Bourbon Brown Sugar Chicken

Whether you love to cook or not, when you generally have a lot of people to cook for you start to value ease.  Lobster Thermidor seems like a marvelous idea when Julia Child makes it for 12 guests, but around 3/4 of the way through with hungry people waiting and my kitchen looking like Battle Lobster I sometimes want to cry.  Those are the moments when I think to myself, why didn't I just roast a chicken?
This is such a simple and popular dish, you can't go wrong with it really, and that's pretty exciting.  Plus anytime you're mixing bourbon and brown sugar you know the results will be good!  I served it with mashed yams and chevre (something else I rely on when cooking for a crowd - or just myself because it's really great and sometimes I must eat a whole bowl of potatoes alone. Yes, must), and a green salad.  Oh and Kir Royales, important not to forget those!

Bourbon Brown Sugar Chicken

1 cup melted butter
1/2 cup bourbon
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tbs maple syrup
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
raw chicken

• Preheat oven to 400F.
• Mix all ingredients except chicken together.  They'll be a bit lumpy but thats fine.
• Place the chicken breast up in a roasting dish.  Smear it with the bourbon butter mixture all over, but mainly the breasts and legs (reserve any extra sauce).
• Place the chicken in the oven and roast at 400F for 20 minutes (keep an eye on it, the sugar can burn!), then cover it with foil and reduce the temperature to 375F.  Baste the chicken every 20 minutes with the pan juices and any left over sauce. The chicken should cook til it's internal temperature measures over 170F.  For my chickens that was 2 hours, but mine were quite big.  Once the chicken is cooked remove the foil and turn the heat back up to 400F.  Leave the chicken (watching carefully) for about 5 minutes in the oven or until it's sufficiently browned.
• Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before you begin to carve.

Mashed Yams with Chevre

6 medium sized yams

6 oz goat cheese

salt and pepper

4tbs butter

• peel and chop the yams into cubes.
• microwave the yam cubes for 8 minutes (or until soft), then mash them in a large bowl with the butter.
• mix in the goat cheese with a wooden spoon.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Keep warm in the oven til serving time.  So simple but so popular!

Kir Royale

champagne or sparkling wine
creme de cassis

• add a tablespoon of creme de cassis to a champagne flute and then top it with about 6oz of champagne, voilà!

Travelin' Man - Dolly Parton