Sometimes I doubt my commitment to SparkleMotion

Imaginary correspondent R. writes to say,

You seem to be going through your regularly scheduled bimonthly funk, in which you are frustrated with blogging. Why not work your way through it by writing a list recommending some of your favorite things, rather than waste everyone’s time with a “whither blogging” post? It’s quite charming when McSweeney’s does it.

Out of the mouths of imaginary constructs, as they say. As it happens, I have some recommendations…

Shaun of the Dead: When I walked out of that movie, I immediately said to my friend, “People are going to be watching that movie thirty years from now.” (Virgina Postrel illustrates what I mean.) Funny, scary, and completely original. If the Oscar-bait biopic Ray has 1/10th of the humor and humanity of Shaun of the Dead, I’ll be a happy camper.

Get Right With God: How often have you said to yourself, “I’d sure love an album full of uptempo vintage gospel, but I have no idea where to look”? Pretty darn often, I’ll bet. I came across this over the weekend, and haven’t stopped playing it. The recordings vary in quality, but it’s worth it. I can’t remember the last time I got an album which oozed with so much joy.

The Heart of the Matter, by Graham Greene. Set in colonial Africa during the Second World War, it’s a sort of moral suspense story of a good man struggling with guilt.

Pants from Express Men: Pants are a very personal thing, and your mileage may vary. Personally, I doubt that I could get custom-made pants that fit better. I bought a pair of jeans from Express Men, and they quickly became my favorite pants. Later, I bought a pair of dress slacks for work, and they also became my favorite pants. Long may you run, Express Men.

No More Mister Nice Blog and The Slacktivist: If either one of these guys posted more, they’d be the ones being profiled in the New York Times.

Chicken with two lemons: I saw this recipe in Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. The introduction said that this is recipe produced incredibly juicy chicken with no brining and no added fat. Frankly, I didn’t see how that was possible, but I appreciated the ease of the recipe and thought I’d give it a try. (It’s a great cookbook, but most of the recipes are more complicated.)

The book was right. The skin is sort of tough, but the meat itself is astoundingly juicy, with a delicate lemon perfume that you can enhance at will with the juice from the baked lemons.

3-4 pound chicken
2 small lemons
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Wash chicken inside and out. Thoroughly pat dry with paper towels.

Season skin and cavity generously with salt and pepper.

Roll lemons on countertop to soften them. Stab lemons with fork about 20 times and stuff into cavity. I sew up the cavity with a pin from a trussing kit, without completely sealing it. If you don’t have a pin, a toothpick or two would work.

Tie the legs loosely- you don’t want to bind them to the body of the bird, you just want to prevent them from spreading apart when the skin swells.

Put the chicken in a roasting pan, breast down, and cook for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn chicken breast-side-up. Cook for 30 minutes.

Raise heat to 400 degrees F. Cook another 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes. Carve and serve. Squeeze lemon juice at your discretion.