My Prairie Cookbook (17 page)

You can never go wrong with roast chicken—its goodness is timeless. Save as much leftover meat as you can get off the bones and mix it up with a bit of mayo, chopped celery, chopped scallions, and some salt and pepper, and you'll have a delicious chicken salad. Or use the bones and leftover meat to make broth.

Serves 4 to 6

1 (4-pound/1.8-kg) whole chicken

1 lemon

22 fresh sage leaves

3 cloves garlic, peeled

6 tablespoons (¾ stick/85 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

2 tablespoons olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

8 sprigs fresh parsley

2 small yellow onions, quartered

2 carrots, cut into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces

Coarse sea salt

•
Preheat the oven to 475°F (240°C). Rinse the chicken under cold water; pat it dry with paper towels.

•
Peel the lemon, then quarter it and set aside. Finely chop the lemon peel, sage, and garlic together, and place them in a small bowl. Add the butter and 1 teaspoon salt, and stir to combine.

•
Loosen the skin of the chicken from the breasts and thighs. Slip the butter mixture between the skin and flesh, spreading it evenly. Rub the skin with the oil; season the skin and cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the quartered lemon, parsley, and 1 quartered onion. Tie the legs together with kitchen string.

•
Put the remaining quartered onion and the carrots into the center of a roasting pan and place the chicken on top of them. Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 400°F (205°C) and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F (75°C), about 1 hour more.

•
Transfer the chicken to a platter, sprinkle it with sea salt, and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving.

We never did a Thanksgiving episode of
Little House
because it had been declared a national holiday only a few years before the show takes place! But Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of all, mainly because my favorite meal is served on that day. In fact, I like to make that meal a few times a year—usually when I'm feeling especially grateful. I also like to make a roast turkey meal and take it to friends with newborn babies. It's the perfect meal because it's plentiful and so much can be done with the leftovers.

Serves 8 to 12

1 (12-pound/5.4 kg) turkey (preferably organic)

1 cup (225 g) Herb Butter (recipe opposite)

4 cups (about 800 g) stuffing, homemade (see
this page
)
or store-bought prepared according to package instructions

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 stalks celery, sliced

2 carrots, sliced

1 yellow onion, sliced

2 cups (480 ml) chicken broth

2 oranges, sliced

•
About 5 hours before serving time, remove the giblets and neck from inside the turkey cavity. Rinse the bird inside and out with cold water; pat dry. Slide a rubber spatula between the skin and breast meat to separate them. Stuff half of the herb butter under the skin of both breasts, spreading it evenly over the entire breast area with your fingertips. Rub the remaining butter over the skin of the rest of the bird.

•
Fill the cavity loosely with the stuffing. Truss the bird with kitchen string and season it with salt and pepper.

•
Spread the celery, carrots, and onion over the bottom of a large roasting pan. Lay the turkey on top, breast-side up. Add 1 cup (240 ml) of the broth to the pan.

•
About 4 hours before serving time, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C); position a rack in the lower half of the oven. Roast the turkey for 1½ hours, turning the pan every 30 minutes or so to ensure that the turkey is browning evenly, and adding more of the broth if the liquid evaporates below ¼ inch (6 mm) in the pan. (If the turkey browns too rapidly, create a tent with aluminum foil and drape it over the turkey breast for the remainder of the roasting time.)

•
Reduce the temperature to 325°F (165°C) and roast for 1½ to 2 hours more. Use a thermometer to test the internal temperature of a thigh—it's cooked through when the stuffing and thigh meat reach 165°F (75°C).

•
Let the turkey rest for 30 minutes before carving. When ready to serve, garnish the turkey with the orange slices.

Makes about 1 cup (225 g)

½ cup (1 stick/115 g) unsalted butter, softened

¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped shallot

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

¼ cup (7 g) chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon

•
Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend. Transfer the butter to a small bowl. Set it aside (or make it a day ahead and refrigerate).

When I was a girl, my food intake was somewhat restricted. Not overly so, but we ate very health-conscious foods. Fried foods were certainly a rare treat. While on location shooting
Little House
, though, we ate in restaurants quite a bit, and in those situations, all restrictions were off. One of my favorite things to order was pan-fried pork chops with a side of applesauce. I look back on those days with such fondness. Everything was an adventure, even mealtime. This recipe is an homage to that magical time in my life. Serve with a side of Best Stuffing Ever (
this page
), as I do here, for a delicious and comforting meal.

Serves 4