Upscale comfort food: Macaroni, chicken recipes

Garlic-Herb Butter: Put all ingredients in a bowl and combine well with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, making sure all ingredients are well incorporated.

Wrap the butter and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature.

Roasted Chicken: Preheat the oven to 475°F. Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. 

Place the garlic-herb butter into a piping bag. Slide your index finger in between the skin and the meat from both sides of the breast, being careful not to tear the skin. Pipe half of the butter into the top of the breast. Repeat the process on the bottom part of the breast with the remaining butter. Pat each side to smooth butter and to ensure that it has spread evenly.  Place any leftover butter inside the cavity.

To truss the chicken, lay it on your cutting board, breast side up. Hold one end of a 3-foot piece of twine in each hand, overlap them to form a loop, and pass the twine under the bird, letting the loop catch on the ends of the legs. Tie the string to hold the legs together. Turn the bird over, tuck the wings under the twine, pull the twine taut, crisscross, and pull taut again. Cut off excess string. Let the chicken sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before roasting.

Add the chicken stock to a 10” roasting pan. Place the chicken into the pan and scatter the garlic and thyme sprigs around the chicken.

Roast for about 1 hour, or until an instant-read thermometer stuck into the chicken thigh registers 150°F. Tilt the pan so the juice forms a puddle and baste the chicken every 20 minutes with a generous amount of the pan drippings. (Make sure to take the entire pan out of the oven and close oven door when basting to keep the heat from leaving the oven.)

Remove roast from the pan.  Allow chicken to rest for 15 minutes. While the chicken rests, simmer pan over low heat (use 2 burners if necessary). Whisk in butter and olive oil. Remove from heat and whisk in Dijon mustard. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl, pressing the garlic. Set aside, covered to keep warm.

Carve the chicken, slicing and pulling the legs from the body first, then separating the breast.  Place half of the chicken on a plate and serve with the sauce on the side.

Serve with macaroni and cheese or your favorite side dish.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pour the water into a 3-quart pot and bring to a boil over high heat.

In a small sauce pan, melt 2½ tablespoons of the butter over low heat. Add the bread crumbs (or panko) and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, toss well, and set aside.

Put the remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan and melt it over low heat. Add the flour and cook for 5 minutes, whisking constantly, but not letting the flour brown. Pour in the milk and cook for 5 minutes, whisking or stirring with a wooden spoon.  Add 4½ teaspoons salt, 4 grinds of pepper, the Gruyère and mascarpone, and continue to whisk until the cheese is melted and well incorporated. Remove the pot from the heat and pour the cheese sauce into a large bowl.

Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the elbow macaroni to the boiling water and cook until al dente, approximately 8 minutes. Drain the macaroni in a colander and add it to the bowl with the cheese sauce. Mix well with a wooden spoon.

5. Pour the macaroni mixture into an 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the bread-crumb mixture evenly over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, approximately 35-40 minutes. Serve hot.

EMBELLISHMENT: For a main-course pasta dish, double the recipe and add proscuitto and/or peas.