sunday dinner

We've been practicing the art of the Sunday dinner around here for the past few weeks. Embracing the pace of the day (or at least, the pace we try to allow) - slow, calm, at ease, and un-fettered - I've been making it a priority to put together a well-composed (but not too fussy - the point is to enjoy the time in the kitchen), sit-down dinner for the two of us to bring Sunday to it's gentle close. With all the turbulence and distressing news these days, it's important to pause and take in something nourishing, comforting and just plain nice.

No idea yet what the pantry will yield this week, but that's part of the fun - taking some time to leaf through magazines or re-discover old favorites on the cookbook shelf (Molly's Pamplemousse in hand, perhaps). That Zuni Roast Chicken served us well back in February (and made an encore last week) - there's a reason it's so well-loved.

Been eyeing these too:

*Saveur's recipe for Butter Chicken or Heidi's Coconut Red Lentil Soup for something lighter

*making good on that note to use more radicchio, this risotto might be a winner, served with a green salad (I think I made this once before with good results)

*I quite like perusing this book right now too, so maybe something will come of that

This little bit of time in the kitchen on Sunday seems to provide great jumping-off points for the rest of the week too. The Zuni recipe gave us chicken stock for the freezer (or a soup) and chicken for sandwiches, not to mention leftover greens (we used arugula and frisee in the bread salad) for salads - the starting points for three meals or more, easily for us. Nothing makes me happier than getting the most from a beautiful meal.