Cook's Illustrated's Potted Chicken

This is one of the recipes that I come back to all the time, it is such a hit here, and although it takes a while to cook, the actual work this requires is minimal.  I found this recipe in my Cook's Illustrated Best International Recipes cookbook, and it is one of the first ones I tried.  The sauce is out of this world, and the chicken is so darn moist.  We remove the skin, but you don't have to if you like the salty flavor of the skin.  It won't have crispy skin, but it does taste good.  Because of the variables in the chicken size, it is difficult to calculate calorie information, but for 180 g of chicken and 1/4 of the sauce, the calories are 303.  Aaron and Owen gave this a 9, and Noah and I gave this a perfect 10.  Like I said, this is one of our family favorite recipes, it's something we have all the time.  Here's what you do:

1 whole roasting chicken (4 1/2-5 lbs, giblets discarded)
1 T olive oil
2 large shallots sliced thinly
6 medium garlic cloves, peeled and trimmed
1 c chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 t minced fresh thyme leaves
2 T unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces and chilled

Preheat oven to 375.  Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Add the oil, shallots, and garlic cloves to a large Dutch oven, and lay the chicken on top, breast side up.  Cover and bake until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees, about 1 hour.  Tip the chicken to drain the juices, then set aside and cover with foil to rest while making sauce.  Separate the fat in the juices, then stir in the broth, bay leaves, and thyme.  Bring to a boil, and cook until the liquid has reduced to 1 cup, about 5-10 minutes.  Remove the bay leaves off the heat, whisk in the butter and season to taste.  Carve the chicken then serve with the sauce.

Definitely try this one, it is so easy and delicious.