Roasted Chicken with Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

It has been cold and rainy here in DC all week long, far stretch from Texas I'm sure. So I wanted to make something warm and hearty and I decided to make a roast chicken from my cookbook, "100 recipes Every Woman Should Know". It is so simply yet so delicious. It does not require a lot of ingredients but it is tender, juicy and fabulous!

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (approx. 4 lbs)

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, plus 2 whole lemons

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

Fresh herbs for garnish (Which I actually opted out of because it's so pretty on its own!)

What to do:

1. Position an oven rack in the upper 3rd of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Remove giblets from the chicken, wash it inside and out with cold water then let the chicken drain, cavity down in a colander for 2 minutes.

2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Place chicken breast side down in a roasting pan and pour lemon juice all over the chicken, inside and out. Season chicken with salt and pepper, inside and out

3. Prick 2 whole lemons three times, each in different places with a fork and place them deep inside the cavity. 

4. Put the chicken in the oven, lower the oven temp. to 350 degrees and roast uncovered for 15 minutes.

5. Remove the roasting pan from the oven, and turn the chicken breast side up. Insert a meat thermometer and return to the oven. 

6. Cook about 20 minutes per pound or until the thermometer reads 180 degrees. I used a 5 lb. chicken so it cooked for around 2 hours total

I paired the chicken with creamy garlic mashed potatoes (recipe follows), steamed broccoli and a bottle of pinot noir. It was fantastic!

Creamy garlic mashed potatoes:

3.5 pounds of russet potatoes (I used potatoes from the local farmer's market. Delish!)

2 tablespoons kosher salt

2 cups half and half

6 garlic cloves, minced

6 oz. grated parmesan 

What to do:

1. Peel and dice potatoes then place in a large saucepan, add the salt, and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork.

2. Heat the half-and-half and the garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water. Mash and add the garlic-cream mixture and Parmesan; stir to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens and then serve.