. I sifted through a variety of blogs and websites to come up with the information provided below. I list the resources at the bottom of the article for those who are so ever curious including one for the photo to the above.

Now some of you may think all flours are equal - well that is simply not true. Not all flours behave equally when used in baking due to their varying levels of hard and soft wheat flour, level of proteins including nutrients. The flour your mother and grandmother used can be very different to the flours now available on the market today and certainly can behave differently when used in baking and cooking. Furthermore, what we may be able to buy in the grocery store is not what your commercial baker gets and in fact all purpose flour purchased in the Northeast may be and will be very different than flour purchased in the South or out West by California (who knew!?!) This was something I had no idea about - so how the heck does one use the same cookbook (such as The Joy of Cooking) in all areas of our blessed country? I am not even going to approach that subject. But I digress.

For many occasional bakers, all purpose flour will stand up (and rise to the occassion) as needed and is perfect for almost every baking and cooking need. For others who are particular in their baking perfections and confections - different flours are preferred for their specific gluten contents and yeast raising abilities - I will try and share what I have learned about all types of flours. I also included on the bottom of this article a substitutions list that can come handy if you are in a jam for some of you bakers out there. Do note that not all substitutions will work for every recipe - as their are some limitations to the chemistry compounds.

I divided up the information into two categories, one in which the different flours are described, and the second, which type of flour is best to be used in your different cooking and baking situations.

For the Divaliscious record, I prefer to use unbleached un-sifted all purpose flour such as Heckers or King Arthur's for almost every baking and cooking recipe except for when the recipe calls for cake flour (I live in the NE). I also use the same flour for my gravies and sauces -I am personally not a big fan of Wondra -though I know it helps a lot of people in avoiding lumps in their gravies and sauces (but that can be avoided by not adding the liquid too fast and not walking away from your beginning gravy stages and using a whisk to stir).

And of course I will sneak in some Bisquick (a self-rising flour product) in making my oven-fried chicken, dumplings or a quick pancake or coffeecake when I am in a jam as it is a tried and true product - but would never use Bisquick as an all purpose flour if I was making cakes, breads or cookies from scratch.

Descriptions on the different type of flours:

All Purpose Flour - is made from a blend of high and low gluten wheats, and has a bit less protein than bread flour. All purpose flour sold in the North, usually has a blend of both soft and hard wheat flours whereas in the South, it is a blend of soft wheat flours. All purpose flour can generally be used in all recipes. But for the truly picky - see belows list for the preferred flour type for what you are baking and cooking.

Bread Flour - has a higher hard wheat content than say all purpose flour, and is used a lot by commercial bakers. There is also a higher gluten content (more protein) in bread flour with a small amount of malted barley flour and vitamin c or potassium bromate added to it in which the bromate helps increase the elasticity of the gluten, creating a dough with which can easily be worked.

Cake Flour - has a low and delicate gluten content and is finely milled with a super smooth texture allowing cakes to be light and airy - think of jelly rolls, sponge cakes and angel food cakes.

Pastry Flour - is finer in texture than all purpose flour but it is not as fine as cake flour. This flour is usually distributed to commercial bakers and contains a lower gluten content and is made mostly of soft wheat attributes.

Self-rising Flour - is an all purpose flour to which additional ingredients have been added such as baking powder and salt. And it should be used as according to its package directions since there are differences per each self-rising flour product out there - there are several available on the market (Bisquick comes to mind once again, and it was the one 'allowed' cheating self-rising flour we used in our household when I grew up - and still allow in my cupboard for those dumpling moments that come to pass every once in awhile when I make a stew) - You can also make your own if you wish, just keep it in a sealed container due to the baking powder which you want to keep fresh to retain it's leavening properties. (1 cup self-rising flour is equal to 1 cup cake flour with 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder and a pinch of salt added to it.)

Whole Grain Wheat Flour - wheat flours can vary in their amounts of white flours added, but most are tried and true and can now be used successfully in bread recipes without adding any additional 'white' flour.

Durham/Semolina Flour - is used primarily for breads and pasta doughs due to its high gluten and protein amounts.

