We have had a pretty long week which did not end on a great note – problems at work, servers, demanding clients, etc…  not what you want for a Friday.  We left the office early and wanted to just get home, open a bottle of wine and relax.  Cooking helps me relax and comfort food was definitely in order.

I knew before heading to the office that the succulent Petaluma chicken was going to be on the menu.  I just was not sure what to do with her until we started scooting home and my thoughts turned from bad day at the office to cooking.  Sticking with the Eat Local Challenge, I had picked up some pancetta earlier in the day at Boccalone and really wanted to use it so I decided to make one of our favorite dishes, a pancetta & Tarragon roasted Chicken.  This chicken is really fantastic.  You make a bread crumb stuffing with pancetta, onion, and tarragon, then stuff it under the skin of the chicken and roast!  Right after it came out of the oven, I squeezed some Meyer Lemon over the top.  The end result, very moist and bursting with all these crazy flavors.

While the chicken roasted, I boiled some potatoes and celery root together and then smashed them with some cream … very creamy and the flavors really complimented the pancetta and the lemon scented juices from the chicken.

If you are a regular reader you will know that we have not been ending our meals with dessert for some time.  Yes, we have been cutting back.  We both have been craving a little something something, so I decided to create something small but sweet for later in the evening.  I really love making Lemon Spongettes, when I need a quick dessert.  It reminds me of a pudding/cake dessert my grandmother use to make.  I did not want to have a lemon dessert since the chicken had lemon.  Instead I decided to create something else.  Since I really wanted the texture of the spongettes, I came  up with a vanilla bean spongette.  I put them into the oven right before eating and did not realize I had turned it off after removing the chicken.  Twenty minutes later, when I did not smell it cooking, I went and looked.  Well, this was a bonus for this dessert as it caused the beaten egg whites to form a nice topping, that came out a little crunchy and when I flipped it over onto the dessert plate, a warm custard was beneath, I added a drizzle of brunt salted caramel sauce over the top – HEAVEN!!

Update:  we had leftovers on Saturday, except for dessert, are you kidding, Lenny ate it all on Friday.  The chicken and potatoes were even better!  Saved the chicken bones and juices to make it into a lovely soup!

Breakdown for this meal & the Eat Local Challenge:

Chicken – free range & from Petaluma

Red Onion – organic & from California

Pancetta – Boccalone – Local

Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs – organic & had on hand

Tarragon – organic & from California

Olive Oil – Italy, what we have on hand

Salt & Pepper – what we have on hand

Potatoes – organic & from California

Celery Root – organic & from California

Cream – organic & from Petaluma

Eggs – Cage free & from Sonoma County

Flour – organic & had on hand

Sugar – organic & had on hand

Vanilla Bean – imported

Wine – local

Recipe:  Vanilla Bean Spongettes

2 eggs, separated
¾ cups whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
⅛ cup flour
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 4 oven-proof ramekins with cooking spray.
Beat the eggs whites with an electric mixer until stiff. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and milk.
Cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. The mixture will be a bit pebbly, as there is such a small amount of butter, add vanilla bean seeds. Add the flour and salt. Add the combined milk and egg yolks. Beat until smooth. Fold in the egg whites.  Pour the mixture evenly into 4 ramekins. Set the ramekins in a large baking dish and carefully pour in enough hot water to rise about one-third to halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. The tops should be light, golden brown and slightly crunchy. Remove from water bath, and allow the spongettes to cool slightly, in the ramekins.  To serve, run a knife around the edge of the ramekin to loosen the spongette, and invert it onto a plate.  Serve.  Eat