Roasted cauliflower, and sage and thyme roasted chicken

I like roasting things. Take any vegetable, and it's delicious roasted. It's the same with meat (no, not fish...I don't think). When in doubt, put some olive oil and salt on it and put it in the oven at 450 degrees. It might smoke up the kitchen a bit, but the outcome is usually good.

When we visited my mom this summer, she made us a sage-lemon-butter roasted chicken. In that spirit, I created a sage and thyme roasted chicken, and stuffed a quarter of a lemon in its cavity (it was a small chicken). Other than needing to shove butter, sage, and thyme under the skin, this could not be easier; just stick it in the oven until the meat reaches a safe temperature. For those who find the idea of poking around under chicken skin gross, just think: it makes the skin crispier and more delicious.

Since we did have a Romanesco cauliflower (a greenish-colored cauliflower that looks like a cross between cauliflower and broccoli), when the chicken was resting on the counter I put the florets into the hot oven. They were just coated with olive oil and salt, and cooked until tender. With a squirt of lemon juice to finish, the flavor was both bright and sweet.

No recipes here; just three guidelines: cook at 450 degrees (or, if you're brave, 500), don't be afraid of salt, and keep an eye on things; you don't want what you're roasting to burn. Depending on the layout of your kitchen and the sensitivity of your smoke detectors, you might also want to set up some fans to clear the smoke.