I adore Ina Garten. I love her recipes, her dreamy house in the Hamptons, and I love her roasted chicken.

The only thing I love more are my double stuffed potatoes. So, I present to you Ina’s roasted chicken and double stuffed potatoes.

We’ll start with the bird…

Add 4 carrots, 3 stalks of celery and a sliced onion to the bottom of a roasting pan. Ina’s recipe calls for fennel but me no likey. This will be the bed in which the chicken cooks so no need for a rack.
   

 Preheat the oven to 375°.

Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. I went with a 5.5lb beast.

Salt and pepper the cavity and the outside of the chicken, liberally. Brush the skin with melted butter.

Stuff a lemon (quartered) and a whole head of garlic in the chicken. For the garlic, just slice the top off the head. There’s no need to break it apart.

Lastly, add a few sprigs of thyme.

Roast the chicken for 30 minutes, breast side down.

After 30 minutes, crank the heat to 425, flip the chicken, add a cup of chicken stock to the pan and cook for another hour, or until your trusty thermometer reads 180° (about 60 minutes).

In the meantime, let’s get to the potatoes.

Scrub them clean and pat them dry. Liberally coat with light extra virgin olive oil and sea salt then poke a few holes in them with a sharp knife.

  
Bake two russet potatoes (this can be done ahead of time).

Remove the top third of each potato.

Save the tops and scoop out the innards of the potatoes into a bowl, along with butter, half and half, salt and pepper (as if you were making mashed potatoes).

Add a quarter onion (diced), salt and pepper, along with some parm (or any cheese…. Gruyere is also excellent!).

Now take the top of the potato and put it inside the empty shell. Stuff the potatoes and top with a little paprika.

When you have 30 minutes remaining for the chicken, put these in the oven. They’ll take 25-30 minutes to cook so they can continue to cook after you remove the chicken to rest.

Stevo loves his green beans so when the chicken is almost done, throw them in the roasting pan, along with the other veggies. There’s enough drippings to make them good and tasty.

For the pan gravy, remove the veggies with a slotted spoon. Add a half cup of white wine and bring the juices to a boil over medium – high heat. Reduce by half. Scrape up all the yummy brown bits on the bottom of the pan.

Sprinkle about a 1/4 cup of flour in the mixture and whisk like crazy. Add a cup of hot chicken stock, whisk like crazy and then add a cup of cream. Keep whisking! Add a few sprigs of thyme and some pepper. Gravy is done!!

Carve the bird, get some comfy pj’s on and enjoy!