Apple Cider Chicken with Roasted Garlic Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Here is the holiday dish I have been promising to put up. We took two roasting chickens marinated them in good quality apple cider and salt for 48 hours and then roasted them to perfection. There was no need to stuff the cavity with any herbs or veggies as the flavor turned out very robust on its own. If you do want to a little more to the chicken then stuff some onion and garlic in the cavity to add to the depth. Honestly though I do not think you will need anything else as far as flavor is concerned. Now onto the sweet potatoes, I wanted sweet and savory. Roasted garlic, kosher salt, black pepper, unsalted butter, a pinch of fresh grated cinnamon, a pinch of cayenne, and 1/4 cup gravy made from the drippings of the roasted chickens made these sweeties out of this world delicious. I paired these two items with fresh green beans sauteed with butter and cracked black pepper.

I will post the recipe for this soon. It is so easy to make and will please any crowd for the holidays!

Ingredients
The chickens:
2 whole fryer chickens- more tender than roasters
2/3 cup kosher salt
1 gallon quality apple cider
1 tbsp cinnamon
Unsalted butter
Note: Cooking times on these birds are not exact as every oven is different.

1. 1 cup kosher salt rubbed (split between the two) all over the cavity and outside.
2. 1 tbsp fresh grated cinnamon evenly sprinkled over each chicken on the outside. Rub the cinnamon and salt into the chickens well.
3. Place in a large bowl making sure there is enough room that both birds will fit. Poor the entire gallon over the chickens. Cover and let marinate for 48 hrs.
4. Remove chickens from the marinade, run with unsalted butter, and place in both in a large roasting pan. Take about 2 cups of the marinade and add to the bottom of the pan. Make sure the chickens are not touching eat other or the liquid. Preheat oven to 425 and roast the chickens for 1hr 10 min breast side down then flip and cook for another 30 minutes or until internal temp is about 165F at the breast, 175 at the thigh. Let rest for 10 minutes and slice it up how you like it. Keep drippings.

The tatters:
4 large whole garlci cloves peeled
6 lbs sweet potato peeled, rinsed, and chopped into 1'' cubes, boiled till tender
1/2 tbsp EVOO
4 tbsp unsalted butter
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
3 tsp fresh grated cinnamon or to taste
3 tbsp quality honey. I use a local spring honey.

1. 4 large whole cloves garlic peeled and placed in a piece of foil with 1/2 tbsp EVOO, a pinch of salt, and black pepper. Roast for 35 minutes or until golden and tender. Let cool and dice up.
2. Mash up your cooked sweet potatoes, add butter, and cinnamon to taste. Mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste always starting off with a little at a time and building it up.

The green beans:
Prepare the fresh beans first, snip off the ends. Place in a pot of boiling water just enough to cover the beans and blanch for 3 minutes. Immediately place in ice cold water to stop them from cooking more.
Simply saute the beans in 1-2 tbsp of unsalted butter with cracked pepper, a pinch of salt, and 2 garlic cloves diced.

The gravy:
1/2 cup flour
1 cup water
Drippings should be about 1/2 a cup

1. Add water to the chicken drippings to make about 1 1/2 cups of liquid in the bottom of the roasting pan. (Or transfer drippings to a sauce pan if necessary)
2. In a small bowl, whisk water into the flour until it is thick, but not pasty. Then whisk the flour/water mixture into the drippings, and put the pan on the stove over medium heat.
3. Stir constantly until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Add salt and pepper to taste.