Julie & Julia, in which Meryl Streep plays the role of the late chef extraordinaire Julia Child, will soon be out, and according to Ladies Home Journal, this recipe is one of her favorites.

Serves: 4

Oven preheat: 325 degrees

Roasting time (three-pound bird): 1 hour and 10 to 20 minutes

Ingredients:

A tight-fitting cover for the casserole

Directions:

Season the cavity of the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon of salt, a pinch of pepper and one tablespoon of the butter. Insert the tarragon leaves, or sprinkle in dried tarragon. Truss the chicken. Dry it thoroughly and rub the skin with another tablespoon of butter. Use a heavy, fireproof casserole, just large enough to hold the chicken on its back and on its side.

Set the casserole over moderately high heat with the butter and oil. When the butter foam has begun to subside, lay in the chicken, breast down. Brown for 2 to 3 minutes, but regulate the heat so butter is always very hot but not burning. Turn the chicken on another side, using two wooden spoons or a towel. Be sure not to break the chicken skin. Continue browning and turning the chicken until it has a nice golden color almost all over, particularly on the breast and legs. This will take 10 to 15 minutes. Add more oil if necessary to keep the bottom of the casserole filmed.

Remove the chicken. Pour out the browning fat if it has burned, and add three tablespoons of butter. Cook the carrots and onions slowly in the casserole for five minutes without browning. Add a 1/4 teaspoon of salt and the tarragon. Salt the chicken. Set it breast up over the vegetables and baste it with the butter in the casserole.

Lay a piece of aluminum foil over the chicken, cover the casserole, and reheat it on top of the stove until you hear the chicken sizzling. Then place the casserole on a rack in the middle level of the preheated oven.

Roast for 1 hour and 10 to 20 minutes, regulating heat so the chicken is always making quiet cooking noises. Baste once or twice with the butter and juices in the casserole. The chicken is done when its drumsticks move in their sockets and when the last drops drained from its vent run clear yellow. Remove the chicken to a serving platter and discard the trussing strings.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon softened butter

Directions:

Add the stock or bouillon and broth to the casserole and simmer for two minutes, scraping up coagulated roasting juices. Then skim off all but a tablespoon of fat. Blend in the cornstarch mixture, simmer a minute, then raise heat and boil rapidly until sauce is lightly thickened. Taste carefully for seasoning, adding more tarragon if you feel it necessary. Strain into a warmed sauceboat. Stir in the herbs and the enrichment butter.

Note:

If you are not serving the chicken until a half hour after it is done, make the sauce, except for its butter enrichment, and strain it into a saucepan. Return the chicken to the casserole. Place the aluminum foil over it and set the cover askew. Keep the casserole warm over almost simmering water, or in the turned-off hot oven, its door ajar. Reheat and butter the sauce just before serving.