Orange-Whiskey Glazed Chicken

It’s raining here in DC so it’s the perfect night for my inaugural entry on Corcoran Street Kitchen. Those of you who know me know how much I love to cook, so I figured I might as well show off what I’m making for dinner. Special shout out to my VERY patient roomies and boyfriend who are the world's best test-tasters.
Tonight I made an Orange-Whiskey Glazed Chicken. I love to make whole roasted chickens because the chicken makes great meals all week sprinkled in a salad or on a sandwich. It probably seems intimidating to bring something home from the grocery store that looks like it could get up and walk around your kitchen unassisted, but fear not – this dinner is surprisingly simple to make. You will look like an IronChef talent without expending any more effort than it takes to maneuver through the throngs of yuppies at the Wholefoods salad bar. Psych yourself up and go get bird!!

Orange-Whiskey Glazed Chicken
Ingredients:
4lb. chicken
1 Orange
1 Onion
4 Garlic cloves
3 Tablespoon butter
3 Tablespoon Whiskey
1 Teaspoon ginger (powdered or fresh)
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Roughly chop up the onion and peel garlic. Use half the onion and 2 cloves to make a bed for the chicken to sit in your pan. Pour 1 tablespoon of whiskey over your bed and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Zest orange and cut in half, reserving the zest and half the orange for the glaze. Slice the other orange half into pieces.

4. Simmer butter, 2 tablespoons whiskey, ginger, juice from half an orange, and orange zest in a saucepan on medium heat for about 10 minutes to make a glaze (it won’t be very thick).

5. Unwrap your chicken and wash it thoroughly. Get very friendly with it, clean out the inside, remove the giblets, and rinse until the water runs clear.
6. Lightly pat chicken dry with a paper towel and place in the pan on top of your bed of onions and garlic.
7. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper inside and then stuff the pieces of onion, orange and 2 garlic cloves into the chicken. Sprinkle the outside VERY liberally with salt and pepper.

8. Spoon half the glaze over the chicken and bake covered (with a lid or foil) for an hour and a half.

9. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Remove the cover, spoon the rest of the glaze over the chicken and return uncovered to the oven to get crispy and delicious.
10. Bake at 400 for another 20-30 minutes and remove from the oven. I know this is vague, but you can guarantee that it's cooked by making a little slice where the leg connects to the body and if the juices run clear, you are all cooked.
11. Admire your beautifully crisp bird for 5 minutes until slicing it up and sharing it with your many admirers.