Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Rosie Has An Exciting Day!

I write this on Sunday, January 26, 2014.
Today is my birthday.

I suggested the three of us go out to breakfast this morning-
Mr. Hawthorne, Middle Hawthorne, and me, the Birthday Girl.

What excitement it was!

After an uneventful breakfast
(I've seen fights between couples here in past repasts.
No such luck today.),
Mr. Hawthorne decided to swing by the Teeter
to look for King Crab legs or lobster.
After all, it is my birthday.

Upon entering the entry to theTeeter,
Mid Haw noticed a vulture eating something.
Mere yards from the by-pass.

Upon leaving,
Vinnie the Vulture was still hangin'.

We're heading out of the Teeter's parking lot.
No cars behind.
Luck!
Shot the first pic through the windshield.

Mr. Hawthorne inched along,
rolled down his window,
and I shot this as Vinny became wary and ventured away.

We're thinking that's a dead rabbit up there.
Next-Door-Neighbour-Zippy
says it's something else.
He mentioned the paws don't look rabbitish.

I've been wanting to take this picture for a long time.
On the way back to Colington,
I asked Mr. Hawthorne to pull over
so I could get out and finally take a picture.

Crouching view.
My favorite.

Photo from the moving car.
Too bad Rosie can't keep her camera level.

 Not to worry.
Rosie has Picasa.
Same picture as above.
Just straightened up.


My new MonkeyBusiness cards.
Designed by Daughter Hawthorne.
I love the sparkly star on the fork tine.
And I got a pen too!

Thank you, Daw Haw.
I love you!

Mr. Hawthorne baked a Pecan Spice Cake for me.

A 4-layer cake with Lemon Zest Cream Cheese Icing.

Mr. Hawthorne is a Frosting Fool.

Toasted crushed pecans on the sides.


Sweepie sweepie the crumbies.

Is this not beautiful?


Mr. Hawthorne went out on Saturday
all by himself(!)
to do his shopping for me.
He was looking for either King Crab legs or lobster.
So that's what I was expecting.
He came back with a hen.

Neither FoodLion nor Harris Teeter had Snow Crabs
and the lobsters at the Teeter were 10 days old.
No thank you.

Good-Neighbor-Zippy was here when Mr. H.
pulled out my 79¢/pound "Birthday Chicken"
and had quite a laugh over this.

Let's roast a chicken.
I softened half a stick of unsalted butter
and mixed in about a tablespoon each of chopped fresh herbs -
sage, thyme, and oregano,
and the grated zest of 1 clementine.


Being careful not to tear the skin,
separate it from the bosoms
and stuff the butter mixture inside.
Massage it on the outside
to evenly spread the butter.

Mr. Hawthorne was kind enough to point out
that my skin is the same color as the chicken.


This bird's skin was already torn
so I used toothpicks to hold the skin in place.
Kosher salt over the chicken.

Here's a trick for you:
Put the bird back in the refrigerator,
UNCOVERED, overnight.
This lets the skin dry out
so when you roast the chicken,
you get a crisp skin.

When you're ready to cook your bird,
I recommend trussing it.
Trussing keeps the bird nice and neat
and closes the cavity, letting the meat cook evenly.
Hot air circulating in the cavity
will overcook the breast meat before the dark meat is done.
That's why I truss.


 
 I applied a little Blood Orange Extra Virgin Olive Oil ...
(Thanks again to The VanderCamps of Allegan.)

... brushed it all over.

Bake on a rack, breast side up.

 This was a 5-pound hen.
350° for 1 hour 15 minutes
or until internal temperature is 165°.
Let sit 10 minutes before carving.
This allows the juices to redistribute.
If you slice it now or pull out the probe,
you'll lose all the juices.

 
Happy Birthday to ME!

5 comments:

  1. Rosie, your husband's cake is very impressive and beautiful--lucky you. I love your daughter's business card design. But I must say that watching a buzzard eating a dead animal would not top my list of an exciting day. Only Rosie.
    :-)

    --Rocquie

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  2. Oh yeah. . .sorry you missed a fight.

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  3. Rocquie, any time I can watch a buzzard in action, it's a good day for me. And I love a public fight!

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