I can think of other ways to say I love you besides cooking a chicken.
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A "nice chicken"? If it was nice, which most all farm animals are, why do humans torture and kill it Isn't the chicken industry barbaric?
The poultry industry needs to improve but properly raised chicken is delicious...
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Comments are moderated for civility but not for common sense.
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Thank you, Ms. Roman, for providing a superfecta of recipes that I cooked for a small family gathering this past weekend! I made all 4 dishes in one day for the occasion, and all were hits. It took it a bit longer than expected (partly because I soaked and cooked and perfumed the beans from dry on that one dish), but that was fine because the flavors from all the meals was sublime and the reactions were priceless. On a fun note, half of us picked up the giant crouton jammy tomato roasted chicken pieces and ate them like slices of pizza...and it was awesome. Finished by adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream to those crispy chewy brownie cookies, and all was well with the world. Thanks again!
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The title of this article, "It’s Not Entertaining. It’s Having People Over", makes me wonder, is there an implied contradiction in the two parts? Certainly there may be many reasons, other than entertainment, for "having people over". But if they are invited to partake of a chicken, or any other more noble bird, the food is served to entertain them, by pleasing their palates and taste buds.
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The article explains the title very clearly.
A few times a month I roast a chicken in the oven even though my husband and I only eat the white meat while the dark meat goes to the feral cats down the alley. I roast this bird because that intoxicating and comforting smell fills the house for hours with such warm and loving memories of my mother and the Sunday meals she would prepare.
And of course no meal would be complete in her house nor mine without the alluring smell of a chocolate dessert baking in the background.
I concur 1000% with the comment from Jean (from Holland, Ohio) - "cannot wait to bake those cookies."
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@ Marge Keller Midwest
My wife likes chicken much more than I do. But, as a uxorious husband, I partake of the wings and thighs of her chicken, provided they are grilled or pan-fried to extra-extra-crispiness. I love dissecting them with a fork and sharp kife, which reminds me of the lab in vertebrate anatomy in my student days.
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The dark meat is the best!
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I've always said that the most essential trait of a good cook is a sense of generosity.
People can tell if you're just doing it for yourself.
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Cannot wait to bake those cookies.
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Oh, when, Oh, when, Ms. Roman shall we read your excellent recipes of not only chicken, but of other Galliformes, such as grouse, ptarmigans, turkey, pheasant, quail, and partridge?
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I take issue with "Dessert is not essential." Dessert is the punctuation for the meal. It is absolutely essential but it needn't be fussy. It can even be (gasp!) store-bought!
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@ Lori Silver Spring, MD
Wholly agree with you. I think that people like dessert since the days when the cave-man discovered that sweet improves one's mood.
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“Using your time and resources to cook for those you care about is the ultimate expression of love. “
No.
And why is someone who doesn’t love cooking trolling around the cooking section? Because my family likes new and interesting meals and so I try to make them. I do it because I love them but I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t feel compelled to (which, perhaps, I feel because of all the people telling me that food=love and which is very different from doing it because I truly want to). I would prefer to think that my expressions of love can be equally as strong even if they don’t travel through the kitchen.
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I won't say "crudités" if you stop saying "Parm" and "jammy eggs" and "all of the things," K?
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And “lashing”.
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@Laura Thank you! The "jammy egg" thing drives me insane, along with "boozy" this and "boozy" that.
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Keep it simple. Costco inspires many of my dinners where we have friends over. An extra filet? Ask our friend who doesn't have custody of his kids that week. Two organic chickens? Roast both up and send guests home with leftovers. Costco has excellent meats, but the packages are too much for a smaller family. Same with the veggies and fruit. A guest helps eat up a big salad or tray of roasted asparagus. A big bowl of blueberries with whipped cream. It's a win-win.
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I will definitely cook those chocolate brownie cookies!!
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Three pieces of unasked for advice. (1) Don't always make your "entertaining" so fabulous that your guests are afraid to reciprocate. This happened to a dear friend famous for his dinners who finally asked why no one ever invited him over. He was thrilled when another friend asked him to share one of her family's Friday night pancake suppers. (2) You don't have to make everything yourself. Almost every medium sized town has a shop or market stand that excels at something. Cookies. Pizzas. Bread. Fresh pasta. Ethnic dishes. (3) Never underestimate the power pretty plates, bowls and linens to make the ordinary look special. Your local thrift shop is full of them.
