I recommend doing this over two days, since it would take forever to do all at once, and everything (especially the ratatouille) will taste better after a day or two in the fridge. Plus you get to call it "leftovers."
First step is to roast a chicken. I usually get one about 4-4.5 pounds, but if you're feeding an army you can get bigger (and cook it longer). Cut out the backbone with a sturdy set of scissors, then flatten the bird out, breast side up, in a roasting dish. Salt and pepper the outside (be especially heavy with the salt for crispier skin), and then add some chopped fresh rosemary under the skin. Roast it at about 400 for an hour or so, until the internal temperature is about 170 degrees. Cover it with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes or so before carving. Eat whatever you like now, but be sure to leave a thigh and some skin for the next day.
For the ratatouille, thinly slice an eggplant and a few zucchini or squash (bell peppers are also traditional but I don't really like them so I left them out). Sautee the eggplant in olive oil over medium-high heat with a bit of salt and pepper, until al dente, then spread it on the bottom of a baking dish. Sautee the squash next, also with salt and pepper, again not quite cooked through, then put it in a layer on top of the eggplant. The final layer is a chunky tomato sauce with onion, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Start by sauteeing some sliced onion and minced garlic, then adding four or five sliced tomatoes and a big pinch of thyme and a bay leaf. Add a splash of water, and let it all cook down until it's saucy but still chunky. Take out the bay leaf and pour it over the squash and eggplant. Bake at 375 (400 is fine if you're roasting the chicken at the same time) for about half an hour, until the onions in the top layer are just starting to brown.
After you're done eating, put everything in the refrigerator, and be sure to save the drippings from the chicken.
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Get everything out of the regrigerator. First step is to re-warm the ratatouille, which you can either do in the microwave or in a low oven. I actually ate mine cold and that was also tasty. Next, prepare the confit: shred the meat off of one of the thighs and put it in some of the leftover fat and juice from the roast, in a small pan over low heat. You don't want the chicken swimming in the stuff, but you want to be sure it's pretty moist, as well. Cook that for as long as you feel like until it's very rich and very tender (no less than 20 minutes and probably no more than an hour). Then pile it in a little ring mold (or just in a pile if you prefer) and press down in hot oil in a pan, just to brown the bottom. Let it cook for five to ten minutes while you crisp a piece of skin. Take a nice flat piece of leftover skin with a lot of rosemary, and press it flat in the pan you're frying the confit in. It should bubble and hiss as the water comes out. Once the bubbling slows down, flip it over and again wait for the bubbling to stop. Once it's stopped hissing, it's dried out and should be nice and crispy. Finally, for the sauce, drain the oil from the pan, add a pat of butter and a dash of flour, stir to make a roux, then add a splash of white wine, some dijon mustard, and a pinch of tarragon.
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