Tag: how to

Mastering Hamersley’s Roast Chicken Recipe

I’m sure Ed and I are not the only Hamersley’s fans missing that restaurant’s fantastic roast chicken. I plan to master that recipe over the next few months. I’ve made it once or twice. But, as long as I could just take a walk to Tremont Street to enjoy the finished product, I let the Hamersley’s kitchen do the work.

Start with the Recipe

First, of course, you need the recipe. It's in the cookbook Bistro Cooking at Home By Gordon Hamersley. And, while this is currently out of print, you can buy used or even a few treasured new copies on Amazon. You can also check local, used bookstores. I highly recommend having a copy of this book on your shelf and I look forward to the next publication from this great food champion.

If you just want a copy of the recipe, Boston University posted it online after one of Gordon Hamersley's cooking classes at the Seminars in Food and Wine. Here's a link to that posting.

And, if you prefer visual instruction, here is a link to Gordon Hamersley's appearance with Julia Child as a part of her Master Chefs series.

There are many steps to this signature dish. Fortunately, the process that Gordon Hamersley (and his first sous chef Jody Adams) developed to serve a perfectly roasted chicken with a crispy skin and moist interior also makes it a great party dish for a home cook.

The chicken is roasted ahead of time and popped under a broiler for heating and crisping before it is served. I love dishes like this that I can make a day ahead because they let me spend more time with my guests.

Begin With Shopping

Of course, to come out with a result like the dish served at Hamersley’s, you have to begin as the chef did with the finest ingredients you can find. In his tips for choosing chicken, the chef suggests trying chickens from smaller producers or kosher brands.

In 2003, when Gordon Hamersley wrote “Bistro Cooking at Home,” he said what many locavores are saying now, “… getting a more flavorful bird that has also been raised free of antibiotics and hormone injections seems to me to be worth the price.”

Stepping Along

You begin this dish by preparing an herbed lemon pesto marinade. You rub this all over the clean and dried chicken and let it marinate 2-4 hours in the refrigerator.

Next, the chicken is roasted to an internal thigh temperature of 165-170 degrees and rested before cutting and deboning. The final step in this part of the preparation is to make the sauce from the pan drippings.

When it’s time to serve the chicken, you broil it with lemon slices on top and the sauce in the pan below until the skin is crisp and the meat is heated.

This dish requires many steps with a good bit of waiting time for some of them, but it is not a difficult recipe. Dozens of Hamersley’s cooks mastered it over the years. And, I can’t wait until I can make it without glancing at the cookbook just as they did.

If I master the chicken, next up on my list will be the perfect duck confit that was so tempting on the Hamersley's menu and is often such a disappointment when I order it elsewhere.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino (adapted from one of her Fresh & Local newspaper columns)
Photos: ©2008 Penny Cherubino

June 29, 2015
Mastering Hamersley’s Roast Chicken Recipe

I’m sure Ed and I are not the only Hamersley’s fans missing that restaurant’s fantastic roast chicken. I plan to master that recipe over the next few months. I’ve made it once or twice. But, as long as I could just take a walk to Tremont Street to enjoy the finished product, I let the Hamersley’s kitchen do the work.

Start with the Recipe

First, of course, you need the recipe. It's in the cookbook Bistro Cooking at Home By Gordon Hamersley. And, while this is currently out of print, you can buy used or even a few treasured new copies on Amazon. You can also check local, used bookstores. I highly recommend having a copy of this book on your shelf and I look forward to the next publication from this great food champion.

If you just want a copy of the recipe, Boston University posted it online after one of Gordon Hamersley's cooking classes at the Seminars in Food and Wine. Here's a link to that posting.

And, if you prefer visual instruction, here is a link to Gordon Hamersley's appearance with Julia Child as a part of her Master Chefs series.

There are many steps to this signature dish. Fortunately, the process that Gordon Hamersley (and his first sous chef Jody Adams) developed to serve a perfectly roasted chicken with a crispy skin and moist interior also makes it a great party dish for a home cook.

The chicken is roasted ahead of time and popped under a broiler for heating and crisping before it is served. I love dishes like this that I can make a day ahead because they let me spend more time with my guests.

Begin With Shopping

Of course, to come out with a result like the dish served at Hamersley’s, you have to begin as the chef did with the finest ingredients you can find. In his tips for choosing chicken, the chef suggests trying chickens from smaller producers or kosher brands.

In 2003, when Gordon Hamersley wrote “Bistro Cooking at Home,” he said what many locavores are saying now, “… getting a more flavorful bird that has also been raised free of antibiotics and hormone injections seems to me to be worth the price.”

Stepping Along

You begin this dish by preparing an herbed lemon pesto marinade. You rub this all over the clean and dried chicken and let it marinate 2-4 hours in the refrigerator.