Rye Flour - rye flour usually needs to have wheat flour added to give it some lightness due to its lacking the necessary proteins to form gluten which is essential in making breads.

Soybean Flour - Neither gliadin or glutenin, the necessary proteins when moistened to create gluten can be found in soybean flour, hence a strong wheat flour needs to be added to soy bean flour for good results in making breads with soybean flour. Although, with quick-breads and cakes, soybean flour may be substituted up to half of the amount of all purpose flour with good results.

Buckwheat Flour - has very strong characteristics, a nutty flavor and is very 'heavy' and must always be combined with wheat or white flours to create good results in breads.

Enriched Flour - since after WWII, the demand for an enriched flour product was at a all time high (and the FDA demanded it during the war), and since due to the milling process, many of the nutrients were lost and had to be replaced - so enriched is simply what it implies; enriched flour has added nutrients such as iron, niacin, thiamine, folic acid added to the mix.

Other types of flours can also include rice, peanut, potato and of course in the world we live in, a variety of other different types of flours can be bought over the internet from other countries and in local health stores and specialty stores.

Did you know that there are pizza restaurants out in California that have both water and flour 'imported' from NY so they can create the NY Pizza? That's is how different flours and (water) can change a recipe and its' basic tastes.

I would highly recommend, trying out some of the other types of flours when you make bread the next time - experiment with different combinations and you will soon be creating your own interesting hearty breads.

When in doubt, look at your package of flour to see what combinations of additional flours and/or ingredients have been added - you may find that the whole wheat flour is actually not completely whole wheat but in fact has white flour already added. This is particularly true when you wish to avoid certain 'flours' or are trying a new bread recipe that calls for different types of flour such as rye.

Unbleached Versus Bleached Flour - Bleached flours will have a slight lower protein content than unbleached. Unbleached flours will be so ever 'not as white' as bleached flours in their color. And due to the less protein amount, bleached flours when making breads specifically may not rise as much and bake out flatter (I know this since I have experienced this).

Sifted Versus Unsifted Flours - This may seem self explanatory - but there is a huge difference in weight when comparing one cup of unsifted flour to a sifted flour. I have personally experienced a half a cup more of flour once it has been sifted! Imagine adding unintentionally an extra half cup of flour to your recipe and what that could do to ruin a perfectly good recipe. Since I mainly refer to cookbooks that are 50 years old, I like to use the unsifted flour and sift accordingly to the recipe directions. Remember, cooking and baking is chemistry - and the correct amounts make for perfect results every time.

In most cases, my recipes will call for me to measure, sift, measure again, then add the salt, baking powder, etc. then sift once more. Yes, I will sift my flours twice. But, my cakes are extra light as are the cookies crisp and chewy as a result with having extra happy eaters.

If I happen to be using a pre-sifted flour (it has been known to happen) I will still carefully measure the flour, add the salt and other dry ingredients, then sift them all together, since flour whether sifted or not easily settles (like your bag of potato chips and cereals) during its many travels in shipping to your local grocery store.

Sifting the flour will aerate the flour, remove any lumps and will create a lighter texture to your fine baking goods. I do not sift my bread flour since I mainly use a bread machine to make my dough, but will sift my flour for when I make quick breads such as banana loafs, etc. which I do not make in my bread machine. And for the most part, I use my bread machine to simply make the dough, then I take the dough out of the machine so that I can create a more homemade and rustic-looking bread.

I use a fine mesh strainer to sift my flour - long gone are my flour sifters (which you may recall seen used by your mother and grandmother respectively) since they are hard on the wrists (from all the squeezing or cranking mechanisms) and they rust easily while taking up too much room in the kitchen where space is always at a premium especially for when they are used for one thing only. Why bother with sifters from year's past?

The fine mesh strainer can be used for so many multi-purposes in the kitchen, can be easily hand washed along with going into the dishwasher to be cleaned that this tool is a must have in your kitchen - and can easily be purchased for about $6.00. Effective, easy to clean multi-purpose gadgets are what I like in my kitchen - as I am sure you would want that too!

