Featured on the Cover: A Holiday Feast

This issue has been exceptionally fun to create and produce because many of the recipes we researched, developed, prepared, cooked, and enjoyed eating! Some feature traditional cooking methods; however, the cover shot features a feast that was cooked entirely on the Big Green Egg!  This feast was a personal challenge as I wanted to shop, prep, cook, and photograph the cover of this issue, and then eat the meal all in one Sunday afternoon. Mission accomplished!

If you grow your own herbs and use items out of your frig and pantry, (like butter, salt, pepper, lemons, etc.) you can create this meal for under $30.00 easily. That works out to $7.50 per person without beverages! A great holiday feast that is easy to prepare for any homecook.

The smoky herb flavor of the chicken, with the garlic, oranges, apples, and tartness of the cranberries was a perfect combination. The roasted sweet potatoes added just enough punch with the rice to elevate this meal to another level: true three-dimensional flavors. My husband Dan, Maggie Mae, and Sadie Sae, my two sister black labs, agree this is an awesome meal worth repeating!

Stay Calm and EGG on!
I consider the Big Green Egg team part of my family. I have worked with them for more than a decade creating Big Green Egg Lifestyle, a special interest publication distributed internationally. I have really enjoyed experimenting with many new recipes over the last year, and I certainly had plenty of time considering the challenges we have all faced! I considered this a gift to continue to expand my culinary horizons and shoot some great food to share with you.

I am proud to have Big Green Egg as one of our founding “patron of the arts” partners who support Nourish and Flourish, the food community at large and local businesses. 
Cheers!
Nancy Suttles | Publisher
​Creative Director

Nancy’s Big Green Egg Roasted Chicken Holiday Feast
* You can also cook this is in a traditional oven

Ingredients
1 whole roaster chicken – giblets removed
Fresh herbs of your choice – chopped
4-5 sprigs fresh rosemary
Lemon pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
2 whole oranges sliced
1 lemon sliced
3 tablespoons butter
Olive oil
2-3 whole cloves of garlic
1 bag small fresh apples
½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries
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5-6 small sweet potatoes
1 package tri-colored wild rice
½ cup pecans
1 whole pomegranate
Method
Pre-Heat EGG or oven to 350°F. Place chicken in a cast iron plancha, skillet or roasting pan. Stuff cavity of chicken with sliced orange and lemon. Truss chicken with kitchen twine. Tie the chicken snug so that the wings and legs stay close to the body. This makes the chicken more compact which helps it cook evenly. 

Rub chicken with olive oil and season generously inside and out with fresh herbs, salt and pepper. 

Prepare the garlic: Peel away all the loose, papery, outer layers around the head of garlic. Leave the head itself intact with all the cloves connected. Trim about ¼ inch off the top of the head of garlic to expose the tops of the garlic cloves. Drizzle olive oil over the exposed surface of the garlic, letting the oil sink down into the cloves. Salt and pepper to taste. Rub apples with olive oil and place the apples and garlic around the chicken. Fill in with orange slices and squeeze some fresh lemon over entire dish.
Wash sweet potatoes and rub with olive oil, put in roasting pan and place on the EGG or in the oven. Cook for around 45 minutes until soft. Remove from heat.

Place chicken in EGG or oven for 30 minutes and baste the chicken with the juices in the bottom of the pan every 15 minutes. Total cook time is around 1 ½ hours or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F/74°C. Remove from heat, baste again with pan juices and let rest. 

Side Dishes:
Cook rice according to the package and put in serving bowl. Toss pecans with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Place pecans in a small oven safe dish and roast for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Cut pomegranate in half. Place the half in the center of your palm. Use your other hand to squeeze around the surface of the fruit. Using the back of a spoon, tap the back of the fruit to loosen the seeds. 
Slice sweet potatoes, add a pat of butter, sprinkle with nutmeg and drizzle with honey. Slice chicken and serve with whole baked apples, a few cloves of roasted garlic, and side dishes.

Enjoy!