Category: Scott’s Kitchen

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Cooking Scott's Kitchen

Scott’s Kitchen is Back!

For many years I kept a personal web site at ScottsKitchen.com for various recipes I made – and other cooking related stuff. Over the last several years it has fallen into disrepair as I neglected it in favor of other things in my life.

During the last few days I’ve breathed new life back into it – moving it to a new home on WordPress, selecting a new theme design to make it look better, and updating many of the original recipes with various tweaks. I also created a new “SK” favicon for the site that will show up to identify the site in browser tabs.

I’m looking forward to getting back into sharing more of my learnings about all things cooking related on Scott’sKitchen.com – and I welcome new ideas about how to make it better!

Be sure to checkout the all-time most viewed recipe from Scott’s Kitchen (it’s from 2005!): Scott’s ‘Lazy-S’ Easy Oven-Roasted Tri-Tips

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Chicken Chicken Recipes Kitchen Main Dishes Poultry Scott's Kitchen

It’s Time for Minimalist Roast Chicken

Roast chicken

It’s starting to feel a bit like fall here in Menlo Park – which always brings to mind cooking roast chicken in the oven. We’re mostly wintertime roast chicken people – not wanting to bother with it during the summer. But as we get into the fall season, and the days cool off, roast chicken comes to mind as one of our weekend dinners.

I recently came across this simple roast chicken recipe from Mark Bittman. Click through for the recipe and also a link to one of his Minimalist videos where he shows the technique.

It’s a really simple recipe. His key breakthrough was discovering that the use of a cast iron skillet for roasting the chicken helped balance having the white/dark meat cooking appropriately. He recommends putting the skillet into the oven when you first turn it on – and use a high heat (he suggests 500 degrees which our oven won’t quite reach!). As the oven warms, the skillet warms up with it – so that when the chicken is put into the skillet to cook, the warm skillet will help the thighs and dark meat cook a bit faster while letting the breast meat cook normally. It’s this orchestrated imbalance that provides the magic to his recipe.

Give it a try for one of your weekend dinners!

Photo by Rosie 55.

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Kitchen Main Dishes Meat Pork Scott's Kitchen

Scott’s Favorite Slow Roasted Chipotle Pork

Slow Roasted Chipotle Pork

This is truly one of those 5 minutes to prepare recipes. Basically, coat the pork shoulder roast, throw it in the Dutch oven and then into the real oven.

Makes really great pork tortillas — or just pork to pile onto your plate. Great with salsa on the side!

We originally came across a version of this recipe in The New Cooks Tour of Sonoma by Michele Anna Jordan. It became a Loftesness family favorite from the first time we tried it! In addition to her own web site, Jordan also writes a regular food column for the Santa Rose Press Democrat.

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