Craig Claiborne's Roast Chicken With Mustard Sauce

• 2 3 1/2-pound chickens
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons imported mustard, such as Dijon or Dusseldorf

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rub the chickens all over with the butter.
3. Sprinkle them inside and out with salt and pepper.
4. Truss and arrange them on their sides in a shallow roasting pan.
5. Roast the chickens for about 20 minutes and turn them on the other side.
6. Baste often.
7. Continue roasting for about 20 minutes and turn the chickens on their backs.
8. Roast for 20 minutes, or until cavity juices run clear when chickens are lifted so that the juices flow into the pan.
9. Remove the chickens and keep warm.
10. Pour off the fat from the pan and add the water, stirring to dissolve the brown particles that cling to the pan.
11. Pour this liquid into a saucepan and cook to reduce by half.
12. Add the cream and cook briefly.
13. Add the mustard and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds.
14. Carve the chicken and serve with the mustard sauce on the side.

chickens, butter, salt, water, heavy cream, imported mustard

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1320 (may not work)