Easy Roasted Chicken

Crunchy, crispy skin - that's what half of my family goes for. I am in the other half with tender, moist meat. Whichever side you pick, this roasted chicken has it all. It's as easy as picking up a rotisserie chicken from the deli and much tastier, not to mention cheaper. For about $.70/lb you can easily get two, maybe three meals out of a whole chicken. It's a great meal to make for company since it looks very delicious. My favorite recipe for roasting chicken comes from a Dacor oven cookbook. It's meant for a convention microwave (I was lucky enough to get one of these beauties when we moved into our house and it is incredible) but I have converted the recipe to a traditional oven for those of you mere mortals. Superpowers are found in the convention microwave. Where else can you bake brownies and muffins, turn around and roast a chicken, nuke some frozen veggies and top it all off with popcorn? If you have a convection microwave, you don't need anything else (well except an oven big enough for Thanksgiving day).

Roast Chicken

1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground coriander
dash of pepper

5-6 lb roasting chicken (thawed, emptied of disgusting giblets, rinsed with water and patted dry)
2 tbsp margarine, melted
1/2 c minced onion (and yes, I've substituted 1/4c dried minced onion)
1/2 c plain yogurt (again, I've used Greek and when desperate vanilla, but I wouldn't recommend strawberry)
1/2 c half and half (or whipping cream or whole milk)
1 tsp turmeric (this I never have, but I'm gonna invest one of these days)
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. The official recipe says to combine the first three spices and rub them into the chicken. I'm not a fan of rubbing chickens. When I get that intimate with them, I only think about our Girls in the backyard, not good for my appetite. So I cheat and combine all the spices with the melted butter, yogurt, and half and half. Then you spread this mixture all over the chicken with a sauce brush  - no touching necessary. Once the chicken looks like a kid who's overprotective mom slathered them with a little too much sunscreen, you are ready to cook.

Put in the oven for about an hour. The white meat should no longer be pink and the leg should come out easily. Take it out of the oven and let it rest for a while. You can build the chicken a little teepee out of foil to keep it moist during it's naptime if you like.

There it is, no trussing, tying, stuffing or even touching the bird. A very easy main dish. Keep napkins nearby when eating this, because it's crispy, crunchy, moist AND tender! And leftovers are perfect for any meal calling for cooked chopped chicken. Although, it's likely you won't have enough leftovers because this stuff makes the best chicken sandwiches.