Roast Chicken and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

FOOD:

A Whole Roast Chicken is a good food benchmark for many people around the world. 

The crisp, slightly salty skin, the slick chicken fat, juicy meat, herbs and spices add gravy and mashed potatoes, for so many a sigh inducing combination (familiar, satisfying). 

The Daily Mail ran a huge airy, winding piece on Nigella Lawson, breaking into the U.S. market and promoting her new book, "Nigellissima: Instant Italian Inspiration." The DM article is an entertaining read for a lazy Sunday morning, with the right mix of food, drama, and plain old common sense. It is understandable why, posh, wealthy and yet relatable, Nigella is revered as a goddess in the U.K. As her parting comment, sexy Nigella served up some knowledge with no-nonsense advice about the lusciousness of a classic simple meal. 

"...‘Comfort food is comfort food wherever you are and it always comes down to roast chicken and mashed potatoes in the end." Nigella Lawson

There are infinite tasty ways to roast chicken and prepare potatoes. Once you have the basics mastered, experiment with flavors, tailor recipes to your taste or even a theme.

Inspired by Nigella Lawson, Cooking Lounge pulled together an impromptu dinner party: Roast Chicken, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Sauteed Green Beans.

Called friends. Popped into the butcher. Picked up veges at the produce stand.  Gathered in Brooklyn, at a Dumbo loft near the East River. It all seemed to fall into place effortlessly, the perfect meal to wind down the weekend, with the potluck additions of red wine and craft beer, cheese, cupcakes, Italian chocolate, and a Latin mother's holiday concoction - rum, coconut milk and condensed milk - shared with good friends. A sumptuous dinner party pulled together without much fuss or expense. 
Whole Roast Chicken was the very first Cooking Lounge post. 
Click here for a Cooking Lounge guide for the classic comfort food dish in our launch post.

Enjoy,
Cooking Lounge
photos:wbj