Honey-soy roasted chicken wings

Who can resist a big plate of chicken wings? No one! Well, except for vegetarians, maybe. I think the best way to prepare chicken wings is to deep fry them. The combination of crispy exterior and juicy meat that results from a stint in the deep fryer can't be beat. Grilling the wings is also a great method. I employed neither of those cooking methods for this recipe. I employed my trusty oven to roast them for an easier weeknight preparation.

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Roasted edamame

If you didn't already know, I am a huge fan of oven-roasting food. Vegetables, especially, turn out really well after a spell in a hot oven, covered in olive oil, salt and pepper. The flavors concentrate. The exterior in caramelized. The results are delicious. 

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Roasted chicken dinner

If I asked you what the first thought that comes to your mind when I say,"Sunday night dinner," what do you think your reply would be? If I was a betting man (and I have been known to be), I'd wager that you'd say, "roasted chicken." Roasting a chicken is simultaneously the simplest of cooking endeavors as well as one of the most daunting. There are numerous techniques involving high heat or rotating or basting or putting butter under the skin or brining or standing on it on end with things shoved into it...you get the picture. So for tonight's version of roasted chicken, I decided to go with a super-simple method.

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Roasted cauliflower, chicken cutlets, cucumber-tomato salad

If you saw this plate of food, you would say that it's a chicken dish with a couple of sides. Technically, you'd be correct. However, I wanted to focus more on one of the sides. I wanted to talk about cauliflower. Specifically, roasted cauliflower. I like cauliflower well enough. It wouldn't crack my top ten vegetable list. But when you roast it and let it caramelize, and concentrate the flavor by letting it wilt down, it becomes one of the tastiest foods, vegetable or otherwise. So, it's by design that the cauliflower is front-and-center in my photo.

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Roasted sausage, potatoes and peppers

I love to cook stuff on sheet trays in the oven. I love the concentrated, caramelized flavors that come out of a piping hot oven. I love that there are no pots and pans to wash. I love it when I line a tray with foil and all I have to do is pull the foil off and throw it away.

There are two things to remember when you make this kind of meal on a weeknight. The first thing is to have a really hot oven. If you're in the 300s, it's just not hot enough. I like to roast at 450°. The second thing to remember is to cut your ingredients thinly and uniformly. That way, the food will be cooked through as well as caramelized. On a tuesday night when you get home from work, you don't have time to roast anything nice and slow for an hour or more. 

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