So, the night before Halloween was way more eventful than the holiday itself. I was going to force Jesse to go to the ward harvest party with me, but we ended up just having a relaxing night at home with a yummy late dinner and pumpkin carving. On Halloween, Jesse was working, Tara went to a party, and Neil went to the temple, so I was the candy hander-outer. I killed time between trick-or-treaters by making cupcakes and roasting pumpkin seeds (and cleaning the kitchen). Finally, Cousin Kelly came and rescued me from boredom.

I need a better camera to fully capture the joy that is this roast chicken. I swear, it's the best, easiest roast chicken you'll ever make, and it makes the house smell like heaven while it's cooking. I think it's the ideal company dinner: it's a make-ahead deal, it smells so good, and best of all--it's cheap! Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme (or rosemary), plus 20 sprigs
1 lemon, quartered

1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges (I use potatoes, squash, or sweet potatoes--whatever fall vegetable I have)
Olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables. (I like to present it whole at the table, then let someone else do that carving.) I use thyme and rosemary almost interchangeably in this recipe. I also add a few slivers if butter to the veggies to help them brown and enhance the potatoes.

This, of course, is an Ina Garten recipe. You can watch her make this dish herself here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/perfect-roast-chicken/24509.html

Watch for her great chicken impression on this video. I like to think we're friends, Ina and I. She seems to feel about food the way I do: it should be prepared with love, skill, and butter, and should always be shared with friends. And I think her relationship with her husband is so sweet!

In other news, I finished my application to the University of York last night. I'm still voting for Kent, but if it's free, we might as well throw our net wide. I was looking at apartments in Paris last night (like ya do) and I realized that we have a serious problem! Anything we'll be able to afford won't have a kitchen! I can't live in Paris and not be able to cook! Yeeps! We'll see about that...

I start week 7 of my couch to 5k program today: run 25 minutes, or 2.5 miles, without stopping. I already did this on Saturday, and it was pretty tough. Hopefully it'll be easier this time. It's so fun being able to observe how fast our bodies adapt to this sort of thing. I've never stuck with running consistently enough to notice before.

I can't believe there are only 3 weeks until our cruise! And Disneyland! Yippeeee!