Oprah's Roasted Chicken

Sometimes when you come across a good thing, it's better not to ask too many questions.  And so it was that my father introduced me to Oprah's Roasted Chicken recipe.  How he came across this recipe, I'll never know, but I am sure glad that he did.  This chicken, heavy on the mustard, is tangy and delicious.  The recipe can be adapted for a whole chicken (in which the lemon rinds and some fresh herbs can be stuffed), or it can be prepared as indicated here using chicken pieces.  The whole chicken will make for a more elegant presentation, but I'm not above using drumsticks (especially for a weeknight meal) when it's just so much easier!


Ingredients:

• 4 to 6 chicken drumsticks (about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds)
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
• 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning (e.g., Bell's Seasoning or use a mix of dry herbs: rosemary, sage, thyme, parsley and oregano)

Directions:

      Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

1. Whisk together mustard, soy sauce, and lemon juice in a nonreactive bowl. The sauce should have a smooth and creamy consistency.
2. Place chicken pieces in a baking dish and the poor sauce over the chicken.  (You will likely have sauce left over.)
3. Dust with poultry seasoning.
4. Bake, covered, for about an hour, basting once or twice, until done.

Turn this into a quick and easy meal by serving the chicken with roasted carrots and baked potatoes.  The potatoes can go in the oven with the chicken to cook for 1 hour.  The carrots should be peeled and cut on the bias in large chunks, before being dressed with a little olive oil and salt.  Place them on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven after 30 minutes of cooking the chicken.  The sweetness of the carrots is a wonderful compliment to the chicken's tangy mustard sauce.  Delicious!