Chicken Roasted with Garlic - For Two

Roasting chicken is always an easy way to prepare a nice dinner and there are so many different ways to implement it.  This particular recipe caught my eye because of the garlic; the amount of garlic, that is.

The original recipe called for a whole head of garlic per person.  For Lovey and myself I used one.

To make peeling that many garlic cloves a little easier, pour boiling water over the separated cloves and let sit for about 10 minutes, drain and peel.  Dry them off well in a paper towel.

Combine softened butter with fresh herbs; I used chopped thyme.

Lovey prefers white meat so I bought him a whole, bone-in breast and for myself a leg/thigh quarter.  A third of the butter will be spread underneath the skin of the breast with the remainder spread on both sides of the chicken pieces and the bottom of the roasting pan (don't use a glass pan for this recipe).

Place the chicken pieces in the pan and toss the garlic cloves all around the chicken.

 After about an hour you'll have juicy, tender, and flavorful chicken.

This might be the best part of the meal though.  Like eating candy.  And good for you too!

Chicken Roasted with Garlic - For Two
Adapted from a recipe by Sally Darr of La Tulipe
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 whold bone-in chicken breast skin on
1 - chicken leg/thigh quarter skin on
1-1/2 Tbsp. softened butter
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
1 head garlic

Mise en place:

• bring butter to room temperature
• separate cloves from the head of garlic, place in bowl and pour boiling water over garlic cloves - set 10 minutes
• rinse off chicken pieces and dry well
• chop fresh thyme
• peel garlic cloves and dry in paper towel
• combine softened butter and thyme

Method:
Preheat oven to 450°F.  Sprinkle both sides of chicken pieces with kosher salt.

Gently ease skin away from the chicken breast with your finger and spread one third of the thyme butter under skin.  Rub both sides of the chicken pieces with most of the remaining butter, reserving about a teaspoon.

Smear the reserved teaspoon of thyme butter in the bottom of a roasting pan (not glass).

Roast chicken, basting 3 to 4 times with pan juices, for a total of about 1 hour, or until the juices run clear when the meaty part of the thigh is pricked with a skewer or knife.  If the juices are pink, continue to roast chicken for 5 to 10 minutes longer (or at least 165°F on thermometer).

Place chicken on serving platter and allow to rest about 10 minutes before carving.