Spatchcocked Chicken With Potatoes

I'm starting to really love this method of cooking a whole chicken.  Maybe some of you already do it, but it's pretty new to me.  It's awesome because it takes a lot less time to cook than a whole roasted chicken.

The original recipe was found here, but I made a couple of minor changes which are what I'm posting here.

Basic Spatchcocking Method:
Any pan will do. For these recipes, you can use a roasting pan or a large cast-iron or heavy skillet.
1. Place 1 whole chicken (3-4 pounds), breast side down, on a work surface.
2. Starting at the thigh end, cut along one side of backbone with kitchen shears.
3. Turn chicken around; cut along other side. Discard or save backbone for stock.
4. Flip chicken over and open it like a book. Press firmly on breastbone to flatten.

Spatchcocked Chicken With Potatoes
Ingredients:
Serves 4

whole chicken (3-4 lbs)
coarse salt
ground pepper
4 thin lemon slices
4 sprigs fresh rosemary (the original calls for thyme)
1/2 lb quartered new potatoes (I estimated the amount needed for my family and used a mix of red and Yukon gold potatoes from the garden)
1 yellow onion
2 tsp. olive oil (I used Canola)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Season spatchcocked chicken with coarse salt and ground pepper.
2. Using your fingers, loosen skin from breast meat; tuck 4 thin lemon slices and 2 sprigs rosemary between skin and meat.
3. Place chicken, breast side up, in a pan. In a bowl, toss potatoes, 1 yellow onion, cut into 8
wedges, and 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed from stem, with two teaspoons olive oil; season with salt and pepper.  Add to pan.
4. Roast chicken until juices run clear when pierced between breast and leg (an instant-read thermometer
should read 165-degrees when inserted in thickest part of a thigh, avoiding bone), about 30-minutes. Let rest 5-minutes before carving.

(My chicken was over 6 lbs. so it wasn't done after 30 minutes.  I put a piece of foil over the breast portion, which was browning nicely, and left the legs exposed so they would brown more.  I didn't time how much longer I cooked it.  15-20 minutes maybe?  It could have been longer.  In any case, it was in and out of the oven in at least half the time it would have taken to roast it whole.  And who couldn't love a 30-minute roast chicken dinner?)

Butternut Bisque

So So So So SOOOOOOOO yummy.

(Source: Everyday Food)

3 T. butter

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 t. dried thyme

1/4 t. cinnamon

1/8 - 1/4 t. cayenne pepper (to taste)

coarse salt

1-2 large butternut squashes (totaling 4 lbs.) peeled, seeded and cubed

1 can (14.5 oz) reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 c. half-and-half

1. In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, thyme, cinnamon, and cayenne. Season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is softened, 5-7 minutes.

2. Add squash, broth and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Working in batches (or with a stick blender), puree until smooth. Stir in half-and-half, season with salt.