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It's been surprisingly chilly in L.A. Perfect weather for roasted chicken, white truffle potato gratin and roasted asparagus with meyer lemon zest. I had actually never made a gratin before last night. Wow. Simple, elegant and unbelievably easy. Great for a dinner party because it makes it look like you've been slaving away all afternoon when, in reality, you've been sipping a glass of wine, flipping through a magazine, waiting for your gratin to come out of the oven. Plus, I got to use my mandolin which my kids thought was super-cool.

I served a dry Venetian Pinot Grigio with dinner--a nice Barolo would have been great too, but I have a new fondness for white wines these days. I LOVE red wine, but, lately, for some reason (hmmm...maybe it's that darned 40 year old thing again), I've been getting more headaches when I indulge in red wine. Is anyone else experiencing this? But, I digress. Here are my recipes from last night. 

Fool-Proof Roasted Chicken
1 4-5 lb whole chicken (I like Mary's air-dried organic from Whole Foods)
1 or 2 Sweet Onions sliced into 1 inch rings (any thinner and they'd disintegrate)
Handful of Herbs (thyme, sage and rosemary are my usual standbys)
1 or 2 Lemons (I used Meyer lemons last night--even better if they are in season)
1/4 stick of unsalted butter, melted
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 400. Arrange onion slices next to each other in a roasting pan, creating a "bed" for the chicken. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Meanwhile, pat the chicken dry inside and out (making sure to remove the giblets, etc... inside the cavity). Place the chicken on top of the onions in the roasting pan. Squeeze lemon juice all over the chicken, inside and out. Season generously with salt and pepper, inside and out. Use a pastry brush to brush butter all over the skin of the whole chicken. Place herbs (and used lemons, if you'd like) inside the cavity. Tie the legs together (I find this works just as well as trussing the whole bird). The chicken can be covered with plastic and refrigerated for up to a day after this point--just make sure you bring it back to room temp before putting in the oven. I love things that can be prepared in advance--a great way to look at ease when your guests arrive!

Place chicken breast-side up in the oven. If you have a convection oven, turn it on--the chicken will cook more evenly this way. For a 4 lb bird--figure about an hour. Anything bigger, an hour for the first 4 lbs, plus about 8 mins per additional pound. The thigh will exude clear juices and the thickest part of the thigh will register about 170-175 on a meat thermometer when the roast is done. I personally don't use a thermometer for chicken--I just use the time guidelines and take the chicken out when the skin is nice and golden brown all over.

Let rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Pour caramelized onions and pan juices on top of carved chicken and serve.

White Truffle Potato Gratin (this recipe originally called for regular butter and garlic--I omitted the garlic and replaced the butter with white truffle butter)
1/4 cup white truffle Butter, at room temperature (available at Surfas and waaay better than white truffle oil--less metallic and more...errr...truffle-y)
6 Yukon gold potatoes (about 3 lbs), peeled and thinly sliced (bust out that mandolin!)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350. Use 1 tablespoon of truffle butter to grease a 12 inch (1.5 quart) oval gratin dish. Layer one-third of the potato slices, slightly overlapping, in the prepared gratin dish. Sprinkle the potatoes with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Repeat with another one-third of the potato slices and another 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and a few grindings of paper. End with remaining potatoes, taking care to arrange in a nice pattern ("Why does it have to be pretty, mommy?" "Do you like to eat ugly things, Zade?" "No!"). Season with remaining salt and pepper. Pour the cream over the top and dot with remaining truffle butter. Place the gratin on a sturdy baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bakeuntil potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife and the top is a dark, golden brown--about 1 1/2 hours. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Roasted Asparagus
1 bunch of asparagus, washed and bottom tips broken off
Olive oil
Maldon salt
Pepper
1 Meyer lemon

Preheat oven to 350. Place asparagus on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with Maldon salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss to distribute oil and seasonings.

Place in oven. Turn convection on if you have it. Roast about 15 mins. Take out of oven, season with meyer lemon zest and juice. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Cheers!