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@JMary Agreed! It's about the camaraderie, atmosphere, conversation. Some of my best parties have been the ones I DIDN'T start cooking for 3 days ago, appetizers to dessert. I love "having people over" but what a relief when I started giving myself a break so I can enjoy the fiesta too.
Trader Joe makes a fantastic lemon tart that I even served at Easter.
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@ JMary Mechanicsburg PA
Your comment touches on a fundamental question: should one, or should one not, expend the time and energy on making a big meal for a sizable group of friends in this age of no cooks, kitchen maids, and serving footmen?
A catering service may be the easiest solution.
I realize that we are discussing here a meal of friends, not a dinner where many of the guests do not know each other and have no topics of conversation in common. At such events, that I mostly avoid, I am a poor table company, because I follow the saying "speech is silver, but silence us golden".
@JMary
Agree ! Please see Jacques Pepin's books on "Fast Food My Way." He joyfully embraces using your grocery store as a "ready-to-use pantry" : Rotisserie chicken, pre-made pizza dough, frozen this and that.
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I admire Ms. Roman's philosophy of "unfussy food". It follows the warning of Ecclesiastes 7, 29, "God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.” Unfussy cooking preserves the natural taste of foods, and the great variety of sauces, invented by the French chefs since the 13th to 20th century, is just such a search of many schemes and novelties. No offense intended to the lovers of the French orthodox haute cuisine.
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@Tuvw Xyz
Re haute cuisine: that's why God invented the restaurant. Leave it to the professionals.
@ theresa New York
I recall reading that restaurants emerged in Paris during the French Revolution, when the chefs, employed until then by the aristocracy, lost their empolyers ro the guillotine and foreign exile.
@Tuvw Xyz While visiting Tuscany some years ago, I discovered the secret of their cooking. Cook what is fresh from the garden and keep it simple. Good advice for all cooks.
I made this last night. Pretty awesome and incredibly simple. The slow cook at a low temperature allows for really tender chicken. The tomatoes flatten out and caramelize in the bottom of the pan and are then are resurrected with the splash of vinegar into a fantastic agro dolce kind of sauce. I threw 4 slices of sourdough bread with a little olive oil brushed on them into the oven for 15 minutes until they became dried and golden. Perfect crunchy counterpoint to tender chicken and slick pan sauce. Don’t forget the garlic halves in the roasting pan. My husband acted like it was a birthday present. Pretty much a one pan meal and now I am making soup with the leftover chicken bones. One request of Alison, can you please start working on a version of this for Thanksgiving turkey?
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There are times to be fussy but usually the best dinners with friends and families are those that are thrown together at the last minute. During the cold months of winter or beautiful bright mornings of summer when I wake up on a weekend morning and read a delicious sounding recipe that absolutely needs to be cooked and shared I can’t wait to share it.
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I must beg to disagree with Alison. My Chicken Poulet is a perfect roast chicken.
@ Zaldid Sorn Chiberia
With all due respect to your culinary talents, there is good Russian proverb: "Buck wheat kasha always praises itself".
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@Tuvw Xyz and now I want kasha! Specifically my grandmother's, that can't happen, so down the rabbit hole!
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@Zaldid Sorn : Chicken Poulet? Poulet Poulet, Chicken Chicken? A bit repetitive!
Last Monday for Rosh Hashonah, I did an impromptoe matzoh ball soup, roast chicken and brussell sprouts for family. I love to cook for others. Such fun. And everything was a hit. You can't go wrong with a good roast chicken
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@ Susan Brooklyn, NY
I would have loved to taste your matzo balls, my favorite next to cold ground-fish balls, called in Yiddish "gefilte fish". But, meaning no offense, neither Brussels sprouts, nor chicken titillate my taste buds.
"Cold red or white wine."
YES YES YES! I'm in the business, and people look at me like i'm nuts when I mention chilling a red for certain foods, or specific wines.
Thank you!
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Love this article, its tone, and these suggestions. I want to cook for/with my loved ones at my place to share good food and memories with them--not to be graded or to have an entertainment report card written up on me. Please let us all in, when you next serve this great spread!
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I actually like entertaining, and calling it "entertaining." My mother used to call it that, too. I love creating a menu, which usually includes something I've never made before, all the courses (never soup but usually nuts), coming up with a fancy or at least delicious dessert, figuring out the wine...no potlucks in my apartment! I want my guests to feel at home, with no effort whatsoever on their part. I have tablespace and chairs for 12, so that's how many I invite. Yes, they're "coming over," but I hope that my food, while not necessarily the focus, is part of the party. I also hope that their enjoying a meal they just showed up for is fun for them. It sure is for me.
