Last Night’s Dinner

Yesterday was so beautiful all I could think about was sitting outside, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine and marveling at how seemingly everything around us is in bloom. We had thawed a large Cornish game hen that made the trip from Brooklyn with us, and we had planned to roast it, but the weather all but demanded that we grill instead.

Mike rubbed the bird with a mixture of salt, pepper, lemon zest and olive oil and grilled it over hardwood. My contribution to the meal was a combination of barley, beluga lentils, asparagus and pea tendrils, dressed with a little good olive oil and a copious amount of fresh lemon juice - tasty, but it got a tiny bit overcooked, and I think I would have preferred the texture if I had cooked the components separately. The hen, however, was juicy and succulent, with crisp skin and a lovely light smokiness that whispered “summer’s coming.”

Everybody’s got one – the meal you could put together in your sleep, the dish you fall back on when you’re short on time, energy and inspiration. Between the crazy work schedules Mike and I have had of late, and the fact that I’m spending much of my remaining time putting the finishing touches on (i.e. obsessing and stressing over) plans for our upcoming cocktail party, thinking of what to make for dinner is becoming a bit of a challenge.

I was completely at a loss yesterday as to what to cook, so I pulled out my no-brainer: skinless, boneless chicken breasts simmered in homemade tomato sauce spiked with several fresh basil leaves, topped with melty fresh mozzarella and served with a sautéed green on the side (in this case, broccoli rabe with garlic and chile flakes). It may not be the prettiest meal to look at, but this quick, easy and satisfying weeknight supper totally hit the spot.

I’ve been craving roast chicken for weeks now, and since I wanted to buy a whole bird to make stock this weekend anyway, we decided to go ahead and get two - one to poach for stock and the other to roast for dinner.

We caught the Myrtle Avenue bus down to Fort Greene, had brunch and headed over to the Greenmarket. We grabbed two fat little chickens from Dines Farms, ducked into Thirst Wine Merchants for a couple of bottles, then got back on the bus to take our goodies home before heading out again for more errands.

We returned home and snacked on some pate de campagne, baguette and cheese, then Mike mixed us a cocktail and I began prepping dinner. I seasoned the bird inside and out with lots of kosher salt and black pepper, then placed it into a shallow roasting pan. I loosened the skin over the breasts and stuffed thin slices of lemon, fresh sage leaves and fresh thyme under the skin, then stuffed more lemon, thyme and sage inside the cavity. I tied the legs then rubbed the whole bird with extra virgin olive oil, and I placed it into a preheated 400 degree oven.

Is it ready yet?

When the chicken was about half an hour short of being done, I basted it with some of the juices that had accumulated in the pan, rubbed some unsalted butter over the skin and let it finish cooking. I then boiled some fingerling potatoes (with the skins on) and four large peeled garlic cloves. When the potatoes were tender, I seasoned them with salt and pepper and added some olive oil to the pan, then smashed the potatoes and garlic with a potato masher, leaving them a bit chunky.

I set the chicken on a platter once it was cooked and poured the pan juices and a little of the fat into a saute pan. I whisked in a little bit of flour, brought it to a boil, then added an ounce and a half of cognac, fresh thyme, and lots of black pepper. When the mixture was smooth and slightly reduced, I finished it with a quarter cup or so of heavy cream. I carved the bird and served it on a mound of potatoes with a little of the gravy poured over. It was a perfect meal, except for the part where I got so distracted by how good the chicken was that I forgot to make a salad. Whoops.

Wine Note: Thirst carries one of my absolute favorite reds, the Kermit Lynch Cotes du Rhone. I don’t know what it is about this wine, but it always knocks my socks off - the color, the smell of it, the fruit and smoke and pepper - it’s absolutely perfect with a simple meal like this or all by itself.

When Mike and I set out for the Greenmarket in Union Square on Saturday morning, my original plan for dinner was to pick up a nice fat chicken to use in a Provencal-style stew with lots of garlic and herbs, but when we saw the beautiful guinea hens that Violet Hill Farm was offering, we had to get one.

I decided on a whim to do a google search for guinea hen preparations when we got home from the market, and turned up this recipe for "Guinea Hen with Red Wine: Faraona al Vino Rosso" from Mario Batali. We had everything we needed for it with the exception of grappa, but we swapped in an equal amount of Armagnac instead. (Ah, the joys of having a well-stocked bar…)

I made a few other minor adjustments to the recipe: I cooked the crumbled sausage first (not sweet sausage as indicated in the recipe, but Flying Pigs Farm’s excellent “Mike’s Grandmother’s Hot Italian”), drained most of the fat, then added a bit of tomato paste and allowed it all to caramelize before adding the sausage to the stew. I also added a bit of marjoram and the soaking liquid from the dried mushrooms.

The resulting stew was rich and deeply flavorful, the flavors of the wine, mushrooms and sausage all definitely present, but none overpowering. The meat was some of the most tender and juicy poultry I have ever tasted. I was satisfied with one bowl, but I wish I had had room for another (Mike did). I bet it’s going to be fantastic reheated for lunch.