How To Correctly Measure Flour:
Using a smaller scoop, scoop up flour and place flour gently into your one cup measuring cup or other needed measuring cup. With the FLAT side of a dinner knife, scrape gently off the excess of flour back into your canister or bag of flour to create a leveled measured cup of flour. Do not pack your flour down like it is brown sugar for Pete's sake into your measuring cup. Doing so will result in heavy and dense baked goods. Yuck.

Pour your measured flour into your fine mesh strainer which is placed above a bowl, then measure any more additional flour amounts that you need. By tapping the strainer back and forth, you will quickly sift your flour. Just remember to measure the flour again now that it has been sifted once before putting your flour into your mixing bowls to get an accurate flour measurement.

When my baking recipe calls for sifting (since most of them do) I will measure and then sift for the first time. Then will have to measure again carefully since with one sifting a lot of extra flour can be created - try it and see for yourself (and as mentioned previously, I have experienced over an extra 1/2 cup of flour from the first sifting!) You will be amazed at the amount of extra flour which can come about from one sifting - and you will now understand why your cakes are not like your grandmothers'! This will be a thing of the past by following the simple tips as described above.

What kind of flour to use when baking and cooking:

All Purpose Flour - can be used for most recipes and for general cooking and baking purposes

Unbleached Unsifted flour - preferred by most fine bakers and cooks - great for cookies, pie crusts, cream pies fillings, gravies

Cake flour - for your angel food cake recipes and cake batters and recipes requiring a light batter (not brownies for example).

Wheat flour - great for your bread recipes since it has a higher protein and gluten amount than say your all purpose flour.

Self-rising flour - preferred by Southern cooks for perfect biscuits every time - one mentioned often enough is named Lily - It is not readily available here in the NE.

Substitutions:

• 1 cup of all purpose flour = 1 cup + 2 tbsp sifted cake flour
• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour = 1 cup minus 2 tbsp unsifted flour
• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour = 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs

Article Sources:

• http://www.recipezaar.com/library/getentry.zsp?id=64
• http://www.ochef.com/97.htm
• http://www.chowhound.com/topics/316961
• http://forums.chef2chef.net/viewtopic.php?t=464874
• http://www.baking911.com/pantry/flour,grains.htm - good source of info here
  
• http://cookbookcatchall.blogspot.com/2007/10/flour-power_10.html
  last link is for Photo credit - also has great additional information not listed here.
  

I am so floured out after sifting through all these web sites, many more I read, that I simply did not feel were accurate enough to mention - but one thing I know, I am off now to make me some great homemade bread.

Hope this information is useful to those who need to know a little more about flour. Feel free to leave your comments, ask questions and share your ideas. I look forward to hearing from you! -Divaliscious.




Technorati Tags: how to measure flour, what type of flour should I use, what is the difference between flours, unbleach, presifted, do I need to sift my flour

Standing Rib Roast of Beef - How to Make the Best Roast Beef Recipe

Standing rib roast is commonly served up during holiday dinners, but why wait until the next holiday? You only have to wait about two hours for a three rib roast when making this incredible roast beef recipe in your own oven. You may know this cut of beef as Roast Beef, and despite it setting you back a few dollars, the results of roasting this easy roast beef recipe is so simple, you will wonder why you never tried it before.

This recipe shells out one perfect roast beef with roasted potatoes and vegetables that assist in making perfect pan gravy which will make your people drool. A rib roast can have the bone in (I prefer it this way) or the bone removed, the instructions below can be followed for both cuts of beef.

What size should you get?
What is even nicer is that your butcher could easily cut a smaller piece for you should you see only huge standing roast beefs at your grocery store - so count one rib per person - a two rib works rather well, and there will be quite a lot of meat for one big meal and sandwiches for the next day as well, for a couple.

If you are having a small party - still count one rib per person - tonight I bought a three rib standing beef roast for $25.00. But it is the weekend, and wished to splurge a bit - and if you think of it, that's still a lot less you would pay for dinner out. And if you ordered roast beef at a restaurant, they would have charged you $25.00 per person - so see? You have already saved $25.00!

