One Dirty Bird

With Mr.W a die-hard Atlanta Falcons fan, (American) football season is a big deal in this household. Weekend activities are arranged to accommodate Sunday afternoon games, and especially the timing for the Falcons game.

Every Sunday from September through January I become a football widow, often looking for alternative entertainment or going places alone. There are those occasions, however, when I make Mr.W a nice meal to enjoy on the sofa. We wouldn't want him to starve there on the couch, now would we?



Last Sunday I started by giving Mr.W a snack. I dressed those lovely cherry tomatoes with kosher salt, freshly ground tri-color pepper and a light mustardy vinaigrette made from prepared yellow mustard, pear-infused white balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil.

While he noshed on that, I got to work on dinner, which really was a quick one to put together. The chicken was roasted very simply with only salt and black pepper massaged onto the skin with a little olive oil. I also made stuffing from, I should be ashamed to admit, a boxed mix that I doctored just a little bit.

Hey, I've got to stretch my budget where I can.

This stuffing mix was 99 cents--basically you bring water and butter to a boil then turn off, stir in the seasoned crumbs and cover for about 5 minutes to soften. Easy enough, but you know I couldn't just follow the directions!

I sauteed some chopped onion in olive oil until very soft, then added one peeled, chopped apple and a handful of raisins (about 1/4 cup) before pouring in half water half chicken broth. When that mixture came to the boil, I stirred in the stuffing mix, covered the pot and turned off the heat. What a difference!

It must have been the combination of serving poultry on Sunday and Mr.W rooting on his favorite team, because the Falcons won against the Green Bay Packers (Falcons 27 - Packers 24).

Note: For the uninitiated, the Dirty Bird is a celebratory football dance that has become something of an Atlanta tradition.