Chickens

This week is ambling along. Monday feels so far into the past, yet Friday feels weeks away. Yesterday was thrilling, sitting quietly at work with streaming Internet all over the office broadcasting Barack Obama's Inauguration. His family rivals the Kennedys in their powerful yet somehow humbled presence. I'm in love with America for voting for this to be his task. Today was his first day at work in the Oval Office. Under scrutiny and with the support of what appears to be a devoted, supportive and warm family, pardon this...but Yes We Can! :) *This afternoon I went for a dental cleaning. My dentist, Dr. Byun, is a kindhearted soul and a good doctor. But damn if I don't ever, ever want to go to the dentist! Teeth are stupid! Technology now has enabled this breed of medicine to take "x-rays" (COLOR PHOTOS) of the inside of a mouth, while a color monitor overhead of the patient brightly displays the disaster that is a long-overdue dental examination. Bah! What I think is awesome about seeing doctors in New York is the location of their offices. It isn't like anywhere else, where a medical office is on a "campus" with sprawling lawns and spans of other medical buildings exactly like each other (ie., Ann Arbor, MI and U of M's healthcare complex) or a single bland-colored facaded (made that up) building with nothing but medical offices on every floor (several various Midwest locales). No, here...well, my regular physician has an office in an apartment. Yes, an apartment...and my dentist devil (sorry) (he's actually really awesome - it's dentristy in general that is devilish) is located in the basement of a Manhattan highrise at 87th and Lex. Nice! It's strange, though...somehow, here, I trust medicine more than other places I've lived. It's my good faith in All Things New York, I suspect.*So, I'm currently roasting the above posted garlic chicken. This is a recipe that just keeps on giving. This marks the 3rd time I will have made it, and despite its grand beauty (much lovelier with a golden skin post-roast), it is one of the simplest, most mundane recipes I have found, relying on the complexity of its ingredients rather than the impossibility of the recipe itself. Thyme, tarragon, 4 bulbs of garlic, Nicoise (in my case, Calamata, as I have not found Nicoise) olives, olive oil, salt, pepper, and a lemon halved and shoved in the cavity yield one of the warmest, yummiest dinners ever. Hmm, unfortunately, the calories add up on this one. But portion control, portion control! Pair this with favorite mashed potatoes and crisp steamed asparagus and homemade dinner takes on new meaning! Mmmm.*I was going to complain a little about New Moon, but nah. I will save it. It's my fault for continuing to read such dribble.