Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Lemon and Asparagus

It's Friday. I am totally ready for my usual light weekend posting, if any, and tonight's is a little different for me. It's a recipe. I love to read a good cookbook. I troll the newspaper and magazines for something yummy looking to break up the usual hum drum. This one was a hit tonight for all three of us. Leftovers for another meal, too.

From the Houston Chronicle

Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Lemon and Asparagus

Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Packages of cut-up chicken in the supermarket often have 8 pieces. For even cooking, cut the breast pieces in half crosswise, making a total of 10 pieces. For dark, crispy skin use a shallow roasting pan (3 inches deep or less). Deeper pans trap more steam, keeping the meat from browning.

1 1/2 lbs new potatoes, halved
3 tbsps butter, cut into small pieces, divided
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 package cut-up whole chicken, about 3 lbs
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
6 springs fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
Place the potatoes and half the butter in a roasting pan. Season with the salt and pepper.
Roast, tossing once, until potatoes are golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
Place the chicken, skin side up, on top of potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
Roast until chicken begins to brown, about 20 minutes.
Scatter the asparagus, lemon, remaining butter and thyme around chicken.
Roast until the asparagus is tender and the chicken is opaque throughout, 5 to 15 minutes.
Serve chicken, vegetables and lemon drizzled with pan juices.

Makes 4 servings.

A salad and some rolls and you have a feast. I skipped the thyme, as I didn't have any. I increased the butter (I'm Southern) and also tossed in some scallions I had to roast with the potatoes. I used 2 large lemons instead of one. I use Kosher salt and it was coarse ground. I use fine ground sea salt for the top of the dish.

The best part? One dish to toss in the dishwasher.

Good stuff.