1. Place rack in middle of oven. Pre-heat to 400°.

2.  Remove giblet bag from chicken cavity (this can be saved to make stock in the future or you can simply throw it away).  Rinse chicken, inside and out, under cold water.  Dry with paper towels.

3.  Place chicken in pan, breast side up (the drumsticks should be pointing up).

4. Tie legs (drumsticks) together with twine.

5.  Sprinkle liberally with salt.

6.  Place in oven and cook until thermometer measures 160° in thickest part of the breast and juices run clear, about 45 minutes.

7.  Remove to a plate and cover with foil.

8.  Remove as much chicken fat from pan as possible, being careful not to remove any juice or "brown bits."

9.  Add water to pan and de-glaze (scraping up brown bits from bottom of pan) over medium heat.  When water (or vermouth or wine) is reduced by half, add mustard and cream.  Stir to combine. Add any juices that accumulated on the plate while the chicken was resting. Taste for seasoning and add pepper to taste.  Keep warm.

10.  TO CARVE:

1. Orient the chicken, breast side up so that the drum sticks are pointing away                         from you.  You'll see that the breasts are divided by a faint line (the keel bone) that runs the length of the bird.  You'll begin slicing the breast parallel to that bone, from the outside in towards the bone.
   

2. 
   

3. If you have dark meat requests, cut through the joint that connects the drum stick to the chicken.  Note:  I usually save the drum sticks, thighs, and all the other little bits of meat for leftovers.  When the chicken is cold I use my fingers to pick off all the morsels of meat.
   

11.  Serve chicken with sauce, either on the side, or spooned over the top.

       serves 4, with leftovers.