For Ina and Jeffrey

There is a reason that after each week of work in the city Ina Garten makes her beloved husband Jeffrey a roast chicken dinner. There may actually be several reasons. I am one frickin' finicky eater, particularly when it comes to anything of the meat persuasion. I come from a long line of salmonella fearers and though I like to think I am not among them, I want my chicken to be done-done, not just done. Roasting chicken is one way that we cooked food purists can co-exist with this burgeoning population of moisture and rare food fanatics.

Another reason it's such a great dinner to welcome Jeffrey home is that it's basically a hands off endeavor once you get the thing prepped and in the oven. You can talk basting, but America's Test Kitchen basically proved that basting just makes you feel good. So it's a way to make a mid-week splash while sitting on your ass.

Finally, there are the leftovers. What could be finer than a faux post-Thanksgiving sandwich? I frankly never go anywhere without my cranberry sauce. Ask Jac, we keep a can in the glove compartment just in case.

So this week I made us a lovely roast chicken with thyme (that had been petrifying on the window sill for quite some uh, days.) We had it again last night with new and improved veggie sides - where once there were mashed potatoes, green beans and stuffing (one potato lover, one stuffing lover) now there were sweet potatoes, asparagus and brussels sprouts. It's quite the versatile wonder.