Yesterday, I roasted the chicken I brined over the weekend. I made a bed of green peppers, carrots, onions and celery that was moistened with chicken broth. Then I rubbed in a mixture of chopped garlic, chopped shallots, ground rosemary, black pepper & sweet Hungarian Paprika under and over the skin, stuffing the extras in the body cavity. The chicken then rested on top the bed of the aromatics in a 400 degree oven for several hours. The end result was simply marvelous: soft and so full of flavor. I'm sure I would've eaten at least half of the 6 lb. bird if I didn't exercise restraint.

The big upside of cooking the chicken (asides from the several lbs of chicken meat I get to use in myriad "leftovers" dishes) is that I have a wonderfully flavored chicken carcass + drippings to use in making some excellent stock. I'm planning on using the stock for a nice chicken soup...perfect food for the winter months.