Sunday Night Dinner

ROAST SPATCHCOCKED LEMON CHICKEN
Listening to: Pete Bjorn and John, Writer's Block

 (Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Living):

Prep time: 20 min Total time: 1 hr. 20 min Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 whole 4-pound chicken
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 lemons, thinly sliced, divided
• 6 small shallots (6 ounces), peeled and quartered lengthwise
• Fresh or dried thyme sprigs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken, breast side down, on a work surface. Starting at thigh end, cut along 1 side of backbone with kitchen shears. Turn chicken around; cut along other side. Discard backbone or SAVE FOR STOCK (in a freezer bag). Flip chicken, and open it like a book. Press firmly on breastbone to flatten.
   
2. Rub chicken with 1 tablespoon oil, and season with 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Brush 1 tablespoon oil in the center of a rimmed baking sheet slightly larger than the size of the chicken, and place half the lemon slices in a single layer on top of oil. Place chicken, skin side up, on lemons. 
   Beginning at the neck end of breast, carefully loosen skin from flesh of breast and thighs with your fingers. Slide remaining lemon slices under skin in a single layer.
   
3. Roast chicken 20 minutes. Toss shallots with remaining teaspoon oil, and scatter around chicken. Stick thyme sprigs under skin and under chicken. Continue to roast chicken until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast reaches 165 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes more.
   
   
   Serve and enjoy! Not only will your house smell delicious, but the presentation is pretty impressive as well. It feels so good to bring out a beautiful roast chicken to share with dinner guests! It has the "oo ahhh" effect for sure.
   There are so many things you can do with leftover chicken too! (If you can manage to save any): Salads, sandwiches, soups, etc.   
   Today I plan on making a chicken and rice soup for lunch.
   

I also tossed some turnips and carrots with enough olive oil to coat, a little apple cider syrup, salt and pepper, and roasted them at 375 for about 1/2 an hour.