Just last week I heard on the radio that during Whole Foods Fall Madness Sale whole chickens were going for .99/lb. accompanied by .39/lb. butternut squash (sale ends November 4th, but the store is open until 10 p.m.). I heard value either way, as you can get a lot of mileage out of a chicken.
That ad brought to mind the wholesome, plump roaster of a year ago, when branches were dropping their golden leaves, and the air held that crisp nip. This chicken was about an eight pounder, its cavity stuffed with quarters of an apple, onion, and lemon, plenty of garlic cloves, and fresh picked sprigs of thyme and rosemary. She was clearing vying for the Miss Aromatic Bird of the Year award. She was a beauty, too, embellished with herbs between her skin and breast, like pressed flowers. After a coat of olive oil, her patina was perfect, her skin crisping to a honey brown.
As I prepared a medley of vegetables to roast, the dogs were resting in the sun porch off the kitchen lazing in the fall warmth. Deciding to eat dinner out there, I relocated the potential beggars to the kitchen, set the table, and then carved a few slices from each side of the bird. I made a platter of chicken slices, beets, potatoes, carrots, and asparagus spears, set it in the sun porch and closed the door on Caleigh and Reilly.
Our meal was tasty, satisfying, and relaxing. I was thinking about the chicken salad I would make for our lunches over the next couple of days. The chicken cubes would be mixed with cubes of apples, walnuts, tiny rings of green onion and tossed with a bit of mayonnaise and dusted with Bell’s Seasoning. Peter went into the kitchen to slice a little more chicken. He called out asking where it was. “It’s right on the cutting board on the island.” wondering how he could miss it. “There’s no chicken here.” I pushed my chair back to see for myself just as Peter was opening the oven door in search of it. I looked at the cutting board which held a juicy puddle. The dogs were gone and there was a big smear of grease with a stray herb or two on the floor. Believe it or not, there was not a single trace left from that chicken.
Now Caleigh is an Anatolian Shepherd, pure white, and five feet long from curly tail to nose. She was fired from Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, where, when she wasn’t busy escaping, her job was to guard the sheep. As a working dog, she was trained to kill predators, which she thought included chickens, which were kept in the adjacent barn. This pastoral setting was occasionally marred by Caleigh’s overzealous guarding, as she would attack not only foxes or coyotes, but any errant chicken that chanced to wander into her territory. Reilly, however, was just a mellow, old yellow lab who enjoyed the feast that was wrought by our “counter cruiser”.
Enjoy a chicken this fall, guard it with your life if you want leftovers. Here’s the recipe for the chicken salad, which has many variations.