Roast Chicken with Herbed Goat Cheese

In Somewhere in France, Lilly joins her brother Edward and best friend Charlotte Brown for lunch at London’s famed Savoy Hotel on Christmas Day, 1916. Everything on the menu is too rich for their tastes, so Edward asks if they may have something plain instead. The chef obliges with a delicious meal of roast chicken, potatoes Lyonnaise, and tender new Brussels sprouts.

In an homage to their meal that day, I offer my recipe for Roast Chicken with Herbed Goat Cheese. I’m not sure where I discovered this variation on the standard recipe for roast chicken, and after digging around found no trace of its origins in my embarrassingly large collection of cookbooks. It’s one of those dishes that looks terrifically impressive and difficult to prepare, but is actually very simple.

It’s also a secret weapon for anyone wishing to cook their way into someone’s heart. I know, because I served it to my now-husband the first time he came to my apartment for dinner. That was fifteen years ago—and I will never forget the look on his face when I pulled the chicken, perfectly roasted and smelling like heaven, out of the oven.