Best Roasted Chicken EVER

I know, I've said it before, but this time it's true!  With the help of my local market, Pinterest, my iPad and a great recipe from AllRecipes.Com as a starting point, I made the best roasted chicken EVER!   And I've made many that I love.  But...

Roasted Lemon, Garlic & Thyme Chicken

really is a stand out.  The AllRecipe people have "moist" in the title, and for those of you who feel that in order for chicken to be cooked enough, the breast is always dry... cooking this way...over low heat in a parchment envelope means you never have to worry about poisoning your guests again, or serving them dried out, flavorless chicken.   Not to mention that clean up is beyond easy.

In addition to the parchment paper (one of my best kitchen friends), I used two other great toys - tools

my trusty microplane slicer for paper thin slices of garlic.  It shaves them so thin they practically melt

and my Mandoline Slicer that slices the lemon so fine, it's almost transparent.  Words of warning... DO NOT FORGET TO USE THE PROTECTIVE GLIDER!  Been there, done that... not fun!

Whenever I use the "latest, greatest" tools - I somehow think of my grandmother, who emigrated to Canada at the tender age of 19 in 1917, with a baby, a husband, no English and little money.  She had seven children who gave her the gift of 18 grandchildren.   I still remember the little one bedroom apartment, and our fantastic Friday night dinners (not to mention the holiday feasts) that she cooked for everyone in her tiny kitchen.  Her most modern kitchen gadget... a box grater, used most regularly for potato latkes. No food processors to slice or grate anything in a minute, no microwave ovens for a quick steam of veggies and definitely no iPads or Pinterest to keep every delicious recipe we've ever seen safe and at our fingertips for whenever we have a craving.

My how the world has changed. What is your most useful kitchen helper?

And now I'm off to make a wonderful baked pasta for dinner... do I choose the one saved on Pinterest from ZipList for Stuffed Pasta Shells or an awesome looking Cannelloni with Spring Greens from my latest eBook Laurent Gras - My Provence... on my iPad, of course. Stay tuned for my take on this fantastic eBook.   Of course this is my segue to Presto Pasta Nights.  I'm hosting this week's roundup and you still have until midnight tonight to send in a delicious pasta for it.  Just write, mention Presto Pasta Nights with a link and email your link to ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com.  If you don't have a blog, just send me the recipe and I'll share it here for you.   If you'd like to host a roundup yourself, let me know.  September and beyond are wide open.