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@Ellen Tabor, yours is just the kind of hospitality I really enjoy. Someone who makes a joyful effort, and who welcomes her guests! You never want guests to feel like they are an imposition. However, I do like pot luck gatherings, too — at least when guests take the time to make something nice. I’ve been to parties where my contribution took hours to prepare and required many dollars in supplies, and I see that someone else brings a bag of chips or something like that. And then I feel like a dope for trying. It works out best if some level of food or drink requirement is stated in the invitation.
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@Ellen Tabor I agree! And then I just hope that no one brings their leftovers from last nights party or—worse—yesterday’s barbecue, because they “don’t want them to go to waste.” I don’t want your grungy, congealed pasta salad or half eaten cheeses alongside my carefully chosen and prepared food.
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@LisaLisa I think that if one cares more about food than about one's guests, then one's gathering is doomed to failure.
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I'm not opposed, or incapable, of putting together something fancy for a 6-8 people. . .setting the table, making desert, etc.
But, the best parties are when I make pizza and they start coming out of the oven and people just start eating whatever is hot. . .in the kitchen, at the table, whatever. Maybe waiting for the next one.
. . .or, tacos with grilled meats and veggies coming off the grill, and I have sauces and dips in the kitchen.
. . .or a big pot of chili or soup, and the cue to start eating is when bread comes out of the oven.
Unless you're the Dowager of Downton Abbey, you're probably not having the Queen over.
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Love this! I get overwhelmed and can't figure out what to make for my vegetarian friends, my msg allergic friends, my seafood hating friends, my keto friends, my tomato avoiding friends and then I think, "I'm not a good enough cook! What if they hate my food?" and I just give up and do nothing.
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@Michelle
I prepare a meal, and whatever is served, is what they'll eat. and if they're allergic (I do ask only that question -- because I tend to do a lot of shellfish, and allergies are a problem) then they don't eat the salad that might have tree nuts in it.
If anyone is that sensitive, it's up to them to a) bring their own food if so inclined or b)decline the invite.
Don't not entertain or have people "over." Just Do it! :-)
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Ahhh. Always nice to venture over to the food page after getting riled up on the front page of the news. I love to cook what I call a "rustic" meal for friends. Nothing fancy, never formal, but always good conversation, a lot of laughs, wine, and full belly's with promises at the end to do it again soon. Alison has the right idea!
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I've always had unfussy vibes. Trying to get rid of them.
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Somehow, this article's lecturing tone and message make me more anxious than not.
"Don’t call them crudités." "You can do this." "...allergic to the word 'entertaining...'" "This is not about living an aspirational life." And so on.
Everything said here is so hemmed in with the presumption of anxiety that I feel like the author is living on the brink and trying to push me right up to it too.
"I don't believe in perfect roast chickens." Really? I suppose I've never thought about it before. I've made a lot of very good roast chickens, without the shadow of perfection falling across them. Maybe I should rethink?
Here's my lecture. Call some occasions "entertaining" if you want to, without worrying if you're being shallow. You may call others "hey let's get together and make some food." (Please submit other phrases to me for approval.) You may call your vegetable snacks "crudités"; fun word, but you don't have to, either. And you don't need to maintain any beliefs at all about the perfectibility or non-perfectibility of roast chickens.
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Touché
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Nailed it. Thank you. Such fuss about being unfussy.
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Dessert is what the guests bring, either to be eaten or to be drunk.
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@mike, except that you should check with your host first! I once spent the better part of a day making a gorgeous scratch cake — with ganache between split layers, and frosted with buttercream — only to have my awful sister-in-law show up with a bakery cake that I had to serve instead. Do not do that to a host. Ever.
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@Passion for Peaches I would have put her cake “away to enjoy later” and served my gorgeous cake. Or, you could offer both, insisting that she enjoy the wonderful cake she was so thoughtful to bring;)
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@Passion for Peaches sounds like your problem is your SiL, not the cake.
I was speaking from the perspective of the host. People always ask me what they should bring, so I always suggest a dessert.
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Absolutely. Our people over aren’t inspecting us, they’re enjoying themselves and us.
Just make sure the bathroom is clean, other than that, relax, they love you.
