Easy Entertaining-oven roasted organic dijon chicken

So the out of town relatives are staying by you for the holidays and from now till Chirstmas you need to prepare a few special meals? Effortless entertaining has never been so easy, my secret is oven roast_____ (fill in the blank). Roasting is such a simple, mess free solution to dinner party delight. I roast lamb, pork loins, short ribs, chickens, hams and turkeys. Roasts look beautiful, make the house smell wonderful and makes cooking for a crowd a cinch. Try my Oven Roasted Organic Dijon Chicken, it's  a sure fire hit

Oven Roasted Organic Dijon Chicken
1 (4-5lb.) organic chicken
1/4 cup of dijon mustard
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 tbsp of paprika
2 tbsp of garlic powder
2 tbsp of black pepper
3 tbsp of kosher salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 425
Combine mustard, oil and spices
Rub under skin and massage into bird
Roast chicken 1 hour and 45 minutes or until juices run clear (may be shorter or longer depending on your stove)

Butternut Squash with Pineapple and Slivered Almonds- Perfect sides

I was making my favorite but usual Butternut and Dried Cranberry side dish last night. I don't know about you but I'm starting to come down with a case of the winter blues so I decided to give my squash a summer spin by adding canned pineapples and almonds for crunch. Fantastic!  The pineapples caramelized beautifully with the squash and the crunchy almonds just took my dish to the next level. This is a great recipe to try out when you're snowed in or just looking to add a twist.

Jen DePalma's Butternut Squash and Pineapple Side

1 lb of cubed butternut squash

1 cup of all natural canned pineapple plus the juice

2 tbsp of brown sugar

2 tsp of salt

2 tbsp of olive oil

1/4 cup of slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Combine all ingredients and place in casserole dish (cover tightly with foil wrap)

Bake 20 minutes, remove foil and cook 10-15 minutes more until golden brown

Bon Appetit!
Combine all ingredients

Master Chef Try Outs this Saturday NYC

Think you have what it takes to be the next Master Chef? Want to win $250,000.00 plus a cook book contract? Master Chef try outs are hitting New York City this weekend (12/10/11 &12/11/11)  at 135 West 52nd street.
You better get there early doors open at 10am but contestants are usually spotted by 5am! Be sure to bring your signature dish and I repeat, I repeat only amateur cooks apply. If you have a a culinary degree(like yours truly) you will be disqualified otherwise I'd be a shoe in!

Want to learn to cook like a Master Chef? I offer private cooking lessons to NYC startign at just $250, email couturechefs@yahoo.com for details.

Jamie Oliver: Teach Every Child About Food