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The Counter Burger is PHENOMENAL, better than Plan B (which tasted a little dog-meatish in a few bites). I used to go to the Santa Monica CB location at least once a month but now that I have moved back to CT, it's been amazing having one of my fav spots to eat cow back on my home turf. Truly, one of the best burger spots. Ever. And AMAZING milkshakes as well. The apple-pie shake and the Churro shake are to die for.

This is a tried and true recipe...delicious every time. I am glad to see that the foodies have so many variations. Cooking also takes love. The forgotten ingredient.

I have been roasting chicken with two lemons ever since reading the Marcella Hazan recipe printed in Bon Appetit. I also sprinkle different combinations of herbs into the cavity before inserting the lemons. This makes the best gravy you can imagine - siphon up all the drippings, remove as much fat as possible, and thicken with arrowroot. The resulting gravy tastes EXACTLY like gravy for turkey! Our own comfort food!

This is too funny! I was just having a conversation over lunch today about how in Chicago, you can NOT put plain ketchup on a hot dog. I'm guilty of this however, as well as putting ketchup on a burger. Ketchup was made for both of them I swear!

Hillary
Chew on That

I think there should be a National Roast Chicken Appreciation Day at SE. If National Meatloaf Appreciation Day was fun (and it certainly was!) I can only imagine the passion and joy to be experienced on National Roast Chicken Appreciation Day.

Make that eight, frederika. ;-} Here's my favorite no-fuss bird, from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall -

Herb-roast chicken

Serve this with nothing more than a green salad to mop up all the herby, buttery juices. Serves four to five.

1 plump organic roasting chicken, weighing around 2kg
50g soft butter
A couple of generous handfuls of fresh herbs, such as parsley, chives and marjoram, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
Salt and ground black pepper
½ glass white wine

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Remove the bird from the fridge at least an hour before cooking it, ideally two or three. Take off any string trussing, place the bird in a roasting tin and spread out its legs from the body. Enlarge the opening of the cavity with your fingers so hot air can circulate inside the bird.

Put the butter in a bowl, throw in the herbs and garlic, and season generously. Mix together with your fingers, then smear all over the chicken, outside and in. Place in the centre of the hot oven and leave for 25-30 minutes (this is phase one). Baste the chicken, turn down the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4, pour the wine into the tin (not over the bird) and roast for another 35-50 minutes (phase two), depending on its size. (A good test for doneness is to pierce that part of the bird where the thigh joins the breast; the juices released should run clear.) Open the oven door, turn off the oven and leave the bird for 15-20 minutes to rest before carving. For a bigger bird, at the longer end of the cooking time, you may wish to protect the skin with buttered foil for, say, the first 20-30 minutes of phase two.

Carve the bird in the tin, as untidily as you please, letting the slices fall into the buttery juices, then take the whole thing to the table so people can help themselves.

Robin, you must have been reading my mind. We are definitely simpatico. I have been struggling with the perfect poulet roti quandary for several weeks and I decided that I will try every recipe in this stack of books next to the sofa. Maybe...

The contention is that a chef can tell everything about a prospective cook by how the cook roasts a chicken. This makes me a bit nervous, since I cannot determine which chef's recipe among my nominees for "Best Interpretation of Perfect Poulet Roti by a Virtual Amateur Chef" could be the frontrunner. I'm thinking it's better not to project at this point. It's really too early in the race to tell.

Jeffrey's hobby of roasting chickens aside, there's also The Minimalist version. Mark Bittman rubs the chicken with olive oil and herbs, s&p, high heat (450 degrees), short roasting time (approx. 30 min), no turning. Bing bang boom. Les Halles French Bistro style seasons, trusses, and stuffs the bird with lemon, onion and herbs. It also gets a herb butter rubdown under-skin and out. It roasts halfway at 375 degrees then the oven gets revved up to 450 degrees with basting during the roasting time. Would the French steer me wrong?

