"The Guy Cooks!"

Pourin’ rain last night. Wanted to do something fun for my girl, but barbequing was out. Looked in the freezer and found a nice, 6 pound whole roasting chicken. Perfect! Decided to do it in the oven.

After defrosting it in the small sink filled with warm water, I unwrapped it, pulled out the neck, liver and gizzards, and did the standard garlic sliver “jab and poke” trick, inserting bits of garlic under the skin (see Chicken!).

Since I’d had such good results using McCormick’s “Mediterranean Herb” Roasting Rub on the prime rib and the rack of lamb, I rubbed a generous amount all over the bird after spraying some olive oil (this is where one of those cool, stainless steel pump-sprayers really comes in handy) on the skin. I put it on the same poultry rack that I use on the grill and placed the rack on a small, shallow oven pan to catch the drippings.

Started off with the oven on “Broil”, at 450 degrees. When I saw the top and sides start o brown, I switched to “Bake” and roasted it for about 1: 45. Every so often, I basted the bird with the drippings in the pan to protect the skin. About half way though the cooking process, I sprayed a little more olive oil on the skin for protection. Again, you can tell the bird is about ready when the legs start to sag away from the body.

Pulled it out, let it sit for about 10 minutes and started sampling it. Wow. WOW! That rub really adds a lot! The bird was wonderful! Teamed it up with my favorite Italian salad - “Insalata Caprese” (see “Killer Salad!). A good bottle of Pinot Grigio along with it?

Fantastic!