What goes with Roast Beef? Yorkshire Pudding, of course my dear!
By the time you read this, my latest standing roast beef will have finished cooking and I will be allowing it to rest while concocting up some fantastic Yorkshire Pudding that should always be served up with Roast Beef along with horseradish sauce of course. And what the heck is Yorkshire Pudding? - Well it is not pudding at all, but frankly a super easy to make popover (think super airy muffin) that is basically hollow inside yet has a crispy outside and moist 'walls' inside without being soggy. Perfect to soak up your pan gravy juices!

How should you serve the roast beef?
Even though roast beef can be served warm or even at room temperature, it tastes best if served rare or medium rare doness- your outside pieces will be more done than your inside pieces. And roast beef can be served warm or slightly above room temperature for best flavor, do note that Yorkshire Pudding should be served at once and as soon as it is out of the oven.

Let me start going and get out this recipe to you before you start drooling all over your keyboard! I will share the roast beef recipe, then simply scroll down for the Yorkshire Pudding and Horseradish Sauce Recipes.

Cooking Times Vary - How to know your roast beef is done and cooked properly:

• 3.5 to 5.5 pound rib roasts should cook at 25 minutes per pound where as
• 6 to 8 pound roasts should cook at 18 minutes per pound.
• For a rare roast - internal temperature should reach 140 degrees
• For a medium rare roast - internal temperature should reach 150-160 degrees
• For a well done roast (I shouldn't even dare tell you this...170 degrees)

Ingredients for a Standing Rib Roast (Bone in or boneless):

• One (1) Standing Rib Roast (Roast Beef)
• Kosher Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper
• 8 Garlic Cloves - Cut in half - and separate - place one half into bowl for potatoe
• Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
• 1-2 red potatoes per person - cut into
• 2-3 stalks of celery - cut into fourths
• 3 carrots - with skins grated and cut into fourths
• 2 medium sized onions - cut into eighths (or simply into chunks)
• 1/4 cup of red wine (optional)
• Olive Oil (Optional)
  

Equipment Needed:
1 shallow roasting pan, oven rack placed in the middle of your oven - though with enough room for the top of the standing rib roast to have clearance at the top.
For the roasting pan I used my Le Crueset Deep Skillet, that goes from oven to table. I also know I can put this on top of the stove later when making my best pan gravy.

Directions:

• Take out rib roast and remove packaging paper and plastic. Let roast get the chill off of it, and let stand on your kitchen counter for at least 30 minutes.
• Mark down how much the rib weighs. Multiply this amount by 25 minutes and the end result will be the amount of total time you will be cooking your roast beef to create a rare - medium rare roast.
• Do note, larger than 4 pound roasts should be cooked for 30 minutes per pound, while roasts less than 4 pounds will cook faster and hence why it would take 25 minutes per pound.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. As soon as you put the roast in, you will be turning the oven down to 300 degrees.
• Place all of the following in this order in your roasting pan: celery, carrots, onions.
• Place rib with fat side up and ribs side down right on top of vegetables.
• Carefully with a knife, make small slits into the meat and place have of the cut into half garlic cloves into slits.
• Take sprig of rosemary, strip off leaves, and dice them up slightly. Put one half of minced rosemary into bowl with half of the garlic you saved for the potatoes.
• Drizzle one or two tablespoons of olive oil over roast. With hands, rub roast, especially the sides.
• After washing your hands, sprinkle a good amount of kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper all over the roast - more than you would use on your food.
• Sprinkle roast with remaining halve of the minced rosemary.
• In bowl, place cut up potatoes depending upon size into 2' chunks. Place into bowl. Drizzle olive oil over potatoes, add salt and pepper and using spoon, toss potatoes till all are well coated with the rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil.
• Place these potatoes around roast in your roasting pan.
• Drizzle the 1/4 cup of red wine over your roast and put the roast into the hot 450 degree oven.
• Immediately turn down oven to 300 degrees. Note the time you placed your rib roast beef into your oven, so you know when you should be checking for its doneness.
• If you are making yorkshire pudding, take out your eggs now so they come to room temperature.
  

There is no need to baste your roast, let it do its thing in your oven. Sure go ahead and take a peek if you have to, and note that cooking it at this low temperature ensures that a lot of the 'fat' on top of the roast melts and it basically self bastes - see? Isn't it that super easy? And wait till you smell how great your house is after this roast is in the oven for an hour! Watch out!
When the time is up, take out your roast, and using a food temperature gauge, put it into the deepest part of the roast (in the middle) and stay away from fat or bones to get an accurate reading.

