Roast Chicken

Last night's dinner:

• Roast Chicken
• Pasta with Garlic and Olive Oil
• Green Salad

The next time you want to run in to the store to buy a rotisserie chicken - DON'T. This recipe is so damn easy you might just as well stop by the meat counter and pick up a roasting chicken instead. The prep time is minimal, and we can all do without the extra fat they inject into those deli birds.

Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees.

Rinse the chicken and dry thoroughly with a paper towel. Put about three tablespoons of Kosher salt into a small dish and add ground black pepper to taste. Rub the cavity with the salt and pepper. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on the breast and rub into the skin. Then coat the outside of the chicken thoroughly with salt and pepper too.

Tie those legs together with some kitchen twine, slap it in a roasting pan, and slide the whole deal in the oven. Set the timer for sixty minutes. Walk away. Do not open the oven door, do not baste the chicken. In fact, pour a glass of wine. Read your kid a book. Fold a load of laundry. Clean up dog vomi… oh sorry; that’s just a my house.

After an hour (just to make sure it’s done) pierce a leg with a fork to make sure the juice runs clear (it will). Baste the chicken with pan drippings, cover with a loose foil tent, and let it sit for ten to fifteen minutes.

When you carve the chicken, the skin will be crispy and salty. The meat will be so moist you won’t NEED gravy. (But you could make some if you did potatoes instead of pasta.)

While the chicken is resting cook the pasta. I used bowtie last night, but any short cut would work. Mix olive oil with garlic, salt and pepper (I use about a tablespoon of oil per serving). Toss the cooked pasta with the oil with and some grated parmesan. Simple and yummy.