Perfect juicy roasted chicken, on a shoestring

Chef Chris Hastings first fell in love with food as a child on family vacations, and has turned that love into his life's career.

He opened the Hot and Hot Fish Club with his wife, Idie, in Birmingham, Alabama's historic Southside area in 1995 and the two have been earning accolades ever since. The restaurant is an award-winner, and Chris was recently nominated as Best Chef of the South by the prestigious James Beard Foundation.

As "Chef on a Shoestring" on "The Early Show on Saturday Morning," Chris offered a master class in the in the "touch, taste and smell" method of cooking: If it feels, tastes and smells good -- it IS good!

"Shoestring" chefs strive to prepare delicious three-course dinners for four on our paltry $40 budget.

Chris attempted to cook a seasonal favorite: juicy roasted chicken.

Our "Shoestring" chefs are automatically entered in our "How Low Can You Go?" competition, in which the one with the lowest ingredients cost at the end of the year is invited back to prepare the meal of his or her choice for our year-end holiday feast -- and spend whatever they want on it!

MENU

• Bibb Lettuce Salad with Goat Cheese & Citrus Vinaigrette
• Roasted Chicken with Spring Vegetables, Watercress and Lemon Vinaigrett
• Raspberry and White Chocolate Bread Pudding

FOOD FACTS

Butterhead lettuce (bibb lettuce): One of two varieties of head lettuce (the other being CRISPHEAD). Butterhead lettuces have small, round, loosely formed heads with soft, buttery-textured leaves ranging from pale green on the outer leaves to pale yellow-green on the inner leaves. The flavor is sweet and succulent. Because the leaves are quite tender, they require gentle washing and handling. Boston and Bibb (also called limestone) lettuce are the two most well known of the butterhead family. The smaller Bibb is highly prized by gourmets. Both Boston and Bibb lettuce are sometimes referred to simply as "butterhead" or "butter" lettuce. (Source: Epicurious.com)

Farro: An ancient grain believed to have sustained the Roman legions. Used in soups, salads and desserts, the little light brown grain is an intriguing alternative to pasta and rice. Farro is not wheat, but a plant and grain all its own. A grain of farro looks and tastes somewhat like a lighter brown rice. It has a complex, nutty taste with undertones of oats and barley. But lacking the heaviness of many whole-wheat grains, farro tastes more elegant than earnest. (Source: NewYorkTimes.com)

Coulis: A general term referring to a thick puree or sauce, such as a tomato coulis. (Source: Epicurious.com)

RECIPES

Bibb Lettuce Salad with Goat Cheese and Citrus Vinaigrette

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 pound Bibb Lettuce
• 8 oz Goat Cheese
• Salt
• Pepper

Citrus Vinaigrette (separate recipe)

METHOD:

Wash and clean Bibb lettuces, and tear into bite size pieces. Season the Bibb lightly with salt and pepper and toss in the vinaigrette. Put on plate and crumble the goat cheese on top.

Citrus Vinaigrette

This is a great, basic, citrus vinaigrette. We prepare a number of variations from this recipe such as the Blood Orange Vinaigrette, listed below. Fresh grapefruit juice, honey tangerine juice or Satsuma juice can all be substituted for the orange juice in this recipe. For best results, stay away from store bought citrus juices as they lend a slightly metallic flavor to the vinaigrette.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon finely diced shallots
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

METHOD:

Place the orange juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the orange juice has reduced to about 1/4 cup. Add the orange zest to the reduced juice and continue simmering until the mixture has reduced to about 3 tablespoons. Remove the pan from the heat and cool the juice mixture completely.

Whisk together the cooled orange mixture, lemon juice, lime juice, shallots, thyme and parsley. Season the juice mixture with the salt and pepper. Slowly pour the olive oil and extra-virgin olive oil into the juice mixture in a slow, steady stream, while whisking constantly. Continue whisking until the vinaigrette is slightly thickened. Use the vinaigrette immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. The vinaigrette will keep refrigerated for up to two days.

