Lemon Garlic Roasted Chicken

In December, we did an interview for the online magazine Doctor's Wives Living, for whom we have been contributing recipes. One of the questions we were asked was "For people who do not cook regularly, what one dish they learn to make for a dinner party?" My answer was a simple roasted chicken, its easy, quick and always tastes good. Roast chicken is beautiful for homey dinners, or for fancy get togethers.

Ingredients:
1 roasting chicken (you can also use a fryer, but roasters are larger and more tender)
1 lemon, quartered
2 whole heads of garlic
2 tablespoons butter
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
salt and pepper

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Take the chicken and check it for any residual feathers or fat around the neck and cavity.
3. Pat the chicken dry both inside and out. Salt and pepper the inside of the cavity.
4. Stuff the cavity with thyme, 1 head of garlic (cut in half crosswise), and lemon pieces.
5. Rub the chicken with butter, and salt and pepper liberally.
6. Place in a roasting pan or deep sided casserole dish.
7. Break the remaining head of garlic into cloves, leaving the skin on, and put in the bottom of the pan.
8. Bake the chicken, basting every 30 minutes, for 90 minutes, until juices run clear, or until the leg pulls easily when you pull on it.
9. Let rest at least 15 minutes before carving.

Tip: The garlic in the bottom of the pan will be beautifully roasted, and can either be used to further flavour the gravy. But it is even better if you squeeze it out of the skins and put it in your mashed potatoes, or just spread it on fresh french bread.  So awesome!!!