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My corner grocer says I Love You to me often with his roast chickens, but this is a deeper romance. I know from the comments that roasting a whole chicken can seem time consuming to some, but Alison Roman’s unfussy style brings an easy delight into the process. I think of it this way, by following her recipes I am pretty much entertaining myself before anybody else even shows up.
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Nothing says I love you like a chicken.
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I have also never understood the word entertaining. To me that would mean a party beyond having a meal with some “entertainment”, like a concert pianist, a disc jockey or at least something like a movie. I was once asked if I entertained a lot. I said no. Then on further discussion I disclosed I had friends and family over for dinner about twice a week. It was explained to me that meant I entertained twice a week. I was an ENTERTAINER. Who knew?
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@Linda Trotta Well, you didn't read the bottom of the article where she made marionettes out of the chickens and made them dance for her guests. Big hit.
A nice menu, but one small roast chicken for up to 6 people? No way, make two to give everyone enough of their choice of white or dark meat or both. And if the target audience for this menu are people who freak out at the idea of "entertaining" but want to host a nice meal, why not do a main course that has some make-ahead elements and is enough for 6? And that doesn't have to be carved up, which can be tricky if you're not used to it? Roasting a chicken is not "simple" for people who don't cook or "entertain", oops, have friends over to eat nice food on a regular basis. My working Mom had many great individual chicken thigh/breast recipes that could be partly made ahead or marinaded that she used in the good old days of real entertaining when people actually planned an elegant menu, set a nice table, and invited friends and family over who knew enough to dress nicely and bring some wine. And they did it more than once a year! And everyone looked forward to it rather than being intimidated by having to host or attend a "dinner party OMG"!
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@Nell, I’m not a meat eater these days, but I agree with you about the whole chickens. I used to roast a chicken for just my husband almost weekly, and then use the leftovers throughout the week. Back then, I might have served a whole chicken if there were four having dinner, but definitely not six (unless it was a huge capon). It just makes the portioning difficult. Much nicer to prepare chicken sections and let guests choose. And have extras on hand.
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@Passion for Peaches
I also roast a small chicken (4-5lbs) regularly but just for my husband and I, so we each have a bit of breast meat and a whole small leg and thigh each, and the rest is for leftovers. Some of the really big chickens sold in grocery stores (6-9lbs) are much better for a large number of people but you rarely see recipes for a bird that size. Might as well get a small turkey!
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@ Passion for Peaches Left Coast
Thank you for your advice on slicing a chicken for four people. I imagine that the same measures would hold for a pheasant, but a turkey can be apportioned to more people. Saying nothing of a goose, swan or peacock.
As to your husband's weekly chicken, I feel sorry for him, without casting any aspersions on the undoubdetly excellent quality of your cooking.
Great philosophy.
I will try the recipes. Its fall and I start using my oven in the fall.
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Lovely article - with sweet sentiments that ring true about sharing a meal. Just two small notes - with my basic NYT subscription online, I can’t access many recipes that are featured (very sad), including these, so I guess I’ll just make my usual tried and true roasted chicken recipe instead. And this is just a personal reflection - after cooking and baking for more than three decades for others, I’ve greatly cut back on those invitations for a few reasons - most of our friends don’t cook and find “entertaining” too intimidating, so they never do it. For those who always accept invitations and never reciprocate, it’s okay to make burgers or grilled cheese sandwiches or take someone out to eat if they’ve always cooked for you. I promise any gesture would be appreciated. And the other factor is cost. Even simple meals add up, especially if wine and/or beer are involved. Sigh. C’est la vie. I think I was born in the wrong generation.
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@LF, I think it’s atrocious that the Times features an article accessible to regular subscribers, but the click through attachments are blocked unless you have the extra subscription. I can see why they decided to charge for the recipe database as a whole, but if they are going to have an article about a group of recipes, those should be accessible to all. At least for several days.
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@passion for peaches...My sentiments exactly! Alternatively, incorporate the actual recipe into the article. I understand why they up-charge for recipes, crossword puzzles, etc., but it is very annoying.
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@LF, I have been terrible at reciprocating, and really regret it. And yes, it was because I found it intimidating to have anyone over. :( Anyway, it's very understandable to not continue inviting friends who never reciprocate.
To me, "pot lucks" are much less intimidating. I don't know whether those are still popular, though.
Of course, I've also been to dinners out when the entire party split the bill that included pricey wine, plus desserts. So, I'm not irredeemably terrible.
To each his own. My family often went to great lengths trying new, sometimes complicated dishes for large gatherings, and so I guess we had the best of both worlds: very good company and food we could exclaim over.
