Alex Guarnaschelli is hitting the big screen once again, this time with a new food competition show. "Ciao House" takes rising culinary stars, and puts them together under one roof in an Italian villa to compete and find out who has the top Italian culinary skills.
Guarnaschelli dropped by "GMA3" to talk about the new show and also to share one of her summer staples.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (3 1/2 - 4 lbs)
Kosher salt
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsps. Balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 heads endive, leaves separated
2 cups arugula
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 sprigs tarragon, stemmed
Directions: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Season the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper. Place the chicken, breast side up, on the rack and place in the center of the pan on top of the vegetables. Put the pan in the center of the oven and roast until the juices run clear or a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees.
Count about 15 minutes per pound of bird. For a 4 lb. bird, check the juices and temperature after one hour of cooking. Remove from the oven and allow it to "rest" for at least 10 minutes before transferring it to a flat surface.
When you remove the bird from the pan, gently place it breast side down on the board so the juices can flow through the breast meat as it rests for an additional 10-15 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the pan and transfer to a large bowl.
Pour off most of the excess grease in the roasting pan. Place the pan on one or two burners on the stove and add the mustard and 1/2 cup of water. Simmer gently, scraping the bits of roasted meat from the bottom. Let the sauce simmer and reduce a little, 3-5 minutes. Add the vinegar and olive oil. Taste for seasoning. Pour the dressing onto a bowl.
Turn the chicken breast side up on a cutting board and carve the breast and thigh meat off the bone. Arrange some of both around the edges of 4 large plates. Toss some of the dressing with the endive, arugula, tomatoes and tarragon. Arrange the salad in the center of the plates. Drizzle any remaining dressing on the chicken.