Raindrops on Roses and Mittons on Kittens,
Sparkles and Ice Skates and Pants I can fit in,
Carnivores, Dinosaurs, show-tunes to sing,
These are a few of my favourite things

and-
DINNERGEDDON.

Last night was another wonderful rendition of Senor Hyde’s magical mystery evening. In preparation for the party I asked Andrew if he had any requests for food. His response?

“Would love to do something with bacon.
Yep. Went there.”

Of course, in addition to this request, the dinner would have to stick to the Paleo Diet for our CrossFit members. Here are the rules:
-The first rule of CrossFit is: You do not talk about CrossFit. Except when other CrossFitters are around. Then talk about it a lot. Seriously.
-Meat, Veggies and Fruit are in.
-Sweeteners, Dairy and any foods that cannot be consumed raw are out.

The real goal for the evening? Make a meal for all the guests (of the paleo persuasion and otherwise) that wouldn’t feel like “special-diet food.” No one likes that. Especially not Kirstie Alley, to whom I dedicate all meals.

In my mind.
(side note, I know we talked about getting Johnny Weir as our guest of honor next time, can we maybe find a seat for Madame Alley as well?)

So, the menu:
Chicken Legs braised in White Wine, Pancetta and Leeks
Mashed Delicata Squash with Sage Oil
Parsley and Garlic Roasted Mushrooms

The braising of the legs left me with mucho extra chicken skin. I normally take it off the legs if I’ll be braising, otherwise it turns into a rubber flap in the stew. Gross. Do not, however, mistake me for the type of person to remove skin from chicken and other meaty things for the sake of calories. I would not discard this extra skin, but rather, give it the royal treatment it deserves.

Warning-this gets slightly Hannibal Lecterish:
I stripped the legs of their skin, sliced each piece so it could lay flat and then stretched all the skin over a rack. I put the rack inside a roasting tray, sprinkled everything with salt and pepper and then placed another rack on top-chicken skins have a mind of their own and I wanted neither curls nor shrivels, I wanted thin, delicate, flat crisps. Throw that in the oven at 500 degrees for 10 minutes (or until golden) and you’ll never regret it.
The skins would be the garnish, a salty/crispy bite atop each bowl.

The meal was lovely, the company-divine and the evening a success. Thanks to all who came!