We are about to be blizzardized! And as much as I famously avoid the kitchen in the summer, I am strangely drawn to its irresistible warming, and soothing, and aromatic ways in the winter. It becomes a pleasure to prepare life-sustaining foods: to bake and braise, to baste and broil. I welcome any excuse, such as the oncoming storm, to bustle into the kitchen and turn on the roaring oven. It is the one warm room in the house, companionably accessorized with comfy chairs, newspapers and magazines, seed catalogues, snacks and an air of survival techniques.
I can see quite clearly in my mind’s eye the vat of homemade soup I will have bubbling merrily on the hob, solace for the snowy days yet to come. In the meantime, let’s make a tiny adjustment for a reality check; a steaming bowl of Lipton’s Chicken Noodle Soup may have to suffice. Because that’s all that is in the cupboard, and they are calling for a lot of snow,
Our options for going out have dwindled. While the first hyped storm of the season is aiming a wide and snowy path at us, let us contemplate the humble roasted chicken.
Everyone has a favorite roasted chicken recipe, and I firmly believe that you can never have too many of them, either. Mothers, uncles, best friends, registered dieticians, financial advisors, pre-school teachers and neighbors all have variations on this supremely cheering and practical meal. It is popular because it is just so good. We have heard all too many times the self-righteous food blog mantra that one should roast a chicken on Sunday night, so as to have enough leftover chicken to prepare and plan for a week of meals in a thrifty and hyper-controlled fashion.
https://gailmonaghan.tumblr.com/post/137698778247/this-is-my-version-of-herbert-kellers-beyond
https://www.whattocook.com.au/recipe/best-roast-chicken-with-local-vegetables/
Bosh! I cannot think of a better meal than roasted chicken with rice. When the desert island folks come to ask me what I want to take with me, I will say a nice navy blue Aga (it never hurts to ask), a fridge full of chickens, and a bag of good rice. Then I will have to rely upon myself to finally write that book to keep me intellectually stimulated as I sit, solitary but never lonely, in my carefully fashioned palm frond hut every night, eating roasted chicken, quietly contemplative, and appreciating the sheen of the golden chicken fat on every grain of perfectly formed and fluffy Basmati rice. I will write odes that would make Mr. Keats weep with blissful epiphany.
I doubt if the desert island folks have me on any list, so this isn’t happening any time soon. Sadly for me and for the oft-neglected field of poetry that praises the beauty and deliciousness of roasted chicken: sestinas of the elation that is manifest in the crackle of crunchy, parchment-like skin; couplets illuminating the surge of warmth and the ecstasy of the warm steam rising from the humble roasted chicken. You can see that this is a subject that bears much study and research.
And as we praise the chicken, and it perfect compliment, the bed of rice, let us not neglect the roasted vegetable medley: many folks enjoy tucking into some healthy, piping hot, vegetables along with their chicken and rice. (I would have included them in my desert island list, but one doesn’t like to look greedy.) There is so much one can do in the winter to keep the kitchen warm and inviting.
And we should not overlook dessert. What could be a better way to end a perfect meal than with a bowl of warm, homemade chocolate pudding? I encourage this exercise, considering how many times I have walked Luke the wonder dog down to the river in the cold this week. He is wearing a fur coat, after all, and doesn’t realize how many layers I have piled on just so he can get all skittish and colt-like, scaring himself when the visiting gulls rise like a plume of shrieking, spinning harpies. I think I deserve a little warm pudding.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017198-dark-chocolate-pudding?smid=fb-nytdining&smtyp=cur
I should not complain, however. I am enjoying the novelty of bundling, and the layers, and the pink cheeks, and the warm meals I don’t mind the cooking in the winter. The kitchen is a cozy place these days. Enjoy any excuses you can find to hang around the reliable warmth of the kitchen oven. Soon, we too can virtuously re-purpose our chicken carcass into a pot filled with chicken soup. And Spring is just around the corner…
“Surely everyone is aware of the divine pleasures which attend a wintry fireside; candles at four o’clock, warm hearthrugs, tea, a fair tea-maker, shutters closed, curtains flowing in ample draperies to the floor, whilst the wind and rain are raging audibly without.”
― Thomas de Quincey
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Kathy Bosin says
Somebody please take Ms. Sanders a pot of warm pudding STAT! She deserves it. Thank you, Jean, for this perfect Food Friday column for our first snowstorm of the year!