My roommate Steve and I cooked our hens last night, side by side in the oven. Jordan, my other roommate and resident chicken expert, judged the plates. Steve won — Jordan said that his had a certain kick that mine didn’t have. I suspect it was because he used freshly cracked black pepper, tons of onions, Italian flat-leaf parsley and made a buttery deglazed sauce with cremini mushrooms. It was very good — the mushrooms added an earthy depth to the dish.

I baked mine with potatoes, used lots of garlic and cilantro, stuffed the cavity of the bird with a whole lime, and made a lovely gravy with the crispy bits at the bottom using chicken broth. I wish I used white wine and a spoon of flour though — that always makes a better gravy. We’re thinking about doing a mini version of Iron Chef at our house complete with a secret ingredient…what do you think about that?