Girl Crush: Kitchen Vixen Gabi from BrokeA$$ Gourmet

BAG (as it’s called by it’s legion of fans) features new recipes (all ingredients under $20) daily and has been featured on MSN Money, TIME, and NBC. Gabi is also one of the main contributors to the Appetites App, one of Apple’s top apps for 2011. You can also read about her dating escapes, hard-won life wisdom and the girl behind the apron on her personal blog Out of the Pantry.

This Valentines Day if you want to plan a special and memorable dinner, Gabi recommends her “Third Date Chicken” (so over “Engagement Chicken”) which is decadently delicious and surprisingly easy.

BROKEASS GOURMET THIRD DATE CHICKEN

by Gabi Moskowitz

PREP TIME 0:15

COOK TIME 1:05

I don’t love cooking for first, or even second dates. I know it seems like it should be my go-to activity (an opportunity to tantalize the taste buds of my potential paramour!), but it gets weird when you cook for a living. First of all, the pressure is on to impress (as if it weren’t already anyway) and it requires me to try to look cute while chopping onions (just try it). Moreover, it feels akin to asking a dentist out and then asking him to take a quick peek at your molars.

That said, by date #3, I am usually comfortable enough to invite a man into my kitchen, and this is my trusty stand-by meal, assuming he eats poultry (this is San Francisco, so the possibility that he is a raw foodist gluten-free vegan is not out of the question). I get the chicken prepped and into the oven before he shows up (which has the side benefit of making my apartment smell amazing), roast some sweet potatoes or whip up some risotto and throw together a green salad.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 whole (4-5 lb) roasting chicken, giblets removed $13
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil Pantry
• 12 garlic cloves, chopped Pantry
• leaves from 2 sprigs fresh rosemary $1 for a bunch
• 1 lemon, zested and sliced thinly $0.50
• 2 tsp each salt and pepper Pantry

Total Cost of Ingredients $14.50

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Rinse the chicken under cool running water and pat dry, using paper towels. Place in a large (at least 9“x13”) casserole pan.
3. Whisk together the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, salt and pepper (you can also leave the garlic cloves whole and blend it all together in a food processor or blender).
4. Pour a bit of the oil-garlic mixture into the cupped palm of your hand and rub it over the skin of the chicken on both sides. Gently slide your hands between the skin and the flesh of the chicken and rub some of the oil mixture beneath the skin. Pour a bit more oil into your hands and rub the cavity of the chicken with it. Continue until the whole chicken is covered with the garlic-oil mixture.
5. Place a few slices of lemon between the skin and the flesh. Stuff the rest of the slices into the cavity. Arrange chicken breast-side-up in the pan and use kitchen twine or a couple of toothpicks to attach the legs together. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil.
6. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for another 25-30 minutes, or until the skin is golden-brown and the juices run clear (stab a knife into the thigh to check this).
7. Cut into pieces and serve hot.
8. If you want to make a pan gravy, pour the pan juices (there should be plenty) into a small pot over high and bring to a light boil. Sprinkle in 1-2 tbsp of flour and whisk constantly (breaking up the lumps) until a thick, creamy gravy forms. Serve alongside the chicken.

Serves 4-6.