Disaster and Candlelight

Those of us who live in New England have always been so happy that all we have to put up was snow which could be shoveled and pushed around. We didn't have to worry about severe hurricanes and tornadoes.  That all ended on June 1, 29, 2011.  I had spent the day in Boston and as I was headed home, I received a call that told me the Commonwealth was under a tornado watch.  I got off the turnpike in Palmer and had planned to do some shopping, but one look at the sky made me change my mind. I called a friend and asked where the storms were, she checked the internet and indicated they were just crossing the New York state border.  I turned my car around and headed home.  I watched the area tv stations and they were all talking about a storm cell in the Northampton-Amherst area.  Nobody mentioned any other areas.  All of a sudden I noticed a green dot in the Westfield area that was growing quickly.  Within a few minutes, the weatherman said touchdown in Westfield (and he wasn't discussing football).  I watch the sky darken and all of a sudden I heard a sound like a wall of hail approaching.  I headed to the basement and by the time I got to the foot of the stairs, it was over.  I looked out my windows and everything looked normal, not a leaf out-of-place.  Pretty soon I noticed cars turning around and my neighbor flying into my driveway saying I had to come see what had happened to the lake we live one.  I could not believe my eyes - all the trees on both sides of the middle of the lake were gone.  I went back home and started walking down the street - about 200 feet away I could see the beginning of the devastation. Prior to the day, our street could have been certified as a canopy road, but not anymore.  Within minutes the police were going house-to-house to make sure nobody was injured.  Thankfully, there were none.  They then suggested we return to our houses as the warnings were still on.  I then spent an hour or so in my neighbor's basement.  We then decided it was time to eat.  Since there was no power and had no idea when we would get it back, we had to get some items out of the freezer. 

My neighbor's eldest son, Peter, is quite the cook and had already brined chicken to grill that night. So to the table we added lobster and a salad. A few Coleman lanterns were added for lighting and tea candles for ambience.

Lemon Grilled Chicken

5 lemons, halved

12 bay leaves

1 bunch (4-ounces) flat-leaf parsley

1 bunch (1-ounces) fresh thyme

1/2 cup clover honey

1 head garlic, halved

1/4 cup freshly ground black peppercorns

2 cups (10-ounces) kosher salt

2 gallons water

2 roasting chickens, cut-up

1.  Combine all ingredients in a large pot, cover and bring to a boil. Boil for1 minute,  stirring to dissolve the salt.  Remove from the heat  and cool completely,  then chill before using.  The brine can be refrigerated for up to three days.

2.  Place cut-up chicken into brine and let sit for for 12 hours, stirring several times.  Remove chicken, rinse and dry.

3.  Heat grill. Rub chicken pieces with olive oil, garlic, sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  Place chicken on grill and grill, turning once. Serve immediatley.

We enjoyed this delicious chicken with a wonderful salad and grilled kale that was seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Recipe adapted from Thomas Keller.