Best Delicious and Easy Dinner goes to . . .

Flat roasted chicken with tiny potatoes!!!! From "The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook" by Deb Perelman

This one looked so simple I didn't try it for a while thinking it would be just like any other roasted chicken and potatoes.  Boy was I wrong.  This was just delicious, tender, flavorful chicken that I kept dipping into the drippings in the pan.  The roasted potatoes were a little run-of-the-mill but accompanied the chicken okay.  Maybe it was because I couldn't find the tiny potatoes Deb talked about and had to settle for the only yellow potatoes I could find.  Maybe you can find some . . . so you can make
FLAT ROASTED CHICKEN WITH TINY POTATOES modified only slightly

One 3-3 1/2 pound chicken (mine was slightly bigger)

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 pounds tiny yellow potatoes

Olive oil

1 lemon

1 T minced fresh thyme leaves

(PS this recipe is not for the squeamish, you actually have to cut a chicken).  Preheat your oven to 450.  Using kitchen shears or a sharp kitchen knife, remove the backbone from the chicken and discard it.  Season the cavity (underside) of the chicken with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  The recipe uses table salt, but I much prefer kosher.  Lay, breast side up, in a roasting pan or cast iron skillet (I, like Ms. Perelman, like the cast iron skillet, it was the perfect pan).  Gently pat skin dry with paper towel and season top of chicken with more salt and pepper.  Peel potatoes and nestle them around chicken.  Drizzle olive oil over chicken and potatoes and sprinkle the potatoes with salt and pepper.

Roast 30-45 minutes until thermometer in thigh registers 165.  Toss potatoes about 20 minutes into cooking so they cook evenly.  

When finished, transfer potatoes to serving bowl or platter, then cut apart chicken with sharp knife: remove legs, thighs, wings, and breasts (I also cut breasts in 2 pieces each).  Squeeze lemon over dish, then sprinkle with thyme.  Eat at once.

*Note: can actually make this dish ahead a day, wrap tightly in foil, and the next day remove the foil and place the dish directly in the preheated oven.  Add about 10-15 minutes to cooking time.

This is a delicious, very easy classic dish for a fancy dinner or a just a really delicious week night meal.