Renewal... and recipes

Chickens and Lambs and Bunnies, oh my! And I'm not talking chocolate.

Years ago I watched Julia Child debone a whole chicken and stuff it, and immediately tried it myself. Surprisingly, it was pretty easy, though kind of messy and time consuming the first couple of times. It became my go-to thing to do for picnics, for days when someone was coming but I didn't know what time, for holidays. Since then I've misplaced the book the recipe was in, but it's one of those things you can make up as you go along.

Start with a chicken and split it down the backbone. Begin at one side and scrape the meat away from the bones being very careful where the skin shows not to cut that. Work your way adround the chicken, pulling the leg in-side out and cutting off the last knuckle to free that bone. (Sometimes I leave the drumstick with the bone in it if I want to make it look more chickeny, and of course in that case I don't pull it inside out.) I ignore the wings- cut them off at first joint and pull them inside and pull out the bones and leave it at that. When the whole chicken is limply lying on the table with the meat evenly distributed over the skin, lay down a layer of procuitto, then a mixture of veal, the chicken legs and leftover bits, some egg yolks and fresh breadcrumbs. Sometimes I add sausage meat instead of veal, but anything that makes a meatball is fine. Of course add the herbs of your choice. Gather up the edges of the skin and make a beggars purse out of it with a large larding needle and butchers twine. Flatten it slightly and place in a pan with some water or broth in the bottom. Baste the balloon with some butter, salt and pepper, and roast at 325 until the inside registers 160. Time will depend on the density of the stuffing and the size of the chicken. Serve either warm or cool. Add chicken gravy or not. If it's served cool, a lemon mayonnaise if delicious. One time I used a cornbread stuffing instead of the sausage and that was good too. Play with whatever combination of ingredients you like.

Bab baa. Get a leg of lamb and bone it. Roll it into a consistent shape and tie it at intervals to hold it together. Cut slits all over the surface and insert small slivers of garlic in each. Roll the meat in a piece of cheesecloth with long ends. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (add any leftover wine you have lying around, salt and pepper. When it reaches a full boil, lower in the lamb and let it return to a boil befofe turning the fire down to a simmer. Cook for exactly 15 minutes a pound, take it out and let it sit for another 15 minutes before unrolling and slicing. This should be beautifully rare inside. Perfect Easter dinner, at least for me.
And finally Rabbit! I would no sooner eat a rabbit than an aardvark. Rabbits are pets. Period. Chocolate bunnies are the only exception.