Roast Chicken with Cranberry Gravy Recipe

Preparation: The Chicken: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Wash the chicken inside and out and drain. Rub the inside with the garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper . Stuff the herbs into the cavity and tie the legs together. Place on a rack in a roasting pan large enough to hold the chicken and the sweet potatoes . Bake until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (75 degrees C), about 1-1/2 hours. After 1 hour, put the sweet potatoes in the pan and let them bake for the remaining 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the chicken and sweet potatoes to a carving board, reserving the cooking juices in the pan. The Cranberry Gravy: In a saucepan, combine the chicken parts, onion, cloves, garlic , peppercorns , rosemary , chicken stock, salt , and 1 cup of the cranapple juice. Cover, bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 1 hour. After the chicken has been removed from the oven, finish the gravy by pouring a little of the strained gravy liquid into the roasting pan to deglaze it. Then pour the pan residue into a fat strainer. Pour the defatted juices into a medium-sized saucepan with the rest of the strained gravy liquid, add the remaining 1/2 cup of cranapple juice and the dried cranberries , and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, stir in the arrowroot slurry, return to the heat, and bring to a boil to thicken and clear, about 30 seconds. To Serve: Carve the chicken into thin slices and nestle them beside the sweet potatoes , ladled with the gravy . Steamed broccoli florets and stalks would complete the picture. Yield: 4 servings Source: Graham Kerr's Kitchen by Graham Kerr (Putnam & Sons) Reprinted with permission.