That Than Which Nothing Greater Can Be Conceived: Philosophy of Food, Issue #016: FEAST!

This is it folks. The ultimate in nostalgia dishes. Roast chicken the way my mother used to make it. A slightly modified version of a recipe from the New York Times Cook Book.

The Ingredients
-1 four-pound chicken at room temperature.
-1/2 lemon.
-Salt and freshly ground black pepper.
-1 small onion, peeled.
-Herbs: I used 1/4 tsp. of rosemary, 1/4 tsp. thyme, 1/4 tsp. flaked parsley, and a bay leaf.

The arsenal is assembled.

The Process

This will be delicious.

Locked and loaded.

First of all, I have an admission to make. I forgot to get lemons. If you happen to remember to stock up, you're to rub the inside of the chicken with half of a lemon before sprinkling it with salt and pepper. I then applied the herbs to the cavity of the chicken before shoving in the funny parts (neck, liver, etc) and then capping it with what was really a medium sized onion. At that point we put the whole thing in the oven (pre-heated to 350 degrees F.) and let it bake for about eighty-five minutes. According to the recipe, it will be done when the leg moves easily up and down.

The Result
I owe my mother an apology for all the times I made a fuss about having chicken for dinner. This is a tasty tasty dish. Adding the onion is supposed to help keep the bird moist on the inside while it cooks crispy on the outside. I've never made a whole chicken any other way, but it seems to accomplish this nicely. Also, the funny parts I cooked inside were tastey, and a bit of a change of pace.

I also invited a friend over to share this experiment, and we made a bit of a feast of it. Look and see!