CHICKEN ARMAGNAC

• 1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
• 8 small thin-skinned potatoes, scrubbed and halved lengthwise
• 3 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, trimmed, peeled, and thickly sliced on the diagonal
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 1 thyme sprig
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 chicken, about 3 1/2 pounds, preferably organic, trussed (or wings turned under and feet tied together with kitchen string), and at room temperature
• 1/2 cup Armagnac (cognac or brandy)
• 1 cup water

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. You'll need a heavy casserole with a tight-fitting cover, one large enough to hold the chicken snugly but still leave room for the vegetables. (I use an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven.)

Put the casserole over medium heat and pour in the oil. When it's warm, toss in the vegetables and turn them around in the oil until they glisten, a minute or 2; season with salt and white pepper. Stir in the herbs and push everything toward the sides of the pot to make way for the chicken. Rub the chicken all over with salt and white pepper, nestle it in the pot and pour the Armagnac around the bird. Leave the pot on the heat for a minute to warm the Armagnac, then cover it tightly. If your lid is shaky, cover the pot with a piece of aluminum foil and then put the cover in place.

Slide the casserole into the oven and let it roast undisturbed for 60 minutes. Transfer the pot to the stove and carefully remove the lid and the foil, if you used it -- make sure to open the lid away from you, because there will be a lot of steam. After admiring the beautifully browned chicken, very carefully transfer it to a warm platter or, better yet, a bowl; cover loosely with a foil tent.

Using a spoon, skim off the fat that will have risen to the top of the cooking liquids and discard it; pick out the bay leaf and discard it, too. Turn the heat to medium, stir the vegetables gently to dislodge any that might have stuck to the bottom of the pot, and add the water, stirring to blend it with the pan juices. Simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens ever so slightly, then taste for salt and pepper.

Carve the chicken and serve with the vegetables and sauce.

Makes 4 servings.

Serving

You can bring the chicken to the table whole, surrounded by the vegetables, and carve it in public, or you can do what I do, which is to cut the chicken into quarters in the kitchen, then separate the wings from the breasts and the thighs from the legs. I arrange the pieces in a large shallow serving bowl, spoon the vegetables into the center, moisten everything with a little sauce, and then pour the remainder of the elixir into a sauceboat to pass at the table.

Storing

I can't imagine that you'll have anything left over, but if you do, you can reheat the chicken and vegetables -- make sure there's some sauce, so nothing dries out -- covered in a microwave oven.