Lemon chicken + mashed potatoes…and intersecting dreams.

Have you ever had that feeling that various parts of your life have intersected perfectly?

A few days ago I experienced this.

Years ago, when I lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I used to sit in the front row of the Brattle Street movie theatre with my then boyfriend watching movies and munching on popcorn.

A few nights ago I sat in the back row of the same theatre with a friend who’s a movie producer, along with his friends and family, to watch the premier of Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself. I couldn’t help but look at the front row and think back to the past, back to my younger self who had so many dreams involving books and movies and other big things.

As I was watching the movie (to read about the amazing man that is George Plimpton, click here), I was so taken by George Plimpton…his absolute gusto for life. George, who founded the literary magazine The Paris Review, was larger than life and followed—and lived—his dreams.

My dreams from back then may have changed a bit, but they still exist—and new ones have formed.

What is life if we can’t dream big?

I remember the old boyfriend with whom I watched hundreds of movies, made me stationery that said (pretentiously), “cineaste,” because I had this idea in my head that I wanted to be involved in movies.

It was an interesting juxtaposition to see my old dreamy self in the front row and my current (still dreaming) self in the back row with people who love (and make movies) and thinking of my current dreams—plus my best creation thus far: the little pumpkin I had four years ago.

So how does all this lead to lemon chicken + mashed potatoes? Earlier that day, I’d cooked lunch for my family and while at the movie I realized so many dreams have come true, that various parts of my life are intersecting the way I’d dreamt they would. And I have faith the new ones will, too.

Lemon chicken
Serves 8-10
This recipe is adapted from The Mom 100 Cookbook by Katie Workman, founder and editor of Cookstr.com. I met Katie recently at a cooking demo with chef Marco Canora. Katie’s book, The Mom 100 Cookbook, is filled with tons of family-friendly recipes. Since I was out of town for the weekend, I figured I’d make this chicken recipe for my parents, sister and our kids. Katie had adapted the recipe from Rao’s, which is an old-school Italian restaurant up in Harlem. Apparently it’s one of the most popular dishes there, and now it’s going to be popular in my kitchen, too.

Oh, and be sure to pour some lemon sauce over the mashed potatoes. You’ll thank me later!

1 cup of fresh lemon juice (from 4 to 6 lemons)
2/3 cup of olive oil
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons of finely minced garlic
1 teaspoon of dried oregano or thyme
Coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 bone-in chicken breast halves with skin (2-2 1/2 pounds)
6 bone-in chicken thighs with skin (2 1/2 – 3 pounds)
1/4 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Preheat the broiler with the rack placed about 8 inches away from the heat source.

Put the lemon juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, oregano or thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a container with a lid and shake well to blend.

Place the chicken pieces skin side down on a rimmed baking sheet and salt them lightly. Broil for 15 minutes. Turn the pieces, lightly salt them, and broil them until the skin is crisp and golden brown and the juices run clear when the pieces are pierced with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes longer.

Remove the chicken from the broiler, leaving the broiler on. Cut the breast and thighs in half, if necessary (I’d bought them already cut). Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat.

Shake the lemon sauce again and pour it over the chicken. Turn the pieces over so they are evenly coated with the sauce, making sure all of the pieces end up skin side down.

Broil the chicken until it has browned a bit more, another 2 minutes, then turn the pieces skin side up and broil them until the skin is browned a bit more, about 3 minutes longer. Remove the chicken from the baking sheet, and if you’re using parsley, stir it in the sauce still in the baking sheet. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Mashed potatoes
I make mashed potatoes by taste and I suggest you do the same. For our Sunday lunch, I peeled (thank you to my sister) and boiled about 12 potatoes. Once I drained those, I added 2 sticks of butter, about 1/2 cup of milk (and a bit more as I mashed them). I mashed the potatoes using my sister’s old-fashioned masher. The result was lumpy potatoes, just the way we like them.

16 Comments
  1. Tracey, this was such a lovely post, reminiscing about dreams past and celebrating ones that have come true.  Here’s to intersections! 🙂  And then there’s “the recipe” — I could practically taste the lemon from here… now THAT’S Lemon Chicken! ( “Dreamy” mashed potatoes, too… yum.)

  2. Thank you, Kimby. Yes, here’s to intersections! Let me know if you try the recipe. It truly is dreamy, as far as comfort food is concerned.

  3. Tracey!  What an exquisite weaving betwixt and between past present future… brought to the fore through this movie and more deliciously, the menu!  YUM!  
    This is my biggest gift of insight from your writing…I realized so many dreams have come true, that various parts of my life are intersecting the way I’d dreamt they would. And I have faith the new ones will, too.This gifts me with the felt sense of the ever-moving continuum of life, unfolding unto itself.  Such a beautiful thing to reflect on what has been realized… while seeing what is now unfolding from my heartdreams.and… I WILL be making this delicious looking din for my gang!  Thank you for the recipe!

    Thank you!
    xoxo

  4. I am ALWAYS delighted to hear about your ever-evolving journey and so pleased that you continue to gift us with delicious recipes and foodie finds even while you write a book, possibly a screen play, nurture your BEAUTIFUL daughter and plan enticing retreats for writers and connoisseurs. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

  5. I’ve spent a lot of time looking at my past as I try to divine my future. The intersections aren’t connecting for me, but you give me hope that they will. 

  6. Thank you, Sue Ann. What is life if we don’t pursue all of our dreams, all while enjoying this moment, too. Thank you for stopping by. 

  7. I love the “ever-moving continuum of life, unfolding unto itself.”  I’m so glad you stopped by and I look forward to the unfolding of your heart dreams! Let me know if the gang likes the chicken. 

  8. Tracey I loved this walk down memory lane with you and the juxtaposition of past, present and future dreams. And you sure do have a very cute pumpkin!

  9. Oh I love this. I’ve been in this place recently as well. Looking back at old dreams and seeing how they have evolved and yet at the very core they’ve stayed exactly the same. So many people don’t allow themselves to dream big because they don’t want to be disappointed. I’ll take that risk any day. My dreams are where I connect with my WHY and it’s where I get my inspiration and direction from. Lovely post. 

  10. Thank you. Isn’t it enlightening to look at our old dreams? Mine, too, have stayed the same at their core. I’m living so many of them and yet I have others I want to see realized.

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