Orange-Rosemary Chicken with Butternut Squash

1 small orange
1/4 cup butter, divided and softened
2 tsps finely chopped rosemary
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 7-8 pound roasting chicken
1 medium size yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges and divided
1 24 ounce bag small yellow potatoes
2 1/2 cups cubed butternut squash (3/4 inch cubes)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Zest orange to measure 1 teaspoon zest; cut orange into wedges.  In a small bowl, combine zest, 2 tablespoons butter, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Gently loosen skin from breast and thighs of chicken, keeping skin intact.  Rub butter mixture under skin.  Place orange wedges and 3 onion wedges in chicken cavity.  Tie legs together with kitchen twine.  Rub remaining 2 tablespoons butter over chicken skin, salt and pepper outside of chicken.  Place chicken on a roasting rack set in a large roasting pan or a large cast-iron skillet.

Bake for 1 hour.  Add potatoes, butternut squash, and remaining 5 onion wedges to roasting pan; toss to coat with drippings.  Bake for 1 hour longer or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of chicken registers 165 degrees and vegetables are tender; loosely tent with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning if necessary.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

This recipe was from the holiday issue of DeenBros Family Holidays magazine.  This was a fun dish to make as I learned two new tricks or techniques.  First, I have never buttered a chicken between the meat and the skin.  I've seen it done on TV but never tried it myself.  It's really easy and makes you feel like your Julia Childs while your cooking.  Second, I have never cooked with, or even ate for that matter, butternut squash.  I wasn't sure how to prepare it, if I should peel it or just cut it up with the skin on, and I didn't know what it would taste like so I was hoping all of the seasonings I was adding to the chicken would enhance it's flavor.  It was kind of hard to cut up, the one I had was huge!  Also, I had to go to two grocery stores before I found one and then I was lucky enough to get the last one.  I also looked pretty silly in the store when I was holding up various gords and sqaushes asking random old ladies walking by "Is this a butternut squash?"  Anyway, I brought that bad boy home and added him to my dish.  The orange zest and rosemary mixed together smelled amazing and added a delightful flavor to the roasted chicken.  I love any kind of roasted vegetables and so the onions, potatoes and butternut squash was a good marriage of flavors.  I served this dish with a Cesar salad, garlic bread and the mini lemon meringue tarts for dessert.  Yum!!!