Next, the chicken is roasted to an internal thigh temperature of 165-170 degrees and rested before cutting and deboning. The final step in this part of the preparation is to make the sauce from the pan drippings.

When it’s time to serve the chicken, you broil it with lemon slices on top and the sauce in the pan below until the skin is crisp and the meat is heated.

This dish requires many steps with a good bit of waiting time for some of them, but it is not a difficult recipe. Dozens of Hamersley’s cooks mastered it over the years. And, I can’t wait until I can make it without glancing at the cookbook just as they did.

If I master the chicken, next up on my list will be the perfect duck confit that was so tempting on the Hamersley's menu and is often such a disappointment when I order it elsewhere.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino (adapted from one of her Fresh & Local newspaper columns)
Photos: ©2008 Penny Cherubino

June 29, 2015
Poppy Says, “Time to Get a Dog License!”

Massachusetts law requires that all dogs be licensed with their city or town by April 1st of each year. To apply, you must have proof of a current rabies vaccination.

Normally, Boston officials send out packages reminding people with dogs to renew. I called Animal Care and Control to check if the mailing had gone out and found that it's been delayed this year and that the city of Boston plans to delay enforcement.

I don't know what this does if you are in another city or town with your dog, since it's a state law that requires a license. Better apply online or call the contact number at Animal Care to ask that a license package be sent to you now.

I put a reminder on my calendar on March 1st and have already applied online and received Poppy's Boston dog license. Here's the link for Boston. (Check your city or town to see if it offers this convenient service.)

My Poppy was already registered, so I typed in her current license number and all my information was filled in by the system. I uploaded a photo of her spay certificate and one of her current rabies record. Then I entered my credit card information and completed the transaction. The cost this year in Boston for a spayed dog is $16, including a one dollar processing fee.

When her license arrived, we scanned it and put a copy in Dropbox so that both Ed and I always have access to it on our phones. The tag was added to Poppy's ID set.

On a side note, Poppy would like to thank the person who cleared this park bench for her. She loves benches.

Low Cost Rabies Clinics

From the Facebook Page for the City of Boston Animal Care and Control, here is a list of the times and places where you can get a low cost rabies vaccination. The following information was given in two posts.

Fees:

"The fees for the rabies clinics are:
$5 for the rabies shot for Boston Residents
$10 for non-Boston Residents

License fees:
$15 for Spayed/Neutered Dogs
$30 for non-fixed Dogs"

Clinics:

"Saturday April 4th 10am-2pm
Codman Square BCYF Perkins Community Center
155 Talbot Ave

Saturday May 2nd 10am-2pm
East Boston BCYF Martin Pino Community Center
86 Boardman St

Saturday May 9th 10am-2pm
West Roxbury BCYF Roche Family Community Center
1716 Centre St

Saturday May 16th 10am-2pm
South Boston BCYF Condon Community Center
200 D St

Tuesday September 22nd 4pm-8pm
City of Boston Animal Care and Control
26 Mahler Rd"

Update 04.14.15 Since we didn't see any improvement in the list or access to information about low cost rabies clinics in Boston we hunted down this list from the state.

Why Should You Get a Dog License?

We've said it before and now we are saying it again. A license is proof that your dog has had a rabies shot. That's important to anyone who might have to help you find a lost dog or treat a hurt one.

It's really important to let the city know how many dogs live here and should be considered when the politicians do their planning and spend our money. Getting everyone to license their dogs will send a message. So, stand up and be counted!

Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.

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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2015 Penny Cherubino

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March 15, 2015
7 Things We Learned at the BPL Conservation Lab!
After a rebinding, this Liber Chronicarum (Nuremberg Chronicle) from 1493 now opens completely.

Penny and I recently had the chance to go behind the scenes at the Boston Public Library’s (BPL) Conservation Lab to meet the talented experts who are preserving history one piece at a time! These specialists repair and stabilize rare books and documents to ensure that these items remain available to all of us.

Keeper of Special Collections at the BPL, Susan L. Glover (above) put it best, “They are wonderfully skilled, they are passionate, they are dedicated, and what they do looks like magic.”

We were so impressed, here are:

7 Things We Learned at the BPL Conservation Lab!
- The lab is only able to get to about 1% of the work that is needed.
- Some items can deteriorate just sitting on a shelf due to material content.
Conservation Assistant, Chris Letizia tests leather to bind a 12th Century illuminated manuscript.

And, here are their recommendations for your own items.
- Keep your valued pieces out of direct sunlight, away from acidic paper.
- Don’t store personal treasures (clipping, letters, etc) in basements (too humid) or attics (too hot).
- Handle them little, keep them unfolded in folders or archival albums.
- Never use any kind of household tape to make repairs.
- If you discover what might be an important item, contact the BPL Conservation Lab for advice and recommendations. (617-536-5400)
For more information, check out the BPL Rare Books Department

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny Cherubino

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February 15, 2012