Roast Chicken and Buttermilk Biscuits

Saerah's Best-Ever Roast Chicken Position a rack in the center (or low center) of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Combine: 2 minced cloves of garlic the zest of one lemon the juice of half that lemon 1 tsp each of dried rosemary and thyme 2 Tb minced fresh parsley 2 Tb melted butter a pinch of ground red pepper and set aside. Take the de-zested lemon and slice 5 very thin slices from the middle. I do this before I squeeze the juice out of the lemon half, btw :> ). Cut one of the slices in half, and remove all the seeds and discard them. Set aside. Remove the neck and giblets from, then rinse and pat dry: 1 whole chicken season the bird inside and out with salt and pepper, and stuff the cavity with the lemon halves, a few crushed cloves of garlic, and 4 or 5 stems of parsley. Carefully loosen the skin of the bird all over, and rub the butter mixture all over the chicken, under and over the skin. Take each whole lemon slice and place one beneath the skin of each breast and thigh. The half sliced go under the skin of the drumstick. To truss up the chicken into a nice shape easily, cut a slit near the edge of the flesh/fat that hangs near the cavity of the bird, and slip the opposite leg in the apporpriate slit. Tuck the wings behind the breast of the chicken, too. Place the prepared chicken on its side (leg facing up!)a rack in a large baking pan. Roast for about 25 minutes (If your chicken is larger than 4 pounds, add a few minutes to this time for each pound over). Turn the chicken over to the other leg , baste with pan juices, and roast for another 25 minutes (again, with a larger bird, add some time as above). Turn the chicken breast-up to finish- my recipe says 15 minutes, but it always seems to take closer to a half hour. When the leg wiggles easily, the juices are clear, the temp is at least 165 in the thigh *and* the breast, it's done. Let rest for 10 minutes under foil, before serving, so the biscuits can get cooked, and then carve and serve. MMMMM! Buttermilk Biscuits: (if you are baking these right away, preheat the oven to 450 F. If not, don't :>) whisk together: 2 cups flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt Blend in with your fingers or a pastry cutter: 6 TB cold butter, cut into small pieces when the flour and butter have amalgamated somewhat you dont want them blended, you just want to sort of push the flour into the butter, and vice versa. there should still be pea-sized chunks of butter, and some smaller ones, not a paste of flour and fat.), add 3/4 cup of buttermilk. Mix with a spoon, and when everything is blended, flour your hands, gather it into a ball, and knead it gently against the side of the bowl until all the flour has been incorporated. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface, and roll out until it is about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick. Cut with a metal biscuit cutter or cookie cutter. To freeze, place on a baking sheet, and place in freezer. When biscuits are partially frozen, put them in bags, seal out the air, and keep in freezer. I don't know how long they last there, but I imagine even freezer-burnt homemade biscuits are better than the "whack on the counter" variety. bake @ 450 for 10-12 minutes, or until browned nicely on the tops.