I also had a friend who made an art of cooking. You'd never know it just by the eating of her meals, in that delicious dishes came out of the kitchen as if by magic; but leafing through old recipes, one realizes that what happened at cutting board and gas range, requiring coordination and precision, hours before, was a sort of ballet performed by one, who enjoyed the hours it took to dance it.
Those days are done.
Nowadays I eat simply. If it weren't for spouse, I'd probably dine on Entenmann's crumb cake.
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@B. Brooklyn
"If it weren't for spouse ..." -- same here, I would live off saucisson sec or dry, thin, salami-like, French sausage.
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My greatest joy as a host is the feeling I have when making people feel as relaxed at my home as they are at theirs.
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What a beautiful take on sharing food with friends and family, Ms. Roman. That is exactly how I feel. The pleasure I derive from cooking is greatly multiplied when I can share with those dear to me. Cooking with love makes everything taste better.
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I have always thought putting good food and good people together on a regular basis makes for a better life. The food can be simple or complicated, but it's the gathering together over a meal that is the important part: the flowers and the elaborate setting are nice if you want that, but I agree that they are not the be-all-and-end-all of sharing meals and conversation. Call some friends to come over and share leftovers and a bottle of wine, or plan something more elaborate, it's the company and sharing that make it work.
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Entertaining is a yuppie word. I agree, it sounds inauthentic.
They rest of is call it, "having people over" or company.
On Sundays, we simply call it Sunday Dinner without the need to expand further....
p.s. The photos accompanying this article are beautiful.
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@Hope - Actually, the word "entertaining" in context with having guests has been around a lot longer than the term yuppies, which only showed up in the mid-80s. I remember hearing it (and seeing it practiced) in the 50s and 60s, so my guess is that it's even older than that.
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@Hope I call it Sunday Supper, to keep expectations low. Sometimes even Sunday Soup Supper.
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People always ask me for my Chicken Poulet recipe.
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All recipes and writing from Alison are required reading - her first cookbook was phenomenal and I couldn't be more excited to buy her second one. Also, more videos please! she's a gem.
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"This is not about living an aspirational life; it’s about living an attainable one."
Thank you! A great attitude for cooking, socializing, and so much more. I hope we see more of this perspective and advice.
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Thank you for the encouragement. My parents used to "have people over" all the time, and it was great fun. I've been paralyzed by the idea of "entertaining" and have never really gotten in to the groove.
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I am on record in this Section, as complaining about the large number of chicken recipes and reviews. But, recently, my eyes and taste buds were opened by a chcken dish made by my wife. She took boneless chicken thighs, pan-fried them in butter with sliced white onions and leek, and the result was the best chicken I ever tasted. Adding to the chcken on the plate Swedish lingonberry preserves helped too.
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@Tuvw Xyz @Tuvw Xy
There's a rumor going around that you eat a lot of both alphabet soup and alphabet pasta.
My complaint about the Food section is that so many of the recipes are ingredient-heavy and time-consuming. I'm a 75-year-old who lives alone, and I wouldn't be surprised if I'm not the only such geezer/geezette who regularly (but vainly) searches "Food" for less complicated concoctions.
You wife's recipe is exactly the sort of dish I dream of. Is there any chance you could ask her at what temp the thighs should be pan-fried? Any other hints for a self-confessed cooking ding-bat?
My thanks to you both.
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@Tom Benghauser, the recipe Tuvw Xy mentioned does sound delicious!
As I'm also not an expert chef or cook, here are some ideas that might be helpful [or not]:
The Times recipes marked as "easy" aren't terribly complicated.
However, they might have ingredients that you don't have on hand! If so, then I'll recommend the Times article about stocking a pantry. If you have ingredients that you like on hand, you can assemble a nice meal without making a special trip to the grocery store.
Fresh produce from your local farmers' market is similarly a great start. I've made up easy meals, like grilled Japanese eggplant with olive oil, cracked pepper, and goat cheese, without a recipe. Other examples: ratatouille with fresh tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, onions, and spices that I like; all kinds of vegetable soup. [The Times has an article about easy bases for soup.]
tbh, I don't think I'll try roasting an entire chicken, since the neighborhood grocery store has very good rotisserie chickens.
Sorry, long comment. :)
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@Karen Lee it’s the rotisserie chicken that makes for a simple low stress meal - otherwise the menu here is only a simple meal for people who routinely do a fair amount of cooking
4