I love whole roasted chicken because I love Ina Garten. Me and my grandma used to watch her on the Food Network after school while she'd make me after school snacks. Even though the oven in our household was essentially a glorified pot holder, we still loved fantasizing over what those luscious roast chickens tasted like. This is my homage to those days with my grandma, a juicy, whole roasted chicken made in my own oven thats soaked in the nostalgic flavors of scallion, ginger, and childhood.

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Scallion Whole Roasted Chicken

The only reason I find the ambition to cook a whole turkey is knowing the fact that I will be able to use the leftovers to make a bowl of delicious fried rice the next day. Scallion and garlic are sizzled in oil with sage for a nod to Thanksgiving. The aromatic oil becomes a base for a quick stir fry of fluffy white rice, scrambled egg, caramelized shiitake mushrooms, diced carrots, leftover turkey, and topped with fresh scallion. Honestly though, the art of fried rice is really about cooking the rice to the proper texture (see below). Once you have those fluffy grains that are loose, the ones that just fall off your spoon and aren't too starchy, the fried rice possibilites are endless. It's a vehicle to which you can add leftovers like turkey and really any ingredient that's just sitting in your fridge to be chopped and stir fried in whatever variation you crave.

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Turkey Fried Rice with Sage and Scallion

A pot of drumsticks slowly braised in a sweet/salty/funky sauce made of Coca-cola (a dad favorite for marinade), soy sauce, black vinegar, and hit of fish sauce. The resulting pot of drumsticks becomes so tender and sticky sweet full of concentrated sauce that it begs to be eaten with a fresh bowl of white rice.

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