Roast Chicken Dinner

I am a big fan of roast whole chicken. Growing up in a Chinese family, whole chicken were always steamed so when I went to boarding school in England, I had roast chicken for the first time and I immediately fell in love with it. The best roast chicken dinner I have ever had was with the Constantine's in their grandmother's sun room on a beautiful Sunday afternoon before returning to school that evening at Eastbourne, England. I distinctly remembered their grandmother started preparing the food that morning so I smelled it when I woke up and the wonderful meal was served with their best china. The roast chicken was accompanied by roasted potatoes, fresh brussel sprouts, carrots, and a smooth and light gravy. I remembered gobbling a huge plate full of food like a growing teenager and asking for seconds because I know it'll be a long time before I have food like this again once I am back in school.

A meal like that I am sure took grandmother Constantine years to perfect. I have only started to do roast dinners in my mid-20s so I still have years to work on replicating that memorable meal. But I have come close, and the results were not bad. Last Sunday, I took a recipe with mustard vinaigrette from Epicurious for the chicken. I used my favorite Yukon Gold potatoes from Farmer's Market for roasted potatoes, and bacon-garlic brussel sprouts. Here's some photos of the three elements:

I wished I put the chicken in the oven longer with lower temperature but I ran out of time.
It was 375 degrees for 1.5 hours.

I par boiled the potatoes first, then toss the potatoes with the roast chicken juice.
Put them in the oven in 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Chopped bacon and garlic, then sauteed the brussel sprouts in the bacon grease.
Added a little bit of chicken juice for extra flavor.

And the final product....simply comforting and delicious!!