Yet, I sense a possible derailment ahead. The French CIA directs you to brown the chicken on all sides before roasting, breast up in the oven at 450 degrees for about 50 minutes. My Glorious French Food guy takes the more minimal route, 450 degrees, about 50 minutes, covered with foil the first half of roasting time.

The ladies take a more tender approach. Julia recommends a lower oven temp (425 degrees at first then reduced to 350), trussing, much butter rubbing, basting and turning the chicken on all sides while roasting. Food scientist extraordinaire Shirley O. Corriher subscribes to Harold McGee's techniques for the perfect roast chicken. Of course she brines the bird, which allows it to withstand a raging 475 degrees for about 40 min. (She is actually suggesting a 6 lb. bird as opposed to all the other recipes, which direct you to use a 3-4 lb.bird.) Also much turning and basting take place before the oven gets turned down to 325 degrees to finish.

Do I start with the most complicated and work my way back? If I begin with the minimalist version, what if it is so perfect and satisfying, I won't continue my quest? I could be missing something great along the way. Therein lies the problem. Is it the process I'm so hooked on or the result? Nuts... I have to go roast six chickens.

There is another delicious roasted chicken recipe out there that I think all you serious foodies would love. The recipe can be found on Epicurious and is called "My Favorite Simple Roast Chicken" by Thomas Keller, Bouchon. I would guarantee it that you won't be disappointed. The recipe is sensational! Because of the cooking technique that Keller uses, you might experience some smoking in your kitchen. Beware - your smoke detectors might go off!

One small lemon cut in two, one half a standard yellow onion cut in two, both in the bird, oven preheated and left at 400 F the whole time, flip over every half hour. A knob of sweet butter inside too if you're feeling buttery.

Use a rack (I use the small rack from the toaster oven balanced over a yellow ceramic roasting pan), choose a bird with taste (if you do not do upscale gourmet marketing the Tyson All-Natural is a good choice of bird and the price is only slightly higher than the junker birds), salt and pepper.

Each time, perfection.

We roast the bird for the skin. Each morsel is crisp and salivation-worthy. Not a flabby bit. The meat remains juicy and good for salads or crepes or simply snacking from hand.

And it really is a lazy method. Good old BS (Brillat-Savarin) probably was thinking of wood-fired ovens when he penned his poetic jibe about needing to be born knowing how to roast. As a matter of fact its such a great line that one wants to sing it, enjoying the sound, forgetting that really . . . it simply is not true.

I'd never put mayo on a burger! A good juicy burger shouldn't need extra fat; a dry well-done burger might, but, well, it shouldn't be well-done in the first place! I like my burgers with dijon mustard on the bottom and ketchup on top, along with any multitude of toppings: cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, red onion, sauteed mushrooms, avocado, even pineapple!

Raw onions. Don't put them on anything, please!

I am definitely not a purist. I will eat just about every pizza. I am the one who loves a good slice of NY, but then I am just as happy to stuff myself with a Chicago style loaded with everything in the kitchen. Then Mario at Mary Angelas in Carytown, in Richmond, VA made a special Sicilian style pizza with hot peppers, some cheese (not mozz) that was specific to this pizza, and anchovies. WOW. And I've had my fair share of chain and nonchain pizzas with everything on it and weird combinations because my pizza companions had set ideas about pizza toppings. ahem.

However, I have not tried tuna pizza or the Japanese pizza. So, it is possible that I just have not met the pizza I don't like. I would like to try them though.

I do not like cold pizza. I do not eat cold pizza. Didn't even do it in college. Don't understand how anyone can stomach it. Pizza should be consumed immediately after cooking. Not 24 hours later straight from the fridge. Ugh. Everytime I see it in a movie or on TV, I shudder.

Easy to make, no utensils required, versatile...what's not to love? The Vietnamese banh mi is my fave sandwich. But I can't say no to a grilled cheese, BLT, almond butter & jelly, any veggie combo - grilled or fresh.