in good taste, vol. 80: a little treat
cake for breakfast, soothing interiors, and party chicken
As far as simple, deeply satisfying moments go, is there much better than having a sweet leftover as breakfast? Growing up, one of the best parts of a birthday was getting to have a slice of birthday cake the morning after. It allowed a celebration to spill into the next day; borrowing time from one to sweeten another.
These days, I’m not huge on sweets or dessert, but I do appreciate a somewhat transgressive start to the day.
Anyway, we went to a little pool party this weekend, borrowing a stranger’s pool for a day of gossip and tiny sandwiches. As always happens, we brought too many snacks (you mean 6 people can’t make it through 2 charcuterie boards in under 4 hours?). But I lucked out and got to take home half of a bright, tart lemon cake baked by my friend Hannah, a master craftsman of the baked arts. Split over a couple of days, that half a lemon cake made for an exquisite breakfast treat.
Highly recommend having friends who make beautiful desserts, and also recommend eating those desserts on the Monday mornings of challenging weeks.
LIGHT READING IN LIEU OF BREAKFAST TREATS
Secret rooms: forever and always my favorite kind of interiors story
Some not-so “secrets” for eating as the French do
When I think of dream homes, this Swedish one has it all for me. I immediately felt calmer looking through the pictures:
“‘The key for me was making an all-year-round home,’ Erik explains, ‘but making it feel like a summer home or a holiday home. But you never need to go home. You can stay there.’”
On another note, allegedly the look of the summer is … seafood
PARTY CHICKEN; or, ROAST CHICKEN IN JAMMY TOMATOES
This recipe is inspired by one Alison Roman developed in 2019, but (TBH) my adaptation is more consistent in my kitchen and, dare I say, flavorful. I have made this roast chicken for approximately four (4) dinner parties. Each time, someone has made the comment: “this is the best chicken I have ever eaten.”
While I would love to say it is my flawless technique and knife-sharp cook’s intuition that produces this kind of commentary, all the credit goes to the simplicity of the recipe: cut some stuff up, cook the bird low and slow, and don’t forget the vinegar.
Anyway, I’m calling it “party chicken” because it’s ideal dinner party food. As long as you get started in advance, the bird does all its own work and you can focus on plotting out an elaborate tablescape (or chatting with your friends on the porch).
INGREDIENTS
½ cup, olive oil
1 whole chicken, 3-4 lbs. (if you’re cooking for 4+ people, you could go up to 5¼ lbs., but don’t do more than that!)
1.5 tbsp. each, salt and pepper
1 tbsp., za’atar
Zest of 1 lemon, then ½ of the lemon
5-6 whole Campari tomatoes, quartered
¼ cup whole oregano leaves
4-5 big thyme sprigs
4-5 rosemary sprigs, cut to match the thyme’s length
2 heads of garlic, cut crosswise (peel any straggling external layers, but otherwise keep the halves as intact as you can)
1 fennel bulb, chopped roughly
1 white onion, chopped roughly
1 tbsp., herbes de Provence
2 tbsp., fennel seeds, crushed up
4 tbsp. Kerrygold salted butter, cut up into small cubes
1 tbsp., red wine vinegar
WHAT TO DO
Pat chicken entirely dry, inside and out. Season all over with a mixture of salt, pepper, za’atar, and lemon zest. Stuff the chicken cavity with half the zested lemon and half of the fresh herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary).
Heat oven to 325. Throw the tomatoes, the remaining half of the herb sprigs, onion, fennel, fennel seeds, and garlic heads into a roasting pan. Drizzle about half of the olive oil and all of the herbes de Provence, as well as any remaining dashes from the chicken seasoning mixture. Nestle your chicken thigh-side up on top of the tomatoes, then scatter the butter pieces all around the dish. Drizzle the remaining half of the olive oil over the chicken. Roast until the thigh temperature reads 160.
In my weird old oven, this takes about an hour and a half. But this timing will really depend on your chicken’s size as well as how accurate your oven holds a lower temperature! I strongly recommend an in-oven thermometer that will shriek at you when it gets near-temp (I love this one). A quick-read therm pen will do fine, too, so long as you don’t mind frequently checking up on the chicken.
Anyway, when it’s done, take the chicken out and let it rest on a cutting board. Stir the veggies around with a wooden spoon to loosen in the roasting pan. Add the vinegar, stir around to combine, and stick the pan back in the oven for about 10 minutes.
Serve the chicken on top of the jammy tomatoes and with a big baguette - the roasted garlic will pop right out of its peels and make for an incredible combo of flavors. You don’t need much other than a simple green salad to make this a whole dinner party meal.
Looks like an extremely tasty chicken. I love the simplicity of the dish and that you might dip a baguette in the tomatoey gravy. Yum! Also struck with the idea of dessert for breakfast. It’s something my daughter-in-law often does and I never do. But why not? I may be writing further about this (with a nod to you for inspiring it if I do!). Thanks for an interesting newsletter!
Your party chicken recipe couldn’t have come at a better time! Now that we’re looking more at hosting friends again post-pandemic, it looks like a perfect solution for spending more time chatting and less time cooking (and still with delicious results).
On another note, thank you for sharing the article on secret rooms! I’ve been obsessed with the idea of having a secret room or passageway in my house since I was little, probably due to reading too many mystery books. The ones featured in the article are both clever and beautiful!