Chef Paul: Roast Chicken Sundays
January 07 2011
Sundays around our house are what I call “production days”. What I mean by that is that I go into “production mode” and make a bunch of foods I can use at a later date, be it for lunches or quick suppers. This can be a big batch of spaghetti meat sauce (or Bolognese), more tourtieres (did I mention I love tourtiere?) or a large scale pasta casserole I can portion and freeze for later.
This Sunday was roast chicken dinner. I cooked up a BIG 9lbs bird in hopes of having lots of leftovers…and seeing as how there are only three of us (and one of us is only 2 ½) there will be lots left over. That means sandwiches for lunch, meat already cooked for a quick rice or pasta dinner or even a batch of soup that can go in the freezer.
This way I can stay ahead of the game. I love to cook. It’s what I do… but some nights I can be a little pressed for time, therefore I have a whole bunch of quick and easy meals ready to go.
I know a lot of people, with kids especially; never seem to have to time to make homemade meals, but I really don’t think a trip to the local burger joint is the answer. I’ll gladly spend 30 minutes in the kitchen after a busy work day because I think family meal time is important. It’s our time to all sit together, relax and talk about our day. We’ll often linger for an hour or more at the dinner table talking, playing or enjoying a glass of wine…well not the little one, she prefers beer (I tell her its beer but it’s really apple juice).
So I say, raise a glass to the family meal!
