Seasons by the Sea: Recipes 03:07:13

Lovage and Apple Stuffed Roast Chicken

    Here is Lee Bailey’s recipe. I substitute celery leaves for lovage.

    Serves six.

2 21/2-lb. chickens

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 cup butter, softened

1 handful lovage

1 large cooking apple, peeled and cored

Gravy:

1 Tbsp. butter, softened

2 Tbsp. flour

1 cup chicken stock, heated

1 Tbsp. chopped chives

    Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry chickens, mix salt and pepper into softened butter. Chop apple and lovage (or celery leaves). Alternately stuff chickens with softened butter and apples and lovage. Reserve a bit of butter for tops of chickens.

    Place chickens breast side up on rack in roasting pan. Smear rest of butter over chickens. Bake an hour and 15 minutes, basting occasionally. Remove chickens to warm platter.

    To make gravy, mush butter and flour together to make paste. Pour fat out of roasting pan and add hot stock. Swirl around and scrape up crispy bits in pan. Thicken with the flour butter mixture and cook until thickened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chives.

Grilled Asparagus With Crab Mayonnaise

    This recipe is from Douglas Rodriguez’s “Latin Flavors on the Grill.” It is great as an appetizer or served with fish, chicken, or veal.

    Serves six to eight.

1 lb. asparagus

2 Tbsp. oil

Salt and pepper

Zest and juice of 3 lemons

2 Tbsp. adobo sauce, from canned chipotles in adobo

1 lb. Alaskan crabmeat or jumbo lump crabmeat

1/4 cup minced chives

1/2 cup finely diced red onion

2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

4 red jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, diced

    Blanch asparagus for four minutes, then plunge in ice water. Drain, then peel away tough outer skin.

    Prepare a medium low fire on the grill.

    In bowl, toss asparagus with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill for a few minutes on each side, until lightly charred. Transfer to serving platter.

    In another bowl, combine mayonnaise with lemon zest, juice, adobo, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Gently fold in rest of ingredients. Spoon crab mayonnaise over asparagus and serve.

Mary’s Pignoli (Italian Pine Nut Macaroons)

    This is a great recipe from Richard Sax’s “Classic Home Desserts.” If you find pine nuts to be too expensive, you can substitute slivered or sliced almonds or a combination of pine nuts and almonds.

    Makes about five dozen.

    1 lb. almond paste

    11/4 cups sugar

    4 large egg whites

    1 lb. pine nuts

    Preheat oven to 350. Line two or three baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly butter the pans.

    Break up the almond paste and place in bowl with sugar. Crumble together with your fingers or in an electric mixer until evenly combined. In separate bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Stir a little of the egg whites into almond paste mixture. It will be fairly dry. Fold in remaining whites.

    Place nuts in shallow bowl. Roll almond paste mixture into one-inch balls and press each into nuts, gently turning to coat evenly. They will look like little porcupines. Place on baking sheets, one inch apart.

    Bake until cookies are evenly pale gold, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool.