The temps were plunging and it was in the 30s. As luck would have it, there had been a great whole chicken sale at Stew's, so out came the big cast iron pan. I preheated it in the oven at 425° for about an hour... (Make sure the handle of your pan is oven-safe!)
I salted, oiled, and peppered the 6-pound bird (with some onion and sage in the cavity), tossed it in the pan, breast-side up, and let it roast for just over an hour. No muss. No fuss.
While that happened, I peeled, quartered, oiled, salted, and peppered a few medium Yukon golds. I nuked them for just 5 minutes, then tossed the whole bowlful onto a sheet pan, and into the oven they went. I also made a little of my family "dressing" - small cubes of oven-dried bread, sautéed onions garlic sage salt and pepper, some melted butter, and some chicken stock - and into the oven. (You'll need to stir the dressing every 10 minutes or so.)
And since it was such a cold night, I even made gravy: equal parts butter and flour cooked for two minutes... chicken stock whisked in... whole sage branches tossed in and allowed to simmer... and then the giblets from the chicken tossed in whole. I let this whole mess simmer and then strained out the sage and giblets. This will thicken as it sits, so have some more stock ready unless you want to do what I did... I added some of the rendered chicken fat and any juices that accumulated in the pan when the chicken rested after leaving the oven.
Not only was this a wonderful fall dinner, but the house smelled terrific all night!!!
