Roast Butterflied Chicken w/ Potatoes

We accidentally double-ordered whole chickens this week, and we planned to try out two new recipes. Instead, we cooked this twice this week it was so yummy, with minor variations the second time for fun. With the two of us, there is enough for dinner and some leftovers (some I had for lunch, some we cooked into a quick chicken fettucine later in the week)

• 1 whole chicken (3-4 lbs ideal, but anything over 2.5 lbs will be fine)
• 2-3 yukon gold potatoes (or 1-2 baking potatoes of your choice--you will want lots of these, so don't skimp!) 
• 1.5 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbs butter
• Salt & Pepper
• Any dry herbs of your choice. We used classic Italian spices, since we prefer it - oregano, basil, garlic salt, onion powder, and rosemary. A tsp of each is probably enough, or whatever you eyeball to get decent coverage on your chicken

Turkey Day happiness...

Here in Seattle, we are having a white Thanksgiving. I don't remember one since I was a wee little girl, so it is magical. It will turn to rain soon, and get slushy and yuck, but hubby and I are enjoying the winter wonderland immensely for now.

I have begun cooking, and the house is already filling with delicious smells. Honestly, we really began yesterday morning when I cooked up the brining liquid, filled our cooler with salt/suger/stock/allspice berries and plopped our 20lb bird in to float around for 18 hours in said cooler set up on the snowy back deck.  About five years ago we started brining our bird in a simple water/salt/sugar blend, and two years ago we began to bypass stuffing our bird and instead using aromatics as recommended by our beloved Alton Brown--we will never ever make a turkey any differently ever again, and it even informed how we bake whole chickens throughout the year.  In a word: YUM! This year we're going whole hog and using Alton's full recipe from brine to finish, and I am completely confident it will be the best bird yet! I am searing the skin now, will tent it and cook until our family arrives this afternoon. Chris' sister and her husband, and Bapa will be joining us this year.

It's a bittersweet holiday this season, not having Pat here. I find myself trying not to cry now and again, so I cannot even imagine what is in Chris and Steph's hearts as they face the first holiday without their beautiful mother.  It makes me reflect on my family, on how little I get to see them, how much I miss my father and my grandmother... but it also makes me feel even closer to my new family I married into. Getting to spend time with them has become such a joy for me as I have gotten to know them better in recent years, and we are even closer now after what we have gone through this summer.

To sum it up, this Thanksgiving, they are my greatest blessing. I am so thankful for my family, and how warm they are in my heart this season in particular.  I am thankful for their kindness, their humor, their generosity, and their love.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. May yours be as sweet and full of love as mine is today.