Grand Marnier Roasted Chicken

I've been eyeing this recipe in my Nordstrom Friends and Family Cookbook for a while now. The name alone is what drew me in. It just sounds so elegant and flavorful. Just imagining the sweet and savory combination of orange and rosemary on tender roast chicken makes my mouth water. It's what I would call, succulent, even though I kind of have a problem with that word. I think it's the way it sounds coming out. There is something slightly off-putting about it. It just seems like an almost obscene way to describe a food. I feel like I've said a dirty word - say it slow and maybe you'll see what I mean. Suuuuuccculeeennntt. Hmmmm.
Anyway, I reserve it for things that are truly opulent. And I think a fall-off-the-bone roast chicken glazed in an expensive orange liquer fits that bill. Anyway, enough of me and my problems with "succulent". I'm just a food adjective prude I guess.

I have had a frozen 4-lb bird in my freezer for, well, too long to mention without being a bit embarrassed. I think it's been 2 months?? So I thawed it out and started to plan several dinners around it. The first being this roast chicken. The best part about this recipe, hands down, is the Grand Marnier glaze. If I was you, I would glaze your chicken as the recipe says, but definitely reserve a good bit of this glaze for dipping your moist chicken into while eating it. It should not be missed!!

And don't throw away your chicken carcass. I threw mine in the fridge and plan on making some homemade chicken stock with it later in the week. In addition, I saved the pan drippings that the recipe has you pour off to make Nigella Lawson's Tagliatelle with Roasted Chicken from the Venetian Ghetto. It uses the pan juices to create a deliciously light sauce for pasta. It also incorporates the leftover roast chicken. I'll be blogging this shortly!
Meanwhile, start with this roast chicken. And don't be afraid to coo to your cooked bird and tell it in a sultry voice how succulent and saucy it looks. I'm sure your chicken will appreciate you whispering sweet nothings to it before you eat. Enjoy!!

Grand Marnier Roasted Chicken
Nordstrom Friends and Family Cookbook

1 chicken (about 4 lbs)
1 orange, quartered and seeds removed
3 large fresh rosemary sprigs
5 fresh thyme sprigs (this was my addition)
1 small onion, quartered
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup water
3 tb unsalted butter
3 tb whole-grain mustard
3 tb apricot preserves
3 tb honey
3 tb Grand Marnier

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the chicken, breast side up, on a rack in a small roasting pan and squeeze the juice from the orange quarters over the chicken. Place the orange quarters inside the cavity along with the rosemary, thyme and onion. Season the outside of the chicken generously with salt and pepper and if you have extra fresh herbs throw those on as well. Pour the water into the bottom of the pan.
Roast the chicken for 30 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees and reduce the heat to 375. Continue to cook for 25 minutes longer.
While the chicken is roasting, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and then stir in the mustard, preserves and honey. Cook stirring constantly until well blended, about 2-3 minutes, and then add the Grand Marnier. Stir to combine and remove from the heat.
Remove the chicken from the oven, pour off the juices from the pan (and reserve this for future use in another dish - simply bottle and refrigerate) and brush the chicken with the Grand Marnier glaze. Continue roasting the chicken, basting frequently with the glaze until the juices run clear when the thigh meat is pierced with a knife and the drumstick moves easily, about 15 minutes longer. If the chicken is browning too quickly, tent it with aluminium foil.
Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving.

Mini-Orange Chocolate Cakes

These were my pick for a Barefoot Bloggers bonus recipe a few months ago, but I never got around to making them. So, I figured they would be the perfect individual desserts for my dinner party last weekend. These were quite simple to make and result in a very pretty presentation. I used my mini-bundt pan from Williams-Sonoma to make these cakes.

I also wasn't going to do the ganache topping at first, because I thought it would be too messy, too complicated and too sweet. I'm glad I went against my instincts and made the ganache because it made all the difference - especially in aesthetics.

Mini-Orange Chocolate Cakes
source: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
1/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1/8 cup grated orange zest (2 large oranges)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3 ounces buttermilk at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup good semisweet chocolate chunks
For the syrup:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
For the ganache:
4 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 6 individual serving baking molds, such as the flexible non stick 100 percent silicone molds.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, then the orange zest.

Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the orange juice, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately in thirds to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour. Toss the chocolate chunks with 1 tablespoon flour and add to the batter. Pour into the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the molds on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the syrup. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the sugar with the orange juice until the sugar dissolves. Remove the cake from the pans, put them on a rack over a tray, and spoon the orange syrup over the cakes. Allow the cakes to cool completely.

For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of the cakes.