Do note you will have to allow this beast to rest for at least 20 minutes before you start carving AND the roast will still slightly cook - just like a roast leg of lamb once out of the oven. But this is just enough time to make pan gravy. And of course, you can let it rest for the 40 minutes required needed for the yorkshire pudding to bake.

Yorkshire Pudding Recipe:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Take out either a muffin pan or a 8x8 pan and add two tablespoons of pan drippings. Tilt pan back and forth so bottom is coated with the drippings and set aside.

Ingredients for Yorkshire Pudding:

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teapsoon melted shortening (I use cooled down pan drippings)

Directions:

1. Using electric mixer or hand mixer, beat eggs and add half of flour and half of milk.
2. Continue to stir till well blended, add salt and remaining flour and milk. Beat until smooth and free of any lumps - maybe 2 minutes maximum.
3. Pour into your greased muffin pans or 8x8 pan and put into oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes.
4. This part is hard, do no peek in the oven while it is baking - doing so with make the 'walls' of the rising yorkshire pudding fall (worse than any soufflé you ever dare try).
5. Call troops to table just before timer is up, since you will want to bring the gorgeous light airy mass of yorkshire pudding to the table and serve it up immediately along with everything else you planned for your great dinner.

Horseradish Sauce Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 pint of Heavy Cream
• 2 tablespoons horseradish (in jar - not raw)
• sprinkle of salt.

Directions:

1. In mixer, whip up cream till think and at a 'dollop stage' in other word, where if you would take a spoon it would ever so slowly ooze itself off of the spoon
2. Add horseradish and a bit of salt.
3. Serve in a pretty little bowl along with your fantastic roast.

You have just learned how to make one heck of a great meal that will have your peeps talking long after the meal is over! I assure you!

One Pot Cilantro Chicken and Rice - Osh Po Lo

Also known as Osh Po Lo, we made this just last week and it was simply fantastic! My man turned me on once again! - Umm in the kitchen of course, he says the original version of the dish originates from Russia - but for now it's yet another original easy to make one-pot dish from us to you.

This is a twist of my "Basmati Rice Oh So Nice" recipe you have seen here. You can substitute the chicken for lamb, pork or beef even sausage! Enjoy!
Ingredients:

1-1/2 cup basmati rice
3 cups water (or make 1 cup of the three chicken broth)
3/4 pound of raw boneless breast of chicken, cut up into 1" sized bites
1 large onion - diced
1 cup carrots - shredded fresh carrots (roughly 4-5 carrots)
3 cloves garlic - minced
1 bunch of large cilantro - rinsed well
4-5 scallions minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
****Equipment Needed:
One Pot with lid, 2 paper towels and hungry crowd

Directions:

In Pot, pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil and put heat under pan on medium.
Add diced onions and let sweat for at least 5 minutes.
Once onions are almost translucent, add chicken and with wood spatula (preferred) stir chicken around pot till almost cooked and no longer looking pink. Add the second tablespoon of olive oil if you have to.
Add garlic and cook for one minute more.
Add rice (no water yet) and all remaining seasons - leaving some of the scallions and chopped cilantro for plating.
Stir rice well into mixture making sure it is well coated with the olive oil and seasonings.
Cook for two minutes, stirring the whole time.
Next add your water and/or broth. Do not stir!
Let come to a boil, then turn down heat till on very low.
Place lid on top and set time for 10 minutes.
After ten minutes, with a spoon, gently push rice aside and check on water - has all water evaporated? - Then move onto next step. If not, let cook a few minutes moire, till all the water has evaporated.
OK, take those 2 paper towels folding them over in half and place on top of pot, just under lid. Put lid back on pot over paper towels.
This will allow any extra steam to be soaked up by the paper towels.
Let sit for five minutes and call troops to the table.
When ready, fluff mixture with fork.
When serving and plating add the additional cilantro and minced scallions on top of dish and serve. Enjoy with a side mixed green salad!

