Lemon Chicken Birthday Dinner

Logan and Adrian get our team logo painted on their faces!

I share my birthday week with my partner, Hubert. A mere two days (and 5 years) separate the days we celebrate each year. This birthday was one of the absolute nicest in 58 years.

Logan, Hubert’s daughter, and her buddy, Adrian, spent the day with us. We all participated that morning in the Hike for Hospice; we walked, laughed, raised money, and ate hamburgers with over 600 other hikers and volunteers.

Later, back at home after our early start, while Hubert and I had Sunday afternoon naps, Logan and Adrian cooked our birthday dinner - in our kitchen.

We woke to an appetizer platter with salami, stuffed olives, goat cheese with truffles, organic crackers, and hold onto your seats, home baked rye bread – yay Adrian! Delizioso…

Adrian and Logan whip up the popovers!

The  strawberry and spinach salad with poppy seed dressing reminded us spring had finally arrived. Already bursting, we nonetheless continued to stuff ourselves with the main course: lemon chicken with fresh herbs, rustic garlic mashed potatoes, Balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts, deep brown gravy, and even light popovers. 

It was such a treat to have dinner prepared, served, and the kitchen cleaned without having to exert one iota of energy.  I really appreciated the effort that Logan and Adrian had put into our birthday dinner: they had taken time to create a delicious menu, the food had been purchased from an organic grocer, the preparation executed so quietly that we could sleep, and then voila, dishes of kindness were served up on our own dining room table. I was deeply moved.

Then, too full to move from our chairs, we continued the evening by enjoying another birthday gift; we played the very fun card game Apples to Apples. I WON! !!!

Dishes of kindness + time together = a wonderful birthday celebration from Logan and Adrian. Thank you!

I’d like to share my Lemon Chicken  recipe which is very similar to the one created by Logan and Adrian. This particular recipe, pollo al limone, is from the Villa Delia cooking school in Tuscany where I spent an amazing 10 days on my first trip to Italy. There isn’t an easier way to make lemony fragrant, moist, delectable chicken.

                                                            

Original notes I scribbled at cooking school.

  Pollo al limone 

1 chicken ( about 1.2 kg)

1 large lemon

1 head of garlic, separated into cloves still with skins

1 big bunch of fresh sage ( or thyme, or rosemary, or a combination)

Chicken broth as needed ( I use the low sodium kind in tetra boxes)

A glass of white wine

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Preparation:

1.  Cut the ends off the lemon, and pierce it several times with a sharp knife to allow the juices to come out.
2.   Put the chicken into a baking pan, making sure that the pan is not too much larger than the chicken.
3.  Salt and pepper the cavity of the chicken.
4. Into the cavity, stuff the garlic, most of the sage, and the lemon
5. Tuck the remaining sage into the crevices of the wings and legs. Tie legs together.
6. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.
7. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil – massage into the skin.
8. Cover, and put the chicken into the refrigerator.
9. Leave the chicken for a few hours. You can leave it overnight.

Cooking:

1. Bring the chicken to room temperature . This is VERY important to avoid tough meat.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Put in chicken, uncovered.
4. After 10-15 minutes, if the pan is too dry or burning, add a bit of chicken stock.
5. After about 20 minutes, sprinkle the chicken with the glass of white wine.
6. Cook for about 40 minutes, or until done.
7. Remove the chicken from the ove, and let it sit, covered, for about 15 - 20  minutes before carving. Remember, the chicken will continue to cook.
8. Ready yourself for shouts of praise and groans of ecstasy as family, friends and neighbours devour every last morsel of meat.

 Eccolo! There it is!

I also make this recipe with just chicken thighs. Spread the garlic, sage, and sliced lemon evenly across the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish; lay the chicken parts on top, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle and massage the olive oil into the chicken; follow the rest of the recipe. Of course, the baking time is less – closer to 30 minutes. Fast.

In the meantime, this is an easy, and user friendly dish to take to a pal in need. The whole chicken, cooled and wrapped tightly can later be warmed up, used in sandwiches, pulled right from the bone as a nibble, or frozen for another day. Protein is vital for a creature under stress; when you share  pollo al limone, you're nourshing your buddie's body, soul and spirit. It's truly a dish of kindness.