I have three unrelated buzzworthy things to share today. Let’s start first with baked chicken. I have never roasted a whole chicken. Ever. Yes, it’s true. It always seemed so intimidating, so I’ve asked Mr. Bee to roast it on the grill or smoker. I follow Katherine Sasser’s blog – she is also the owner of Hurley House. She issued a six-week challenge recently to try baking a chicken right alongside her. I won’t share all the directions, because she perfectly outlines it here and here. To make it easy, click here to download a copy of the recipe. I texted her Sunday night with the photo and thanked her for inspiring me! Isn’t it funny how something small like roasting a chicken for the first time can boost your self-esteem!
My takeaways: Recently we started making time to prepare Sunday dinner since that seems to be the only day of the week the three of us are caught up on schoolwork, working and sleeping. Mr. Bee and I had fun bonding, cooking, sipping wine and chopping herbs. We decided to roast sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes and added sliced carrots. We also tossed in a big handful of fresh rosemary and thyme I had leftover from another recipe. I followed the recipe exactly even down to the cooking time. It turned out golden, juicy and perfect. The house smelled amazing while it cooked. We served the chicken with a new recipe for a dressing I am trying out for Thanksgiving which you can find here (I am going to modify the recipe to combine both toasted bread cubes and cornbread).
Second, it’s that time of year when I share Mother’s recipe for Sweet Potato Delight. Go here for the recipe – it’s included in my Mrs. Twist’s Guide to Thanksgiving you can find here, here, and here. Miss Bee will not celebrate the holiday without serving this recipe from her beloved Grandmother’s recipe box. Make a double batch – it’s that good.
Finally, I found this very funny podcast called “Sweaty and Pissed.” It features co-hosts comedian Leanne Morgan and her nurse-practitioner Karen. They discuss all kinds of funny — the realities of menopause and female midlife. Leanne adds comedic relief to bothersome symptoms we face, and Karen brings it all home with sound medical explanations and suggestions for promoting relief. I have learned and laughed a lot. Here’s their facebook page and the link to their podcast where you listen to your favorite tunes. It will be the perfect thing to listen to in the kitchen as you prepare for Thanksgiving or the long car ride to your in-laws (headphones will be appreciated, I am sure since only you will find sweaty boobs funny.).
Have a fabulous week!
Hospitality is in my DNA. I founded Home with a Twist, a daughter’s twist on her mother’s traditions, in memory of my mother to celebrate her life and the gifts she shared with me. Mother loved to celebrate life’s occasions – big and small.
