So, my forays into cooking meat have covered ambition and nostalgia, but that leaves the social aspect. It's been a long time since I've lived with my parents, or anyone's parents (I'm only really getting used to the idea of being a parent myself) but I love having people round for dinner. Last time Pete went away for a gig I invited everyone around and I did Nigella's sage and onion sausage casserole, with bread sauce. It was good if I remember correctly. It's not that I mind cooking veggie food for all of my friends, it's just nice to branch out sometimes.
This time I wanted to test myself a little, and cook something I've been longing to have for ages, a roast chicken Sunday lunch. it's more about the act of sharing a meal then it is the chicken, but to me there's something significant about cooking a bird and it has been a long time since I have, nearing a decade I'd have thought. We did have a turkey crown when we hosted Christmas a few years ago, but I wasn't really in charge of that.
{Post dinner}
It seems silly to even need a recipe for roast chicken, but I followed a River Cottage one, and it was delicious. Lemon and herbs, with shallots and carrots roasted around it. More importantly I managed to time everything so there was stuffing, and kale perfectly cooked, and roast potatoes that weren't hard. 2 days on I'm still catching up with the washing up from it, even with a dishwasher, but it's renewed in my my confidence to cook for lots of people, not just myself.
It's also lovely to have the house full of some of my favorite people,including little people having a lovely afternoon. We must do more of this.