The other morning I was zipping off for a photoshoot and forgot to get dinner started. I started stressing about what to cook when I remember a simple recipe for roast chicken in a mustard sauce that literally takes under a minute to prep. I quickly ran back into the house, got it marinated, then went to my photoshoot confident with the happy feeling that my family would have a nutritious easy-to-cook dinner when I got home that evening.

Try this easy French chicken in cream sauce dish that was perfected by one of the greatest French women chefs long ago.

The Quest: A Simple, Perfectly Roasted Chicken. A humble, seemingly easy dish that unfortunately is as elusive as a unicorn or a five-leaf clover. I mean, how hard should it be to roast the perfect chicken? Let’s analyze what makes it perfect and figure out how to easily do it every single time.