SERIOUSLY Sunday!

As in, yes, I SERIOUSLY made this!

Upon receiving a new platter from my mother, and in my abundance of creativity and energy (or stupidity), I decided to roast a WHOLE chicken today.

Yes, seriously.

Martha Stewart and I may have more in common than just a love for pale turquoise.   While those of you experienced cooks out there are saying, "but roasting a chicken is soooo easy", let me just say that the thought of having a whole bird in my kitchen seemed soooo not easy.

Roast Chicken with Lemon and Herbs

1 (3lb-4lb) whole chicken, washed and dried
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 lemon
Dried rosemary
salt
pepper


The whole process began with the chicken in my sink, while I sat having an inner-dialogue that went something like this:

"Am I really going to do this?"
"This can only end badly"
"Grosssssssss raw chicken!"

Nevertheless, there it sat, beckoning me.  So, I decided to get down to business.   I seasoned the whole thing (inside and out) with salt, pepper and dried rosemary, until I got sick of looking at the inside of the chicken.  I then squirted the juice of the lemon over the outside of the chicken, and smashed the garlic.  See below for the ceremonial garlic-smashing picture:

I then stuffed the remains of the lemon and garlic into the chicken.  When I was done it looked very similar as when I began.  The whole thing flew into a 425 degree oven.   While the chicken was busy making our tiny apartment smell like Thanksgiving, I decided to make a side dish.

Oven Roasted Carrots and Sweet Potatoes

1 lb carrots, chopped into chunks
1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp margarine
3 tbsp reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Salt
Pepper

I chopped the veggies, and threw them into a greased baking dish with the rest of the ingredients.  I then got distracted by Facebook, neighborly chats out of our living room window, and discussions about Christmas music.

When I was finished with all these important tasks the chicken was ready to come out, and the veggies were ready to go in (450 degrees for 25 minutes).  The chicken roasted for about 65 minutes total, until the internal temperature was 165 degrees.  The temperature-taking of the chicken led to some interesting discussion about the anatomy of a chicken in the Fleming household.  I will spare you.

The chicken went onto a platter, and I actually garnished it, using the other 1/2 of the lemon and some (ok a lot) parsley, leftover from last Saturday.  This led to several minutes of oooohhhs and aaaahs from husband and wife.

For the record, when Matthew and I began dating, I did absolutely no cooking.  Well, that's a lie, I microwaved a mean can of Spaghettio's.   After this evening's presentation, I'm fairly sure my husband feels that he has hit the jackpot.  But, you'd have to ask him about that.

I had to choose from several lovely pictures of said chicken.

After 25 minutes in the oven, and 25 minutes of dramatic response to the chicken, the vegetables were ready.  The sweet potatoes really added to the whole Thanksgiving-y smell.

Naturally we invited our good friend Logan over, and he shamelessly complimented my cooking skills.  I bet you're beginning to see why we always invite him over!  The whole meal was tasty, and left us with some excellent shredded chicken left over, which I think will make great taco meat.  It was actually quite easy.  Only one problem: WE STILL HAVE GARLIC LEFT!  Will it never end?  Stay tuned.


*As Promised*  Special blog shout-out goes to my lovely grandparents Bob and Barb Griffin, who not only caravanned to Iowa with us, but also attended last evening's concert.  What a day!