161009 - Cooking with Louisa part 2
350 degrees
The advent of fall means it’s nice to have the oven on, taking the chill off the apartment without needing the heat on full blast. This time of year I try to bake off a bunch of things that require the same oven temperature, usually 350 degrees. 350 is the default temp on most ovens, and is such a forgivable temperature, you can bake bread or roast a chicken at 350, and both will work out well!
I’ve been in a spice lull lately and have been sticking with a combination I know I like: black pepper, salt, garlic. It works on everything savory and is pretty hard to mess up. Sundays often find me with football on (it doesn’t matter what game!), the oven set to 350, and:
1 small spaghetti squash
-Leave this whole, but prick the outside all over with a fork.
-Put in the oven as soon as you turn the oven on and leave it in there until it’s soft/squeezable (this is super forgivable, and slightly over baking it will not be an issue).
-Let cool, cut open, scrape out seeds. Scrape the guts with a fork. This can be used as “pasta,” mixed into scrambled eggs, baked in a casserole, pretty much whatever!
2 pounds of Colorado fingerling potatoes (I especially like the mixed colors)
-Cut to into approximately even sized pieces, leaving the tiny ones whole.
-Toss with a chopped onion, olive oil (enough so that they are coated, not drenched) salt, pepper, garlic.
-Bake in a single layer until crispy and easily pierced with a fork (30-35 minutes).
4 (or more) chicken thighs over carrots
-Toss carrots (enough to cover the bottom of your chosen pan) as for potatoes and layer on the bottom of a baking dish. I usually use whole carrots and coin them, but I had baby ones to use up this go round!
-Dry thighs and brush with olive oil, add salt, pepper, garlic, place on top of carrots skin side up (elevating the chicken from the pan allows the heat to circulate around them, giving a more even bake).
-Bake until internal temp of chicken is 165 degrees (totally worth it to invest in a meat thermometer), 35-45 minutes (switch to broil for the final 6-9 minutes to get the skin crispy if you like!).
1 pound of asparagus
-Coat with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, place on baking sheet and bake until desired doneness, 15-25 minutes. (I really hate when directions say subjective things like this, but sometimes “desired doneness” is important! Err on the side of less time if you’re not sure how you like it, you can always throw it back in the oven.)
This is enough food to get me started on the week, and supplemented with more protein and vegetables I’m usually set. What’s nice about cooking or baking with super basic flavors is that you can add to the spice when you reheat components. I like to have Tabasco, coconut aminos, Cholula, mustard, fish sauce, Old Bay, Herbes de Provence, and other miscellaneous sauces and spice blends on hand to change the flavor profiles of meals as I go. This way you don’t have to commit to entire pan of sage chicken thighs only to discover that sage really is not your jam. Try big, bold flavors on smaller portions and learn what you genuinely like!