7 A. M. Chicken Molestation

Me, bleary-eyed and re-re at 7 a.m.: rubbing down a fleshy roaster from Mayflower Poultry with lemon zest, garlic, butter, olive oil, salt and Cubeb pepper--and shoving the lemon up its ass--the idea being it would soak up all this lovely flavor in preparation for the trial run of roasting in the Breville oven (my friend Anna likes to call it my Easy Bake).

This was slightly reminiscent of many Thanksgiving mornings where I (with my mom, Anna, or alone) wrestled with a defenseless looking bird before breakfast and general conscious thought.





Mmmmmmmmmmmm, chicken ass.


When I received the Breville, I was mostly soothed by the fact I would still be able to roast a whole chicken. I do a chicken once a month of so--it's healthy, versatile, allows for feeding friends cheaply, and I can use the bones to make stock.





Breville performed amazingly, even thought I was a dumbass and lowered the heat 20 minutes in, and even though I cooked it upside down (I do this to keep breast moist). Next time I will turn the bird halfway through, keep heat @ 425.

Other dinner items: my buttermilk biscuits, steamed broccoli, and cucumber-tomato salad with shallot, white balsamic, and sumac (courtesy of Eyal, straight from Israel). I had my first table-set dinner, with the lovely company of Tindallator, Adriene, and Katie. Twas a late night.

A word about chicken. I can't bring myself to buy the terrifying, hormone-laded crap available at most grocery stores anymore, and I can't afford Whole Paycheck's prices.

I get my chickens (and hearts and livers to supplement my cat's diet with raw food) at Mayflower Poultry, located in East Cambridge. My friend Sarah says their chicken (available whole or in any cut you might want) is the most "chickeny" chicken she's tasted, and she's right. The stuff is dead fresh, due to the fact that they slaughter ON SITE, I believe about 3x a week. According to the very helpful guys who work there, the chickens are hormone and antibiotic free (I'm assuming NOT free range). If you live in Cambridge or Somerville, get your ass over there and pick some up. If parking is a problem, you can call 10 minutes ahead and they'll have it ready for you to drop in and pick up in flash. Oh, and their prices? CHEAP.

Bugkok!