Just love her!!!!I miss Julia!! I have a "source" ( chicken raising friend) who raises organic free range chickens.....and I have a 12 week old almost 6 pound chicken in my freezer. It's not all about age, it's about breed of chicken. This bird will have amazing flavor, be very very tender, have a moderate amount of fat and be all around amazing....AND very expensive! Her sister was very flavorful and tender....but was roasted about 6 hours after she was pecking bugs in the field I pay about $1.80 or so for chicken in the store. Last week one store had a special of whole chickens for $.69 a pound. the free range are about $4 a pound. Great for a special occasion, but too much for me for every day. Linda C

I love mine too, I have the 18 quart and the 6 quart, and I do everything in mine that I do in the oven, even Boston Brown Bread and I've baked brownies in mine when my oven was on the fritz. I roast the bones and vegetables for stock right in the roaster and then add the water and seasonings and let it go, everything done in one pot. I've posted pictures of roast chicken on WFD and the skin was as brown and crispy as I get in the oven. And mine has vents, but you can close them. However, as cynic mentioned, it may be more efficient to do the browning on the stovetop. Not necessary, but perhaps quicker. And, as cynic has suggested before, the small ones make great crockpots, my 6 quart even has a temperature setting for "slow cooking". I use the big one several times per year and I'll roast the prime rib in it tomorrow. The small one gets used at least a couple of times a week, and Elery liked it so much he bought one for his house. Far more efficient than turning on the oven for roasting one small chicken for myself, or baking a small amount of beans all day. I also do huge batches of apple butter and tomato sauce in mine for canning, just leave the lid ajar so that it cooks down, and because they heat up the sides too, you don't have the scorching issue or the spattering that I have on top of the stove. Enjoy it, Alexa, I love mine. Annie

Who knows how grocery stores rate their fowl? Originally, I believe age would have made a difference, but dunno about now. Grandma fried young chickens, roasted older chickens and then stewed the old biddies who had got past laying but were "tough as an old hen!" I buy 10 pound bags of chicken quarters at a local store for about $6 partially because they're cheap, but a bigger part of the reason is that they are from larger, older chickens and have more of the real chicken flavor I remember from my childhood. Apparently, commercial chickens are slaughtered quite young, and so are tender no matter what way you cook them. But a certain amount of flavor is sacrificed. For myself, I have a mouth full of teeth that work just fine and I would prefer to chew a bit more to get better flavor. For this reason, I've never been all that worked up about veal or filet mignon. Yeah they're tender, but I want beef that tastes like beef and steak that tastes like steak! Same sentiment applies with chicken. I want it to taste like a chicken!

i can't believe i chopped off the original poster's name and i apologize for that--i think it belongs to "dances in garden". if not, please step forward and correct me! but this was a good dish that was kind of fun to prepare and eat: Barbecued Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps 2 cups, 4 handfuls, fresh shiitake mushrooms 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 pounds thin cut chicken breast or chicken tenders 2 tablespoons light colored oil, such as vegetable oil or peanut oil Coarse salt and coarse black pepper 3 cloves garlic, chopped 1 inch ginger root, finely chopped or grated, optional 1 orange, zested 1/2 red bell pepper, diced small 1 small tin, 6 to 8 ounces, sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped 3 scallions, chopped 3 tablespoons hoisin, Chinese barbecue sauce, available on Asian foods aisle of market 1/2 large head iceberg lettuce, core removed, head quartered Wedges of navel orange -- platter garnish Remove tough stems from mushrooms and brush with damp towel to clean, Slice mushrooms. Chop chicken into small pieces. Preheat a large skillet or wok to high. Add oil to hot pan. Add chicken to the pan and sear meat by stir frying a minute or 2. Add mushrooms and cook another minute or two. Add salt and pepper to season, then garlic and ginger. Cook a minute more. Grate zest into pan, add bell pepper bits, chopped water chestnuts and scallions. Cook another minute, continuing to stir fry mixture. Add hoisin Chinese barbecue sauce and toss to coat the mixture evenly. Transfer the hot chopped barbecued chicken to serving platter and pile the quartered wedges of crisp iceberg lettuce along side. Add wedged oranges to platter to garnish. To eat, pile spoonfuls into lettuce leaves, wrapping lettuce around fillings and squeeze an orange wedge over. I was trying to replicate my favorite lettuce wraps from PF Chang's, so I changed a few things. I used ground turkey instead of chicken tenders, skipped the orange, added more complexity to the sauce, and had cilantro, basil and lime wedges on the plate for people to add to the wraps. This is what I added to the hoisin sauce: 5 tsp sweet chili sauce, 2 tsp sesame oil, 1 TBSP sherry, 2 TBSP rice vinegar, 3 TBSP oyster sauce, and juice from half a lime. I think this made them much tastier. They were unbelievably delicious!! A keeper for company. i really enjoyed this but my husband didn't so i've only made it once. i certainly would be happy to make it for lunch with the girlfriends though! Braised Greek Chicken and Artichokes 1 tablespoon olive oil 4 chicken breast halves with skin and bones 2 6-ounce jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained 2 tablespoons marinade reserved 3/4 cup canned low-salt chicken broth 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper 3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add to skillet and sautchicken until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons reserved marinade, broth, lemon juice, peel, and crushed pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until chicken is almost cooked through, about 10 minutes. Uncover; stir in artichokes and 2 tablespoons oregano. Simmer until liquid is slightly reduced and chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon oregano. Season with salt and pepper; serve. Makes 4 servings. Bon Appétit December 2001 and we both liked this one really well: ORANGE HONEY-BAKED CHICKEN -- Daisy 1 cup orange juice 1 tablespoon lemon juice 3 tablespoons honey 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange rind 1/2 teaspoon ginger 4 boned chicken breast fillets (about 500g) 2 tablespoons orange marmalade (1/8 tsp red pepper flakes) (2 T peanut butter added into the sauce to be reduced) Preheat oven to 200C. In baking dish, mix together orange juice, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons honey, orange peel and ginger. Add chicken pieces, turning to coat all sides. If time permits, let chicken marinate for 10 minutes. Bake, uncovered, for 8 minutes, baste with pan juices. Bake an additional 8 minutes, baste again. Glaze chicken with a mixture of marmalade and remaining 1 tablespoon honey, continue to bake 8-10 minutes or until done. Transfer chicken to serving plate. Reduce pan juices until thickened and pour over chicken, garnish with orange slices.