Asking me to pick a favorite dish is like asking me to pick which of my children I like best. Each dish has its own history in my life and, sometimes, in the life of my family.
Take bacon. When I was twelve, over at my friend Janelle’s house the morning of a sleepover, Janelle’s mom served us a mountain of pancakes and a wall of bacon. I put some bacon on my plate, tried to take a bite, and just couldn’t. Now when you are in North Carolina, where I was attending an arts school, you are expected to eat what you put on your plate. That day I was not a good, southern girl. Luckily, bacon seems to be one of those things you can pass on to your friends without much questioning. I slipped it to one of the other girls who happily ate it right up.
I did not touch bacon for fourteen years until one evening when I asked my husband if he would please go and get me a little bacon. He looked at me askance, but, since he is a great lover of bacon and since he figured his influence must have been changing me for the better, went downstairs to the bodega and brought back a pound of bacon. I ate the whole thing. Every last bite of it, no sharing.
A day later we found out I was pregnant with our daughter.
A dish, though, implies something with a bit more gravitas, then a lonely pan of bacon. It implies, to me, something besides dessert, too, which is my favorite of favorite foods, courses, and earthly delights. To help make a decision, I asked myself what I could eat for the rest of my life if I absolutely had to. It was a toss-up among miso soup, chicken soup, and whole roasted chicken with vegetables. In the end, the roasted chicken won out. My entire family will eat it with no complaints, no grumbles, just lots of chewing.
The recipe for my dry spice rub is
here. For a whole chicken, slice an organic lemon in half and place it into the chicken’s (cough) cavity along with two or three cloves of garlic and tiny bunch of thyme, rosemary, or your favorite herb. Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil or melted butter over the chicken and cover with 2-3 tablespoons of
the spice rub. Cram whatever veggies you’d like in the bottom of the pan in a single layer around the chicken.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place your prepared chicken in the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and cook till the chicken is beautiful and browned. Basting is not essential but it does add more deliciousness and crispiness to the skin.
What is your absolute favorite dish? The one you could not live without?
Read about other people dishing around the world:
caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeannette, outi, ritva, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, skymring, elizabeth, allison, lise, cate, crescent moon, erin, otli, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la lune dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, april, b, kyndale samantha, karen, kristina, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, aimee, sunnymama, jenell, britta, juanita, pamela, inna, daan, myrtille, cris, ibb, jodi, gillian, travelingmama
athena, pienduzz, latisha, clairette, kelleyn, iris, demara, mus, ninja, guusje, di, sammi, theresa, cherry b, victoria, kathryn , lisa, liza, juliette, braja, mulot, anne, lucy, leonor, elizabeth, helene, dominique, shokoofeh, cole, jenna, podane, grey-lemon, line, nihal, urbaNiche, inner toddler, puna, lucylaine, adrienne, emily, lynn, skywriting, eliane, the wanderer´s daughter, carole, anna, dorit, kenza, sherry, conny, susan
Asking me to pick a favorite dish is like asking me to pick which of my children I like best. Each dish has its own history in my life and, sometimes, in the life of my family.
