How to eat an entire chicken, day 1: Rosemary chicken

Some of my readers may know that my ancestry includes thrifty Scottish Presbyterians, industrious pioneers who reached the frontier of Missouri, and Pattawomeck Indians (Native Americans) by way of Pocahontas herself. These genetic roots have left me predisposed to hate wasting anything. Sometimes I have to get Andrew to throw something away for me because I just can't do it myself. Recycling helps. So does making a week's worth of meals out of one cute little chicken. Plus, it is incredibly cost-effective. Andrew and I can eat for about a week on the cost of one chicken, some carrots, celery, onions, two cups of Bisquick and some rice. And we can do it even though both of us are working full-time.

From one chicken (5.64 pounds), I made three meals: roasted chicken, chicken pot pie and chicken soup. Today we're starting with the roasted chicken, which is day 1 of the project. Roasting a chicken shouldn't be scary, but I know I was overwhelmed by it before I tried it. I don't like touching raw meat in general, but really this was okay. (I still refuse to bone my poultry like Julia Child keeps wanting me to.) If you're an experienced chef who cooks chicken all the time, I promise that this is still an exceptionally delicious way to go about it. Rosemary chicken was probably my all-time favorite meal growing up.

Roasted rosemary chicken
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place one whole roasting chicken in a roasting pan. Pull out the little paper bag of innards from the cavity and save it for later (I wrap it up in a plastic bag and put it in the fridge). Stuff the chicken with a carrot, peeled and cut into pieces; a couple of celery stalks; and an onion cut in half. Add several sprigs of rosemary to the cavity, and tuck some under the skin or between the legs. Tie the legs together using butcher's twine (they sell this at the grocery store, but you may have to ask) so they sit above the opening to the cavity, like in the picture.

Bake for 20-23 minutes per pound, or until the interior reaches 165 degrees. Some chickens come with their own little thermometer that pops up when it reaches the right temperature. Let stand 15 minutes before carving.

I serve this with whatever veggies I have on hand. If I'm making rice--I didn't this time--I also make gravy: brown flour in a cast-iron skillet and whisk it in with the drippings from the chicken. Delicious.

After dinner, strip the carcass of whatever you didn't eat. Save the meat in the fridge for later. Put the carcass, bones, skin and the innards from before in a pot to make into your chicken stock. We'll get to that tomorrow...