Roasted chicken with lemons and rosemary

This is the tree on one of our properties - it's killing me to see all these ripe lemons and I don't have any very good ideas for them. Any suggestions other than lemonade? I might try some lemon-rosemary sorbet in my ice cream maker but other than that, I'm at a loss. Has anyone ever tried homemade lemon curd? I watched Ina Garten do it once on TV but my experiences with jam / preserves have been less than stellar.

Last night, I used lemons to make roasted chicken. Cooking a whole chicken is new to me in the last few months but I've been pleased with the results.

Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary

I started with a 5 pound kosher bird from Trader Joe's, took the guts out of the cavity, rinsed it, and patted the skin dry with paper towels. Then, I filled the cavity with lemons and rosemary (quartered lemons, sprigs of rosemary from the yard). I drizzled and smeared olive oil over the outside (about 2T) and sprinkled with salt, pepper, and some more rosemary. Then, I roasted it on a rack in a roasting pan (uncovered and breast side down). The only advice I can give about knowing when it's done is to check with a thermometer in the thigh (should be around 165 degrees) and wiggle the legs to see if they're loose. Cooking time depends on how big your chicken is and what temperature you use for roasting.

This recipe is so easy and the chicken was so moist and tender that I told my husband that I plan to make this once a week. We had about 2 cups of cooked chicken left over and I'll let you know what we do with it! If you live in the area and want some lemons, just let me know!