Mary Margaret and a Roasted Lemon Chicken

My dear friend, Mary Margaret, visited me for a few days this week. It was quite a journey for her as she lives in Alaska. MM and I were dining in Applebees when we were alerted that Mt. Redoubt had erupted and was spewing ash - all flights to Alaska had been canceled. Fortunately she did not have to return home just yet as she is spending another week in south Florida to visit family.


Mary Margaret - washing up. This is Sunday. This cleaning up bit was not a priority of mine but...she is the guest so she can do what she likes. And for some reason, she likes doing dishes!


Mary Margaret chatting with Doug. See little Aja sitting on the white rug, blending in? Geez, this makes my kitchen look so spartan.


Oh no....we are too drunk to focus.........

Right...that's better.


Ok...on to one of the meals we shared. This is a good one but it takes an hour and half total to roast. Totally worth it.

The Roasted Chicken

Start with three lemons, dried tarragon and a chicken.

Place one and a half teaspoons tarragon inside the chicken cavity. Slice the lemons in half. Place one half a lemon inside the cavity of the chicken.


The lemon stuffed chicken should look like this.


Peel 4 or 5 onions and slice in half.

In small saucepan melt a quarter cup unsalted butter, then add 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard and the juice from the lemons.

Place the chicken in the roasting pan breast side down.

Brush the chicken and onions with about half of the butter mixture.
Roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes then brush the chicken with butter mixture again.

Thirty minutes pass and you pull the roast pan out of the oven. Brush the onions with balsamic vinegar. I just pour it over the onions. More than 2 tablespoons should do it.

Pour a glass of wine and have some bread and cheese. Now put the chicken back in the oven and roast 30 more minutes.

Pull it out - now turn the chicken over so the breast side is up, being careful not to send the onions coasting across the pan. Because then the onions won’t be as good when they are broken up.


Brush the chicken and dab the onions with more butter mixture. Roast another 30 minutes or until done. If you haven’t had onions cooked this way you will be in for a treat. They are so flavorful and caramelized by the time the balsamic and butter meld in the onion.

Fork that bad boy and prepare to be carve. Be careful removing the lemon. Hot!


Look at it, all brown and lemony.



Toast! Slainte!






This is Monday. Mary Margaret - doing her thing. She loves washing up.


Nothing went to waste with this one. The leftover meat made soup and chicken salad. The bones went to making another pot of broth.

I'm sorry that we were so bone-headed that we forgot to take more photos. :-(

Next time.......