THE CRISPIEST SPRING CHICKEN

A few weeks ago I mentioned I was reading The Dirty Life. Can we pretend we’re in book club for a moment? I want to share a passage:

First, here’s the background: Author Kristin Kimball left New York City to interview a young farmer named Mark, fell in love, and shortly thereafter started a new life with him on a farm near Lake Champlain. The Dirty Life chronicles their first year at Essex Farm, which currently provides food year-round for over 200 families.

“When we would talk about our future in private, I would ask Mark if he really thought we had a chance. Of course we had a chance, he’d say, and anyway, it didn’t matter if this venture failed. In his view, we were already a success, because we were doing something hard, and it was something that mattered to us. You don’t measure things like that with words like success or failure, he said. Satisfaction comes from trying hard things and then going on to the next hard thing, regardless of the outcome. What mattered was whether or not you were moving in a direction you thought was right. This sounded fishy to me.

This conversation played out many times, with me anxious, Mark calm, until once, as we sat together reviewing our expenses, I was almost in tears. I felt like we were teetering over an abyss. I wasn’t asking him to guarantee that we’d be rich. I just wanted him to assure me that we’d be solvent, that we’d be, as I put it, okay. Mark laughed. “What is the worst thing that could happen?” he asked. “We’re smart capable people. We live in the richest country in the world. There is food and shelter and kindness to spare. What in the world is there to be afraid of?”

I loved this. Isn’t it inspiring? Discuss.

While you exchange thoughts, let me tell you about this chicken, which is about the only thing I’ve made for weeks, and something I foresee keeping in the rotation despite the imminent arrival of grilling season.

It comes from the latest Martha Stewart Living, and what I loved about the recipe were two simple tips for getting the skin crispy:

1. Let the chicken stand at room temperature uncovered for one hour before cooking.

2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels so skin doesn’t steam in oven.

If you do these two things, in addition to letting the meat rest for 10 minutes before carving, your roast chicken will be divine — crispy skin, golden brown all around, juicy meat.

But I love the recipe for another reason, too: the sauce, which couldn’t be simpler to make. After the 30 minutes of roasting, you remove the chicken from the platter, and pour a mixture of basil, garlic, red pepper flakes and red wine vinegar over the sheetpan, which deglazes it, removing all of those flavorful crispy bits sticking to the bottom. The chicken then returns to the pan, where it rests for 10 minutes, during which time more juices release and mix with the herbs and vinegar.

That’s it — while the bird rests, the sauce materializes, and it couldn’t be more delicious. I’ve been serving this chicken with lightly dressed mustard greens and fresh bread. This meal — this sauce — demands it.