Meal No. 1335: Herb-Roasted Whole Chicken

Last week, I was in Asheville for a week of work with principals on a retreat, and on the first night there I got to enjoy a great relaxing evening with some of the school division team at the Sky Bar. This is an oversized fire escape that gives great sunset views out to the west of town, but on our evening up there, we were instead treated to a fantastic summer storm and lightning show.

My time in Asheville also, finally and at last, granted me the chance to eat at the Tupelo Honey Cafe. I already feel an intimate connection to this restaurant, thanks to the terrific two cookbooks from there that my sister Allison gave me. So many really good Roediger House meals came straight out of there!

Tonight's supper was a repeat of one of those: herb-roasted whole chicken. This was timely, since for one night my sister and her boys Kirk and Eli are here, on their way to the beach. Other regulars of the Roediger House were also on hand, so with seven folks around the table, I needed to cook two of those chickens! (And I was shocked and surprised to find that the pair I bought at Sam's Club today did not include any giblets, so I went without the normally tasty pan gravy that usually accompanies this meal.) Those needing additional flavor could avail themselves of a bowl of Alabama Great White Sauce.

The company mashed potatoes and layered green bean casserole, also sourced back to my sister's recipe storehouse, joined the delicious morsels of chicken on our plates, and there was chocolate éclair cake for dessert.

After dinner, the boys and I played pool for quite a while. (I finally went to bed around 1:30 am; I think they played till around 2.)

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"Herb-Roasted Whole Chicken with Savory Pan Gravy," in Tupelo Honey Cafe: Spirited Recipes from Asheville's New South Kitchen, by Elizabeth Sims with Chef Brian Sonoskus. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC (2011), p. 136-137.

"Alabama Great White Sauce" (p. 362). In Smoke & Spice, by Cheryl and Bill Jamison. Boston: The Harvard Common Press, 2003.

"Company Mashed Potatoes," a Jones family favorite.

"Layered Green Bean Casserole," shared with me by my sister Allison Jones Holden of Rossville, IN (December 2001).