New Dutch Oven

At this point, I've accrued just about every kitchen gadget I ever hope to own.  However, a dutch oven was perhaps one item I'd overlooked. My  mother had never cooked with one, so it wasn't clear to me whether shelling out for one- at a few hundred dollars for a quality one, was worth it.  Recently, a porcelain-glazed option from Lodge has been getting great reviews on Amazon. At about $60, it was much more reasonable price tag for giving it a try.  So I threw one onto my Christmas list, and my generous mother-in-law got one for me. It looks and feels beautiful- though I will note that it wasn't exactly easy to lug home through the airport in a carry-on.

I was really excited to give my new dish a whirl as soon as I got home. I searched the web for a great recipe and I found this one for roasted chicken.  I love lemon, and I have a huge under-used sage plant in my garden.  I was weirded out by last, unexpected component though-milk! Really? Milk? Well, I admit to being curious.

I tried the recipe on a Sunday, and I was impressed how quick and easy it was. It basically just involved throwing the ingredients together, and after browning,  putting the chicken into the oven.  I followed the prior bloggers recommendation about leaving the lid on until the final 30 minutes and I'm glad I did. The chicken browned beautifully and I think it would have burned if I'd kept the  lid off the whole time.

The chicken did turn out beautifully. It tasted even better than it looked and got a huge thumbs up from the husband.  It was very flavorful, but not heavy. It reminded me of great French cooking and would go well with potatoes and a green vegetable or carrots. We went with rice and fresh peas. The juices did make for a nice sauce- I just skimmed the top to avoid the milk globs (yes, there were a few).  Overall, I was quite impressed and highly recommend this dish for an easy meal. It would be great for a dinner party because it looks impressive and was really effortless.