Simplicity

After a hectic weekend of entertaining, Monday can be daunting. Friday night we hosted a cooking class at our house for seven people. We did a kind of Spring Thing with sauteed leeks and asparagus over polenta and halibut with freshly made pesto. I made basil ice cream with lemon-rosemary pound cake for dessert, because I do love the savory sweets.

Saturday was debut night for one of the Girls’ new beau. He did very well considering he was thrown into a dinner party with ten people who can finish each other’s jokes. We threw a Boy/Girl menu on the table: steak/lobster, classic hashbrowns/quinoa with hearts of palm, and the oddly symbolic asparagus and leeks for everyone! For dessert I tried to make a seductive terrine of layered ice creams, chocolate and port wine. It was sort of a sloppy mess, but so were we, a little.

Sunday we recovered and ate fried chicken from the Minnetonka Drive-In.

So, Monday. I feel that I should make a dinner for the family tonight, to start the week off right. But I’m still a little sick of doing dishes and I don’t want to see another asparagus or leek for at least a week. The weather also plays a huge factor in the meal, and since it’s not really warm and it’s not really cold, my mind is a wee bit fuzzy.

I think I’ve decided to roast a chicken. Even though our meals weren’t extremely intricate this weekend, they were big productions. A roasted chicken is an easy and satisfying dish that reconnects you with the elemental basics. Butter, garlic, lemon, rosemary, that’s enough.

Before I caught my stride with roasted chicken, I would pour through books and websites to compare recipes and try to figure out the best, best, best way to do it perfectly. I’d come out with raw interiors and blackened skin or over-salty and under-flavored. It wasn’t until I really let go that I mastered the chicken. I stopped looking for a recipe, I trusted my gut.

I put a whole chicken (SmartChicken is a nice grocery store option) in a roasting pan and rub it stem to stern with butter, nearly every lovin’ inch. Then salt and pepper to the same degree. Slice a smallish lemon in half, put one half inside the chicken with a chunk of butter, squeeze the other half over the top of the bird and throw it in the pan. Cut an entire head of garlic in half, place both halves in the pan. Pluck most of the leaves off some rosemary stems, sprinkle the leaves on the bird and toss the stems in the pan. In a 400 degree oven, time it so you are roasting for thirty minutes per pound. I’m not a baster, I think it’s a silly and wasted effort, my chickens are juicy without it. Check for doneness early, the skin should be golden and crisp, the juices clear when the breast is poked with a skewer. Take the bird out, let it sit on a platter for a few minutes while you deglaze the roasting pan with some white wine.

There will probably be potatoes of some sort, maybe some rice. Now that I’m thinking about it, there could be some asparagus if the clouds break and the sun comes out. But definitely no leeks.