Technorati Tags: osh po lo, russian dinner ideas, one pot meals, things to do with cilantro, one pot chicken dinners, chicken and rice meals, best chicken and rice dinner recipes

Twice As Nice Rice - Rice Stuffing as a Side Dish

Got Rice? Get Twice As Nice Rice.

Sometimes, we have left over rice we all hate to throw out - this recipe brings new life to a staple side dish we have often. Frankly we were going to use this left-over rice as a rice stuffing/dressing for the rosemary orange roasted chicken I posted yesterday, but we ended up reheating the rice and adding the remaining ingredients as described below. The celery and toasted almonds add crunch while the sauteed onions add that "je ne sais quoi' factor - Besides the poor french, this dish was delicious.



Ingredients:

• 1 -2 cups left over cooked rice - We had out 'Basmati Oh So Nice Rice' posted here which we served the previous night with the added loads of fresh minced cilantro and scallions.
  
• 1 celery stalk - rinsed and minced
  
• 1 onion minced
  
• 1/4 cup fresh toasted almonds
  
• 1/2- 1 cup of raisins
  
• 1 cup boiling water

Directions:

1. Take 1 cup of boiling water and reconstitute (big word here) raisins in a heat-safe bowl so they become plump.
   
2. In a skillet, sautee up the onions and celery with a little butter/olive oil or veggie oil - whatever your preference, till onions are translucent though celery still has some crunch to it. Remove from skillet and set aside.
   
3. Throw almonds in same skillet and toss till toasted and set aside.
   
4. Once rice is heated through, drain off raisins well then add to rice, add sauteed onions and celery and stir rice till all ingredients are combined.
   
5. Sprinkle toasted almonds on top - and voila - the rice is ready for round two.
   
6. You can easily put this all together and stuff your bird - add chopped toasted walnuts instead of the almonds and you got yourself one heck of a rice stuffing!
   
7. Rock on with your Twice as Nice Rice!
   

Technorati Tags: hot to make rice stuffing, what to do with left over rice, best rice side dishes

Rosemary Orange Roasted Chicken

Here's a super nice twist on a Classic Roast Chicken Recipe Dish that will have your crowd drooling- the fresh orange flavor is subtle yet makes for one heck of a juicy bird with crispy skin as you put cut up oranges inside chicken along with onions, garlic and fresh rosemary to season the bird inside out.

The cooking method in particular as described below works great for all your chicken and turkey roasts too! You will be putting in the bird at first in at a very high temperature, then lowering the temperature then raising it one last time at the end - I have been using this method for years, and it never fails me in creating juicy meat with crispy skin - Everyone's fave way to eat chicken!

Included below are cooking times for roasting chicken as as well as making great pan gravy which can only please your hungry crowd even more.

As a side note, I forgot to throw out the carcass last night as it lay on the kitchen counter, and the dog finished the entire thing only leaving the wishbone for me in the morning - yes just the wishbone...well I think it was the wishbone though it could have been a rib bone. I am not sure what he was saying with that... except he's wishing for another rosemary orange roasted chicken tonight!

Making quick chicken broth:
A simple note, I always make quick chicken broth for making my gravy, by taking the rinsed giblets and neck from the bird and adding two cups of water into a soup pot, add salt, pepper, sage, some onion and celery and carrot and let come to boil, then turning down heat, I allow this to simmer for 1 hour as the bird is roasting. This broth is great to use as your gravy base or to use in your soups.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken at room temperature
3 springs of fresh rosemary
2 oranges sliced into about 8 pieces each.
3 stalks celery
2 large carrots
2 medium or 1 extra large onion cut up into chunks
6 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon ground sage
Good amount of salt and fresh cracked pepper
Olive oil
**Equipment needed: One working oven, rack in middle of oven, roasting pan (I used my le crueset 3" deep skillet.), baster

Directions:

Take chicken out of refrigerator and rinse super well, let it sit out (without dog around) to let it get the chill off of it. Make note of the chicken's weight at this point and write it down for accurate cooking times as described below. You will be adding one half pound to it's total weight after stuffing it with onions, garlic and oranges.

