Roasted Chicken

So... my man lives too far away and next weekend I'm heading out to see him for a 'faux-Thanksgiving', as he has deemed to name it... it was $600 more to visit DURING Thanksgiving. Not even kidding.All that to say, I want to make him a chicken. :) And when I actually make it for him, I want to make it perfectly. :)I hate cooking poultry. Seriously. It's one of my few OCD things... who wants salmonella?! Not this chick, that's who.HOWEVER, Thanksgiving is meant to be spent with your favorite people gathered around a delicious bird. And I don't care much for turkey... so chicken it is!Life has been a little extra chaotic lately with a new job and life transitions, so while I'm testing this 'recipe', if you will, we'll see if I remember how to roast a chicken. Fingers-crossed.While putting this idea together, I found some fresh thyme and rosemary in my dad's garden, picked up a lemon from work, and whipped out the usual EVOO and fresh ground sea salt and pepper.(I also managed to whip up some mulled wine, which will be better laid out in a later post and the culprit for any and all madness following this sentence. Glad I included that!) 

The wine wants you to know I was the
2012 Toad's Chili Cook-On Runner Up...
Second Place out of 30 entries!
The ladle will vow for me.

I purchased the bird from our local 'Moo-Roo'... There's a dairy farm about 15 minutes away that has a small shop on my way home from work. They carry not only local, hormone free, dairy products, but they also carry local honey, produce, and meat.At the register I found out the chicken actually wasn't local... they informed me that it was from a farm in Pennsylvania - that it was the closest humane farm. I'm glad I asked.I took my Microplane and probably used about 1/4 of the lemon to incorporate some zest in my chicken rub. 

I mixed the zest with salt and pepper, thyme, and rosemary. I made sure these ingredients were properly minced, and added a bit of olive oil before rubbing the mixture all over the bird and as well as I could under the skin.I stuffed the cavity with half of a lemon, thyme, and a sprig of rosemary. I roasted it on a bed of baby red potatoes for 30 minutes at 450 degrees Fahrenheit. When my timer beeped, I took it out to find this beaut:

I then added some butter to the chicken and finished roasting it for about 10-15 minutes. When all is said and done, the chicken should read 165 degrees and rest for 10 minutes before being carved to serve. 

The wine seems to be all about bragging tonight...
it also wanted you to see this video I made with
Better Homes and Gardens' a year and a half ago...
even though I didn't use the tent.