A New Year's dinner without pork and sauerkraut
- Michelle Wood: SWCD
- December 8, 2017
- 1129
By the look of parking lots outside restaurants serving Chinese, Mexican and pizza these days, the thing occupying our stomachs' thoughts during the holiday season is “what can we eat that isn’t a Christmas thing?” And good for us seeking balance. I’m betting not many packed lunches contain sandwiches made with slices of turkey this month.
At my house I find we’re making Indian cuisine, ordering pizza, having big burgers and seeking out new ways to get into the whole creative taco thing. Hummus and pita, Italian dishes with plenty of spiced sausage, and a general avoidance of all the normal things we consume this month are very much in order. I want plenty of appetite for the big feast.
The question beginning to roll around in my head is what to have New Year’s Eve. Christmas dinner is pretty much set unless I get a curveball somehow. So that leaves New Year’s as a mystery. Because as I’ve described before, no one I’ll be around that night will touch pork and sauerkraut.
Shellfish is the usual solution and fresh oysters the game of choice, but those are not all that easy to find around here and pretty risky when you do. It would only take one slightly “off” oyster to kill their consumption at my house for a decade, and I like them too much to take that kind of chance.
Crab legs would be just the thing, but again, a reliable source for fresh ones isn’t so easy without a pretty substantial drive on what would be a busy holiday evening. Let me sheepishly say that the frozen clusters at many grocery stores are a mystery to me. I can’t imagine how one would cook them to avoid a rubbery-shelled, soft mess. Crab legs need to really snap when you break them and should certainly not bend. Otherwise, why bother?
The thinking will have to continue.
Meanwhile, this is a poultry dish, to be sure, but it is very Mediterranean in nature and a safe departure from roast beef, ham and turkey for an evening.
ROASTED CHICKEN, STUFFED WITH OLIVES
One whole fryer, neck and giblets removed from the cavity
1 medium potato, peeled, boiled until just tender, cooled and cut into 1-inch cubes. It should not be so done as to be easily mashed.
2 anchovies, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped, plus 2 small sprigs, whole
6 pitted kalamata olives, quartered
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix the potato, anchovies, garlic, chopped rosemary, olives, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Toss together completely but loosely. Douse with 2 tablespoons olive oil and toss again.
Set the chicken on its back. Using your fingers, separate the skin from the breast meat, creating a pocket. Stuff the remaining whole rosemary into this space. Loosely insert the potato mixture into the cavity of the bird. Any leftover stuffing can just lie around the bird as it roasts, creating a flavorful steam. Drizzle the remaining olive oil onto the skin of the bird, salt and pepper it, and tie the legs loosely together with kitchen twine.
Place the bird in a roasting pan and roast for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 F and roast for another hour or so until a meat thermometer inserted into a thigh (not touching bone) reaches at least 165 F.
The stuffing makes a perfect side dish along with a rich, fruity red wine.