So, this is how it turned out when I made it: It wasn’t perfect, but I’ll keep tweaking until I get it exactly the way I want it.

Serves 8
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 2 1/4 hours

INGREDIENTS

1 kg russet potatoes, peeled
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium-sized onion, sliced in thin wedges lengthwise
Salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)
8 sprigs thyme

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius. In a small bowl, combine butter and oil. Brush the bottom of a round 9-inch baking dish with some butter mixture. I used my round Pyrex dish and it went to the table from the oven. With a sharp knife or using a mandolin, slice the potatoes very thinly crosswise.

This amount of potatoes fit just nicely into my Pyrex dish. Arrange potato slices vertically in dish then insert the onion wedges evenly throughout. Sprinkle with salt and red-pepper flakes (if using). Brush with the remaining butter mixture.

Roast in the oven for 1 1/4 hours. Remove, add thyme sprigs ( I didn’t have any so I sprinkled dried thyme – but it didn’t have the same effect!

Continue roasting until the potatoes are cooked through with a crisp top, about 35 minutes more.

http://thebittenword.typepad.com/thebittenword/2010/01/crispy-potato-roast.html#more

Browsing through I found Martha’s “Perfect Roast Chicken” recipe. I was dying to try out our new oven so it was a great opportunity! We found all the ingredients especially the all-important fresh rosemary. It was easy to make. We also threw in potatoes and carrots around the chicken, and everything turned out perfect! The chicken was juicy and full of flavour, and so were the potatoes and carrots.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

1 six-pound roasting chicken
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick
1 lemon
3 large cloves garlic, peeled
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup Chicken Stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat

DIRECTIONS

Let chicken and 1 tablespoon butter stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Remove and discard the plastic pop-up timer from chicken if there is one. Remove the giblets and excess fat from the chicken cavity. Rinse chicken thoroughly under cold water, inside and out, then pat dry the chicken thoroughly with paper towels making sure the cavity is as dry as possible. Tuck the wing tips under the body. Sprinkle the cavity of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, and set aside.

In the centre of a heavy-duty roasting pan, place onion slices in two rows, touching. Place the palm of your hand on top of lemon and, pressing down, roll lemon back and forth several times. This softens the lemon and allows the juice to flow more freely. Pierce entire surface of lemon with a fork. Using the side of a large knife, gently press on garlic cloves to open slightly. Insert garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, and lemon into cavity. Place chicken in pan, on onion slices. Cut about 18 inches of kitchen twine, bring chicken legs forward, cross them, and tie together.

Spread the softened butter over entire surface of chicken, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. If desired throw in halves of peeled potatoes, and chunks of carrots around the chicken.

Place in the oven, and roast until skin is deep golden brown and crisp and the juices run clear when pierced, about 1 1/2 hours. When chicken seems done, insert an instant-read thermometer into the breast, then the thigh. The breast temperature should read 180 degrees.and the thigh 190 degrees.

Remove chicken from oven, and transfer to a cutting board with a well. Let chicken stand 10 to 15 minutes so the juices settle. Meanwhile, pour the pan drippings into a shallow bowl or fat separator, and leave onions in the pan.

Prepare the pan sauce: Leave any brown baked-on bits in the bottom of the roasting pan, and remove and discard any blackened bits. Using a large spoon or fat separator, skim off and discard as much fat as possible. Pour the remaining drippings and the juices that have collected under the resting chicken back into the roasting pan. Place on the stove over medium-high heat to cook, about 1 minute.

Add chicken stock, raise heat to high, and, using a wooden spoon, stir up and combine the brown bits with the stock until the liquid is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Strain the gravy into a small bowl, pressing on onions to extract any liquid. Discard onions, and stir in the remaining tablespoon of cold butter until melted and incorporated.

Untie the legs, and remove and discard garlic, thyme, and lemon. Carve, and serve gravy on the side.

On a good day, you might find them bottled or canned in a supermarket. However, its easy to roast your own and freeze them ready to use when you need them.

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Centigrade.

Keep the peppers whole – cut away the long stalk if any, that’s all. Wash the peppers, dry and wrap them all together loosely in aluminium foil. Place on baking tray and roast for 30-40 minutes until the peppers collapse. When cooked, place them in a glass container with an airtight cover and leave for 10 mins – this makes the skin easy to peel off.

When they have cooled down enough to touch, peel the skin off. Remove stem and seeds and reserve the juice.

To store, pack in individual containers or Ziploc bags with the juice. When required, defrost and use.