Roast Chicken with Grapes

Ingredients

• 1 roasting chicken, about 4 to 5 pounds
• 1 lemon, cut into thin wedges
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 onion, peeled, cut into eight wedges
• 1 large bunch of seedless grapes
• A few sprigs of fresh rosemary, thyme, sage, and/or tarragon
• 2 cups of white wine
• Extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Set the chicken out at room temperature, about 70 degrees F, for at least an hour before it goes into the oven, so the chill comes off before roasting. Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Blot the chicken well, then coat the inside and outside with olive oil. Season both the cavity and the skin with salt and pepper.
2. Pull about a cup's worth of grapes off the stems, halve them, and tuck them into the chicken cavity.
3. Slip a couple onion wedges inside the chicken, followed by a few fresh herb sprigs. The rosemary can stay right on its stem. Add a couple lemon wedges to the cavity as well.
4. Scatter onion slices and lemon wedges across the base of a roasting pan. Set the chicken on a rack in the pan, positioned over the onion and lemon, with the breast side facing down.
5. If you prefer, you can skip the rack and set the chicken right in the pan on the onions; the breast meat will cook in the juices more than it will roast.
6. Tuck herb sprigs and lemon slices in the spaces between the wings and the body. Add any remaining grapes, lemon wedges, and herbs to the roasting pan.
7. Roast the chicken at 450 degrees F for 25 minutes. Pour a cup of the wine over it to baste, then lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Continue cooking for 30 minutes, then baste once more with the 2nd cup of wine.
8. Roast for another 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the chicken's size, until the juices are clear rather than pink when you pierce the thigh with the tip of a knife, or until a meat thermometer pushed deep into the breast or thigh registers 160 degrees F.
9. Take the chicken out of the oven and tent it with aluminum foil. Leave it to rest for 15 minutes; the temperature inside will keep climbing as it sits.
10. Move the chicken to a carving board and turn it breast side up. Cut the legs away from the body, separating each drumstick and thigh, then remove the wings.
11. Cut along the breast bone. Working down one side, slice the breast meat free from the carcass, using the curve of the rib cage as your guide. Do the same on the other side.
12. Cut the breasts crosswise for serving. Transfer the chicken pieces to a platter with the roasted grapes and caramelized onions from the pan around them. Spoon the pan sauce over the chicken.
13. Serve with rice or egg noodles.