the sky is falling

I just recently did an internet search on the moral to the story of Chicken Little. I found a website that offered several theories. One thought is we need to investigate things fully and don’t make assumptions. Don’t believe everything you hear, be cautious of gossip and hysteria.  Lastly, if one could be more rational in thinking, one acorn falling doesn’t mean the sky is falling. During this current crisis, some people may have fallen into thoughts of hysteria possibly fueled by a variety of media sources. While we were instructed to remain home, you were able to have limited movement. 

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I had a dickens of a time trying to locate chicken during this health crisis. I’m partially to blame as I sought out a particular brand of chicken, Bell&Evans, and wouldn’t necessarily comprise. I was able to locate Bell&Evans chicken at Whole Foods last week. Once I found my favorite brand, then my dilemma became do I purchase a whole chicken ($2.99/lb.) or go for the spatchcocked ($3.99/lb.), a quibble over a minor cost difference; I finally purchased the spatchcock.
 
I began searching for a new recipe in which to prepare my chicken. As you know, I’m fond of the recipes on @nytcooking. I found a wonderful recipe by Melissa Clark (@clarkbar) for spice-rubbed spatchcocked chicken. The recipe features a dry rub consisting of dark brown sugar, kosher salt, ancho or New Mexico chile powder, sweet paprika, dry mustard powder, dried oregano, black pepper, allspice and bay leaves. In my preparation I substituted chipotle chile pepper and used Hungarian Sweet Paprika.
 
The chicken marinates with the dry rub for two to 24 hours; mine was done for 2. While some of the comments suggested grilling, Saturday’s rainy weather meant I did mine in the oven. I roasted it using my convection setting and it was done in approximately 40 minutes.
 
The chicken came out moist and flavorful. It had a nice kick from the spicy rub, but wasn’t hot. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this preparation. Our sides were mashed potatoes flavored with Williams-Sonoma Loaded Mashed Potato Seasoning (sour cream cheddar and chives) and Harvard beets. It was a delicious meal on a cool and damp day. ​