mimi's sticky chicken with risotto

I ended up making a few changes to the menu for today. At the last minute, I decided to make a risotto instead of the whole grain rice. I also found some asparagus to steam in the place of a tossed salad. Tonight, we had a guest, Mama S, for dinner who agreed to provide her own review of the dinner.

REVIEW:

Flavor:
Chef D thought the flavor tasted similar to rotisserie chicken. The risotto had a good flavor, a little on the sweet side, without the negative undertones of the risottos he has cooked recently.
Mama S liked the flavor of the chicken and said she would eat it again. She liked the 'sticky' skin the best because it had all the flavor. She also enjoyed the taste of the risotto.
[I loved the flavor of the drippings from the chicken, and the flavor of the chicken skin. I was a little concerned about the red onion in the risotto, but I was amazed at how it cooked to such a translucence that it was practically invisible in the end. Invisible, yet oh so tasty.]

Texture:
Chef D enjoyed the chicken and risotto enough to pack up some of the leftovers for his lunch tomorrow
Mama S had breast meat and it was tender and not dry. The chicken skin was a little chewy and the risotto was kind of gooey, but still soft. The asparagus were tender, but a little tough on the bottom.
[When the risotto was first ready, Chef D was not home from work, so it had to sit for about 15 minutes before we ate. Unfortunately, that totally changed the texture, which originally was just about perfect.]

Ease of Preparation:
The chicken was easy to work around since it cooked long on such a low temperature. The risotto was not difficult to prepare, but it took constant attention.

Recommendations for future use:
If I make the sticky chicken again, I will ensure that I baste the chicken more often at the beginning. It went about an hour before the first basting and I am afraid that may be the cause for the toughness of the skin. If I make risotto again, I will try to plan the timing better so that it does not have to wait and end up gelling up like it did tonight.

Rating: 4 stars