Food Plus Heat: Simple!

It’s the middle of the week, it’s rainy, and there’s a chill in the air. We’re going to talk about something a little different today!

Next to writing, cooking might be one of my favorite things.

Actually, I’m going to go with food instead of just cooking. Food is definitely my favorite thing, but cooking results in food, so here we are. Good food and good stories aren’t even all that different, really. When you get down to it, the best of both happen when something simple is done well. I’ll remember the really complex, unique story the same way I’ll remember eating at the ultra-pricey small-plate restaurant while on a trip up the east coast (dinner is served: three scallops on a giant plate. Enjoy!), — good, and interesting, but at the end of the day a really good macaroni and cheese would have been better.

The holidays always make me think about food, and especially about comfort food. This week we’re making three of my favorites.

One: Roast chicken. Simple. Probably one of the simplest things you can think of, even. I mean, it’s just one (1) chicken plus heat. But if you put a roast chicken in front of me (maybe with asparagus? Or mashed potatoes?) I will be happy for the rest of the night/day/week. We make Thomas Keller’s roast chicken recipe and, if you haven’t tried it, you need to. I think in the book he described it as the thing he would be happy having as his last meal on earth, and after trying it I can see why.

The chicken stock from this actually went into the next two dishes!

Two: Risotto. Specifically, pumpkin risotto! Okay, so it’s a little intensive. You have to stand there at the stove for around half an hour stirring, but I mean, stirring isn’t hard. And there’s wine in this, which means you can stir while drinking a glass of wine! I like to think of risotto as a sort of grown up mac and cheese and it’s just as comforting.

Plus, I put on an audiobook and had a story read to me while I made dinner. I mean, come on, it doesn’t get more enjoyable than that. (I was listening to the audiobook of A Wizard of Earthsea, which is the perfect kind of story for comfort. It makes me feel like someone is telling me a really good story near a camp fire.)

Three: Split pea soup. This is one of those things, for me, where it gets cold out and my mind just immediately goes to split pea soup! Until this year, though, it was just something I always ate at other places. At home, some rainy days, or at my girlfriend’s house sometimes. Before it even really got cold this year, I was already thinking about split pea soup. So, I made it, and I’ve made it several times since then. It’s one of those things I’ll never get tired of.

It’s been a good week for food, guys. And this weekend, I’m determined to make cookies for the holidays!