It smells RIDICULOUS up in here!

My husband and I have taken note of the recent movement towards eating locally and seasonally and have begun to take steps to find a local butcher, grocer, etc. After having a conversation with a girlfriend of mine, Nadja, she informed me that her family purchases whole local chickens, rabbits and what have you, and uses the entire animal for dinners, lunches, leftovers, soups...you name it. She also shared with me that she doesn't eat tomatoes and various other non-native produce throughout the entire winter. If it's not local to Calgary, why would she? This inspired me to shift gears and start paying better attention to what I put in my body and how incredibly wasteful I have been with food.

As a result, I went out and bought a local whole chicken and decided Friday night I would roast it. Here's how it turned out...mind the drool on your keyboard:

First I marinated the bird in garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and S&P for a solid four hours. I then roasted it on a bed of onions and carrots and periodically basted it with this gorgeous juice:

The Four Graces, Dundee Hills, 2009 Pinot Blanc

Every once in awhile you come upon a wine that you won't soon forget. This one was the ticket. Being a huge Oregon Pinot Noir fan, I was pumped to try this Pinot Blanc. This softly spoke to me with stone fruit: peach, nectarine, even a whispering of mango. On the palate it was pure velvet with an incredible full mouth feel. It had a beautiful, lengthy finish with a hint of lemon zest which resonated with the marinade I had used. $30 on the shelf.

Chicken and gravy sammiches for dinner tonight? I think so!

Lola