Preheat oven at 450 degrees - yes 450 - you will be roasting at this temperature for only 20 minutes, then will be turning the oven temperature down to 325 afterwards.
In bowl, mix 4 tablespoons or more of olive oil, strip rosemary leaves off of two (2) sprigs and place into bowl. Add good amount of kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper and the ground sage. Squeeze juice of one half orange into bowl, stir contents and set aside.
Generously salt and pepper inside of chicken (I like to have someone hold chicken upon it's "neck area" while I salt and pepper the inside - they never stand up for themselves during this task.
Add all of the following to the inside of the bird as 'stuffing' - this will flavor the bird from the inside out making it truly scrumptious! - Put 1/2 cup onion that you have cut into large chunks, 3 cloves of garlic cut into half, 1 sprig of rosemary and 1/2 or more of a cut up orange (with skin) inside chicken.
Do your best to tie up your bird (you will see a sad rendition of me roping up my chicken in the photos - somehow I have lost my roasting chicken 'fork ties' at the moment so do forgive my attempts on tying up the old jessie)
Take out your roasting pan.
Cut up your celery and carrots into thirds (keeping them large) and place them into roasting pan. Add the rest of your garlic cloves (keep whole) and cut up onion and the rest of the cut up oranges skin and all and lastly one last sprig of rosemary into your roasting pan.
Sprinkle roasting pan 'ingredients' with a little salt and pepper and drizzle just a little olive oil over the top.

I use my hands for the next task, I scoop out some of the mixture from the bowl with olive oil and seasonings and rub the back and front of the chicken - do not forget about the wings and legs - get every part of that bird coated with the olive oil mixture as if you were sending her out to the beach in the sun for the day.

Once coated, place her face down (breast side down on top of all the celery, oranges, onions, etc.) in the roasting pan. The vegetables serve as the rack when roasting. If you are roasting a large bird, you may have to add more celery, onions, carrots and oranges. Add three tablespoons water to roasting pan - you can also use wine (red or white) instead of the water.
Place roasting pan with chicken into hot preheated oven.
Roast at 450 degrees temperature for 20 minutes, then turn down the oven to 325 degrees.
Roasting times for birds 4 pounds or less (once stuffed - add half of a pound to the total weight of your bird) roast for 30-35 minutes per pound total roasting time.
Roasting times for birds over 4 pounds (once stuffed - add half of a pound to the total weight of your bird) roast for 20-25 minutes per pound total roasting time.
Temperature in deepest point of thigh once cooked should reach 185 degrees. Legs should wiggle easily.
Last 40 minutes, take bird out and flip. Not you, the bird, carefully of course and have her face up to show off her pretty breast. Baste with juices then return bird to oven.
At last 20 minutes, baste once more and kick up the heat to 400 degrees. This will crisp up the skin and by roasting it breast side down for most of the cooking time will create a very moist white meat.
Take out chicken from oven.
Place rack on top of carving plate and place chicken on top of rack to rest for 20 minutes so that any juices that drip fall away from the bird and through the rack and onto your carving plate allowing the skin to stay crisp. Cover with clean dish towel to keep warm. Keep chicken away from edge of counter so as to not entice doggy to take a quick peek at your incredible smelling chicken.
While chicken is resting, make great pan gravy.
***To make pan gravy:
In roasting pan, place on top of stove on medium heat, remove any oranges left, but leave in all the vegetables. Add 3-5 tablespoons of flour to create a rue. With whisk, stirring constantly, add 2 cups of chicken stock or broth to rue slowly at first to incorporate liquid and to help keep it lump free. Let come to a boil, add salt and pepper if necessary and remember to scrape the sides of your roasting pan to get all those little brown bits into your gravy which are total gravy 'enhancers'! Strain gravy if you would like and serve it up with your roasted chicken. You may want to serve your 'withered' roasted veggies - they are extra naughty and good.
****
Once chicken has rested, remove ropes, strings, etc. and either bring to table to show off and carve right there or carve your chicken in kitchen then serve on a platter. Serve with your favorite sides, we served ours last night with steamed broccoli with garlic and olive oil
and our 'second time around rice' which I will be posting momentarily.
Enjoy the subtle taste of oranges in this roasted chicken you will find super moist and juicy. Enjoy!

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