It's Saturday and it's time for a break from law. I love to cook and thus I want to tout a recipe printed in last Saturday's Wall Street Journal. Andrea Reusing, the chef of Lantern, in Chapel Hill, N.C., roasts chicken thighs and serves them over a vegetable medley of fennel, onion, and rhubarb, stewed in wine with coriander, garlic, some honey, peppercorns and bay leaf. The recipe, behind the Journal's subscription wall, is here. When I made it this evening, I didn't have a fennel bulb, so I used sweet onion, a few scallions, half a shallot, garlic, lots of fennel seeds (to compensate for the lack of a bulb), a handful of fresh sage, oregano, and chives gathered from my herb garden. I modified the stew liquid with some sake and mirin added to the concoction. If you use Reusing's recipe, I would recommend baking the chicken (after you've browned the skin side in a skillet) for 20 to 30 minutes at 400F. The rhubarb is fantastic -- it's an unexpected combination but it works magnificently. By the way, plant rhubarb in your garden. You won't be disappointed. E.B. White said stewed rhubarb was the ambrosia of the Gods. I think rhubarb originated on Mount Olympus -- I can envision Zeus and Hera puttering about in the garden, slicing off rhubarb stalks. Rhubarb is a vegetable, despite a 1947 Customs Court decision that, for tariff purposes, rhubarb is a fruit. See C.J. Tower & Sons v. United States, 19 Cust. Ct. 12, 1947 Cust. Ct. Lexis 911. (OK, I lied; there is some law here.)
If I'm in Chapel Hill, I'm heading to Lantern. Perhaps fellow Faculty Lounger Al Brophy can report, 'cuz he's in Chapel Hill. Or Eric Muller, also in Chapel Hill. Or Kim Krawiec, in nearby Durham. Maybe all three can go to Lantern. Just a suggestion.
On more than one occasion I've seen Ms. Krawiec and Mr. Gulati holding court at Lantern -- most often in the bar, which I take it is where the really cool people hang out.
Posted by: Alfred Brophy | June 18, 2011 at 09:09 PM
It's one of my favorite restaurants here, Calvin. And Mr. Brophy, always a trend-setter, has been known to visit the hip (at least by Chapel Hill standards) bar area, where they serve the same excellent menu.
Posted by: Kim Krawiec | June 18, 2011 at 11:42 PM
That's right, cooking needs no laws. It can be very relaxing and therapeutic. Great job on replacing fennel bulbs with appropriate replacements. Must have come out really good!
Posted by: Jennifer K | June 19, 2011 at 06:39 AM
Thanks for writing about this. You've got a bunch of really good information here on your website.
Posted by: study language abroad | June 20, 2011 at 11:04 AM