I developed this recipe because I had a date with my boyfriend who is now my husband, Jason.  We had been dating for awhile, but I hadn’t cooked for him yet.

Obviously, I wanted to impress him, but I also wanted to make dinner a cozy, intimate experience.  I wanted to hang out with him, not spend the whole evening in the kitchen.  I needed something I didn’t need to babysit.  At the same time, I wanted to serve comfort food and nothing says comfort like a nice golden-brown chicken with crispy skin.  Whoever said the path to a man’s heart is his stomach knew what he (or she) was talking about.

Serves 4, or 2 plus leftover chicken for another meal

• 1 roast chicken, about 3 to 3-1/2 pounds
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and cut in half
• ½ carrot, cleaned and peeled
• ½ stalk celery, trimmed
• ½ lemon
• 2 cloves smashed garlic (hit it with the side of a chef’s knife and smash it open)
• 2 sprigs each fresh rosemary, thyme, and oregano
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon melted butter

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Rinse the chicken and pat it dry.  If the chicken has the giblets or neck inside, remove those and lightly season the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper.  Put half the onion, the carrot, celery, lemon, garlic, and fresh herbs inside the chicken.  Tie the legs together with twine.  Slice the remaining onion and put it in a roasting pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Put the chicken on this bed of onions.
2. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil and melted butter.  Using a basting brush, brush every inch of the chicken with the oil-butter mixture.  Season the entire chicken with salt or garlic salt and pepper and bake on the middle rack for one hour and fifteen minutes.
3. Turn up the oven temperature to 375 degrees and cook for another 30 to 45 minutes, or longer if your oven isn’t as hot or your chicken is a little bigger.  If the top still isn’t crispy, put the chicken under the broiler for a few minutes to completely brown it.    You will know when the chicken is done when you pull at the leg and it feels ready to come off, and the juices run out clear and not pink when you pierce the skin with a knife.
4. Remove the chicken from the oven and cover it with foil.  Let it sit to set the juices for about 20 minutes, then serve with any of the vegetable side dishes in this chapter.  Remember to use what you have.