Roast Chicken with Shallots and Dried Cranberries

Ingredients

• 10 ounce baby spinach 
• 4 pound meat from a rotisserie chicken 
• 0.5 cup cranberries dried
• 750 ml cider french hard
• 1.5 tablespoons juice of lemon fresh
• 1 tablespoon olive oil extra-virgin
• 0.3 cup pinenuts 
• 4 servings salt and pepper freshly ground
• 8 small shallots peeled
• 1 tablespoon butter unsalted softened
• 0.8 cup vermouth dry french

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• sauce pan
• oven
• roasting pan
• wooden spoon
• aluminum foil
• slotted spoon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 37
2. Put the chicken in a small roasting pan and rub the skin all over with the butter. Generously season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the juices tipped out of the cavity run clear.
3. Transfer the chicken to a carving board and cover loosely with foil; let stand for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the hard cider with the shallots, dried cranberries, cloves and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat until the cranberries are softened, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the cranberries to a medium bowl. Continue to simmer the shallots until they are tender, about 20 minutes longer. Strain the mixture into a smaller saucepan and transfer the shallots to the bowl with the cranberries. Boil the cider over moderately high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 15 minutes.
5. Pour off the fat from the chicken-roasting pan and set the pan over two burners.
6. Add 1/2 cup of the vermouth and simmer over moderately low heat, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes.
7. Add the reduced cider and any accumulated juices from the chicken and simmer, stirring, until the sauce is reduced to 3/4 cup, about 3 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.
8. Pour the sauce into a small saucepan and keep warm over low heat.
9. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil.
10. Add the pine nuts and cook over moderate heat, shaking the pan occasionally until golden, about 1 minute.
11. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of vermouth and the lemon juice and boil over moderately high heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 2 minutes.
12. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cranberries and shallots and heat through; season with salt and pepper. Carve the chicken and serve the shallot-and-spinach mixture alongside, passing the sauce at the table.
13. Wine Recommendation: The distinctive tart-berry fruitiness of a Pinot Noir harmonizes with the cranberries here. Consider a California Pinot Noir, such as the 1998 Robert Sinskey or the 1998 Sterling Winery Lake.