Late Summer Feast with Roasted Chicken and Chanterelle Gravy

This may look like a shot straight out of Bon Temps ("True Blood," anyone?) but it's really just this year's garlic crop from my dad's garden up on Whidbey Island. After a recent birthday lunch for his wife, Joanne, we came home armed with a few of these bad boys. Since we don't usually have this much garlic on hand, we decided to roast a whole head alongside some chicken and vegetables. Talk about a feast! Even if you're not ready for summer to end, a roast is a perfect preview to all the reasons why fall cooking is so great. Elliott is a true gravy master and whenever he's on the hunt for chanterelles, I know I'm in for a meal that will truly feed my soul.

Ingredients: 1 whole chicken 1/4 cup olive oil 1 tbsp. brown sugar Oregano, thyme, paprika, salt & pepper 1 head of garlic Fall vegetables (green beans, carrots, onion) Whisk together the olive oil, brown sugar and spices. Rub the chicken with the olive oil and stick a few cloves of garlic underneath the skin.  Roast along with the remaining garlic and assorted vegetables in a 425˚ oven for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 375˚ and continue roasting for another 45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 155-160˚. We always find that the bird will carry-over the last 5-10 degrees. Remove from the oven and let stand for at least 10 minutes Elliott's Chanterelle Gravy Chicken drippings 1 lb. fresh chanterelles 4-5 roasted garlic cloves 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp flour 1 1/2 cups chicken or veg. broth 1/4 white wine Shred the chanterelles with your fingertips into evenly sized pieces. Transfer as many of the roasting pan drippings into a saute pan (or just do it in the roasting pan on a couple of burners, if you're a boss like Elliott's grandma). Get as many solids as possible and a tbsp. or so of the chicken fat. Add another tbsp. of olive oil or butter to the pan and add the chanterelles. Saute the mushrooms over medium heat until they've released their liquid and have begun to brown. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and add the 2 tbsp. of butter and 2 tbsp. of flour. Stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture begins to brown and is beginning to smell like brown butter. Pour in the white wine and combine with the roux. Once it's cooked down a bit, slowly add in the broth, stirring constantly. Add back the chanterelles and let the mixture simmer for a few minutes.  Blend together with a burr mixer, or pour into a blender and mix until smooth.