Roasted Chicken with Spring Vegetables, Watercress and Lemon Vinaigrette

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 chicken breasts
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/2 cup peanut oil
• 1 1/2 cups farro
• 4 jumbo asparagus
• 1/2 vidalia onion
• 2 sprigs of thyme (picked)
• 5 stems of parsley (chopped fine)
• 1 ounce of chives (chopped fine)
• 2 cups Vegetable stock or hot water
• Watercress
• Lemon Vinaigrette (separate recipe)

METHOD:

Salt and pepper chicken. Heat peanut oil over medium high heat and place chicken in pan. Sear on both sides. Put in oven at 350 degrees F for eight minutes. Blanch the asparagus for 30 seconds and shock in cold ice water. Cut the asparagus into bite size pieces. For the farro, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a sauce pan, add the onion and thyme, cook until transparent, about 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in the farro until it is slightly toasted and coated. Add vegetable stock or hot water (2 cups) to the farro and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. After the farro is cooked stir in parsley, chives, asparagus and 1 tablespoon of vinaigrette. Plate the farro first, place chicken on top, and dress the watercress with the lemon vinaigrette and add to the top of the dish.

Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette

This is one of our most widely-used vinaigrettes. It is very versatile and the variations are endless. If you are saving the vinaigrette for a later use, for best results, be sure to strain and discard the chopped shallots and herbs. Fresh shallots and herbs can be added again, just before serving.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

METHOD:

Whisk together the lemon juice, mustard and olive oils. Stir in the shallots, parsley and thyme. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper. Use immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Raspberry and White Chocolate Bread Pudding

After weeks of testing bread puddings, Idie developed this recipe. Different breads were tried from French baguette to brioche as well as different sizes and cuts of bread. The amount of custard was adapted to work with the type of soft bread we chose. We knew we wanted a moist, delicate bread and the right amount of white chocolate in the custard mixture. Then the pudding is gently tossed with the fruit. As the seasons change so does the fruit in this recipe. In the early summer we use blueberries or blackberries, raspberries in late summer, apples in the fall, and dried cranberries in the winter. Whichever version you prefer, we are sure you will enjoy our rendition of this classic dessert.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 (16-ounce) fresh French baguette, diced into 1/2-inch squares
• 1 pint fresh raspberries, divided
• 4 ounces good-quality white chocolate bars, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup whipped cream

METHOD:

Combine the cream and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Scrap the vanilla beans into cream mixture and add vanilla pods. Bring the mixture to a simmer and then remove the pan from the heat. Set aside until the mixture is cool enough to touch.

Whisk the eggs into the cooled cream mixture and set aside to cool completely.

Stir together the cooled cream mixture, bread cubes, three-fourths of the raspberries, and the chopped white chocolate in a large mixing bowl. Allow the mixture to stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly grease an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with the butter. Sprinkle the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar into the dish and turn until the bottom and sides of the baking dish are evenly coated. Spoon the bread pudding mixture into the prepared dish, pouring any remaining custard over the top of the pudding. (The mixture may still be slightly liquidy at this point.)

Pour the remaining one-fourth fresh raspberries on top of the pudding. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and set inside a larger baking dish. Fill the larger pan with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the pudding. Bake the pudding at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes and remove from the oven.

Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Remove the foil from the top of the pudding, return to the oven, and bake at 375Ã??F for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Remove pudding from the water bath and set aside to cool slightly.

Cut the cooled bread pudding into 9 equal squares and serve, with 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the whipped cream and raspberries. Serve warm.

How did Chris do in our "How Low Can You Go?" competition?

Bibb Lettuce Salad:

• bibb lettuce $1.99
• goat cheese $3.99
• orange juice $.88
• orange $.40
• lemon $.33
• lime $.66
• shallots $.79
• thyme $1.29
• parsley $.99

total $11.32

Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

• chicken $2.99
• peanut oil 3.69
• farro $4.00
• asparagus $1.99
• onion $1.24
• chives $.99
• watercress $1.59
• lemon juice $1.00

total $17.49

Bread Pudding

• heavy cream $2.29
• baguette $1.99
• raspberries $2.99
• white chocolate $1.89
• whipped cream $1.69

total $10.85

Grand total: $39.66

Our Leaders Board to date:

• 1.Marco Canora $36.33
• Hearth
• 
  
• 2. Michael Lomonaco $36.82
• Porter House
• 
  
• 3.Franklin Becker $37.63
• Abe & Arthur's