Jeremy has been wanting to learn how to cook, in order to become more independent rather than facing the life of a helpless and starving bachelor; so I've been teaching him some simple dishes to prevent him from having to rely upon 39-cent boxes of generic macaroni and cheese or expensive take-out food. We've covered scrambled and fried eggs, as well as lasagna; and Jeremy can cook up a mean steak! And now he's learned something that is ridiculously simple and yet also impressive -- roast chicken.

The first instruction is this: since the oven is already on, roast two chickens rather than just one. You'll use the same amount of gas/electricity and the same amount of time, but you'll end up with double the food (a.k.a.: leftovers to freeze for future meals). People are always a bit taken aback when I tell them to do this -- as though it's extra effort, which it's not! -- but it makes perfect sense. You can also easily toss some potatoes, onions and carrots around the chickens, letting them roast right along with the meat and completing your meal without extra pots or pans to wash. This really is a perfect winter meal.

And a perfect Chanukkah meal, since the combination of olive oil and lemon juice that is drizzled over the chickens can be considered a celebration of the miracle of the Temple's 1-day supply of consecrated oil having lasted for 8 days. If you're bored just waiting for the roasting to be done, you could fry up a batch of latkes to serve on the side! But a simple salad or some fruit would be ideal complements to this comfort food ….

Roast Chicken

2 5-pound chickens 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 lemons 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425⁰ F.

Place each chicken into a baking dish, or place them both into a large (turkey-sized) roasting pan. Pour the oil over the chickens, rubbing it in to make sure that all of the skin is coated. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice over the chickens; place the squished lemons into the chicken cavities, so that the roasting lemon can help to permeate the meat with flavor. Sprinkle chickens with the salt, seasoned salt and pepper, then roast them for 45 minutes, brushing/basting them every 15 minutes with the juices at the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat down to 400⁰ F and roast for another 45 minutes, brushing/basting them every 15 minutes. Let the chickens rest for 15 minutes before cutting into them, to let the moisture settle into the meat and keep it from drying out. Then slice, serve and enjoy!

Mary Bilyeu has won or placed in more than 60 cooking contests and writes about her adventures as she tries to win prizes, feeds hungry teenagers and other loved ones, and generally just has fun in the kitchen. The phrase "You Should Only Be Happy" (written in Hebrew on the stone pictured next to the blog's title) comes from Deuteronomy 16:15, and is a wish for all her readers as they cook along with her ... may you always be happy here!

You can contact Mary at yentamary@gmail.com.