Recipe: World's Best Roast Chicken, Green Beans in Tomato Vinaigrette, Cheese-Stuffed Ba

From FamilyFun magazine.

World's Best Roast Chicken

It's just as easy to roast a big chicken as a small one, and you might as well have leftovers for the week ahead. Cooking the chicken at a low temperature takes longer but makes for tender, succulent meat. (Technically, "roasting" means cooking at a high temperature, but it sounds better than "baked.") You can stick this chicken into the oven six hours ahead of dinnertime and then basically forget about it.

1 6- to 7-pound roasting chicken
3 or 4 small lemons
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. coarse or kosher salt
1 tsp. paprika
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
2 cups water

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Remove the giblets and excess fat from the cavity of the chicken. Rinse the chicken, inside and out, in cold water, and dry it thoroughly with paper towels. Roll the lemons on a countertop to soften them. Then pierce each lemon in about 20 places with a skewer or toothpick.

In a small bowl, use a spoon to mash the salt, paprika and garlic into a paste. Rub half the paste inside the chicken's cavity. Then cram in as many of the lemons as will fit. Truss the chicken if you like; it isn't essential. Rub the rest of the paste all over the outside of the chicken. Place the chicken on a greased rack and put the rack into a greased roasting pan. Pour the water into the bottom of the pan.

Bake the chicken for 45 to 60 minutes per pound. (Don't worry, this is the correct amount.) As the water in the pan evaporates, add more. Take the lemons out before you bring the chicken to the table; they won't be very attractive at this point. Serve the chicken with the pan juices. Makes a meal for 6, plus leftovers.

Green Beans in Tomato Vinaigrette

1 1/2 lb. green beans, washed and trimmed
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 large garlic clove, minced
6 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. each minced fresh basil and flat-leaf parsley
Salt to taste
1 lb. plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup minced red onion

Steam the beans for 5 minutes, then rinse quickly in cold water to stop the cooking. Drain well. In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar, mustard and garlic. Gradually whisk in the oil. Add the herbs and salt, whisking thoroughly. Add the vegetables and toss everything together.

Let the beans marinate, unchilled, for at least 2 hours. Serve at room temperature. Serves 6.

Cheese-Stuffed Baked Potatoes

These can be baked along with the chicken or, if you prefer, made a day ahead and reheated in a microwave. Four potatoes should be enough for six people, since you're cutting the potatoes in half and the filling is quite rich to begin with.

4 medium baking potatoes
1 cup grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sour cream (for a lower-fat dish, use 1/2 cup plain yogurt or 1/3 cup milk)
2 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup minced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt

Scrub the potatoes, poke with a fork and bake in the 300-degree oven with the chicken. They'll take 2 to 3 hours to bake, since the oven temperature is so low.

Split the potatoes in half while they're still hot. Carefully scrape the insides into a large bowl, saving the skins. Add the cheeses, sour cream, butter, onion and garlic. Mash well and add salt to taste.

Stuff this mixture back into the potato skins. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the stuffing has brown flecks and the potatoes are heated through. Serves 6.

Pumpkin Biscuits

These wonderfully unusual biscuits should be made a day ahead.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. packed light-brown sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into thin slices
1 15-ounce can unsweetened solid-pack pumpkin

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. (You may need to crumble in the brown sugar with your fingers.) With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter until the mixture looks like cornmeal. Stir in the pumpkin and mix until you form a soft dough.

On a well-floured surface, with well-floured hands, pat out the dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Using a floured, sharp knife, cut out 2-inch-square biscuits. Place them on the cookie sheet and put it on the middle rack of your oven. Bake the biscuits for 15 to 20 minutes (because they're already brown, you may need to break one open to see if they're done). Serve hot or at room temperature. Makes 16 to 18.

Blueberry-Apple Crisp

4 cups blueberries (if using frozen, do not defrost)
2 cups peeled, diced Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots (optional)
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
Heavy cream or vanilla ice cream (optional)

Grease a casserole dish that's roughly 9 by 11 inches. (The exact size doesn't matter as long as the fruit fills the dish about 2 inches deep.) In a medium-sized bowl, toss the fruits and the lemon juice, then spread them evenly in the casserole.

In a separate bowl, toss the flour, oats, brown sugar and spices until thoroughly blended. Add the melted butter and mix until crumbly. Pat this mixture on top of the fruit. Bake the crisp at 300 degrees for 1 hour, or until the top is browned and the fruit is soft. (If you don't bake it with the chicken and potatoes, the crisp can also be baked at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.) Serve warm with heavy cream or vanilla ice cream. Serves 6.