Wedding Wednesday {Engagement Chicken}

Once a year Glamour Magazine prints their recipe for Engagement Chicken.  Legend has it that when a woman makes the Engagement Chicken recipe for her boyfriend he soon after pops the "big" question.

Me being the crazy girl that I am, set up a science experiment using 4 of my very best friends. I emailed all of them two weeks ago the recipe and game plan. The 4 of them would cook the Engagement Chicken recipe for their boyfriends and we would sit and wait to see what happens. (Sounds a lot crazier as I am typing this!)

The reason I chose these 4 friends in particular is because all of them have been with their boyfriend for more than a year and all of them co-habitate. Top two reasons on why it should be completely acceptable to make the Engagement Chicken.

With making the Engagement Chicken comes a lot of responsibility. You have to plan out when you are going to make it, plan your trip to the grocery store, buy all the right ingredients, plan the perfect night for just you and your man, put the effort into carefully reading the recipe to make sure you make it just so, and last but not least make the chicken.

As you can see the Engagement Chicken recipe is not for couples who just started dating or are still in that "not sure" about each other stage. You have to have dedication to make this recipe.

Once I emailed my 4 friends all of them emailed me back immediately that they were in. One said "I am making it this weekend" another said "I am not sure when I will make it. I don't have time this weekend!".

None of the 4 girls have made it as of today but will doing so soon!! I will make sure to keep everyone posted on their progress and if any of them get engaged prior to making the chicken then we know it was just because they were thinking about making it! (insert laugh here)

If anyone reading has made the chicken and it worked, I want to know. I am a bit skeptical how an easy chicken recipe can make your man propose......

And posted below is the recipe for Glamour's Engagement Chicken recipe, just in case anyone is itching to try it out!!

Happy Cooking!!

Engagement Chicken

Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken (approximately 4 pounds)
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, plus 3 whole lemons—including 1 sliced for garnish
• 1 tablespoon kosher or coarse sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Fresh herbs for garnish (4 rosemary sprigs, 4 sage sprigs, 8 thyme sprigs, and 1 bunch fl at-leaf parsley)

1. Position an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the giblets from the chicken, wash the chicken inside and out with cold water, then let the chicken drain, cavity down, in a colander for 2 minutes.
2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Place the chicken breast-side down in a medium roasting pan fi tted with a rack and pour the lemon juice all over the chicken, both inside and out. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper inside and out.
3. Prick 2 whole lemons three times each in three different places with a fork and place them deep inside the cavity. Chicken cavity size may vary, so if one lemon is partly sticking out, that’s fine. (Tip: If the lemons are stiff, roll them on the counter top with your palm before pricking to get the juices flowing.)
4. Put the chicken in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 350°F, and roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
5. Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Using tongs or two wooden spoons, turn the chicken breast- side up. Insert a meat thermometer in the thigh, and return the chicken to the oven and roast for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the meat thermometer reads 180°F and the juices run clear when the thigh is pricked with a fork. Continue roasting if necessary. Keep in mind that cooking times in different ovens vary; roasting a chicken at 350°F takes approximately 18-20 minutes per pound, plus an additional 15 minutes.
6. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving. And here’s the secret: Pour the juices from the roasting pan on top of the sliced chicken— this is the “marry me juice.” Garnish with fresh herbs and lemon slices.


Read More http://www.glamour.com/magazine/2006/07/engagement-chicken#ixzz1MkzasgyP