Winter is finally rearing it’s chilly head here in Northern California.  With temperatures finally dipping into the 30’s in the early mornings and the need for a jacket even in the afternoons the thought of a warm and comforting meal in the evening becomes less of a fond memory and more of an urgent desire. Baby, it’s cold outside!  Time for some comfort food.

Please note that this is not a recipe for Shepherd’s Pie.  Shepherd’s Pie, by definition uses minced lamb.  Anything else is a cottage pie and cannot technically be called a shepherd’s pie.  Regardless of that factoid (which you may or may not give a hoot about), this dish is full of all the love and goodness that you and your family will be craving throughout the oncoming chilly days and nights of winter. It’s a satisfying, warm and hearty dish that’s just perfect for cozying up around the table with family or friends and some good wine and conversation. (Or stout.  Stout is good here, too!)

Have yourself some meat and mash love this winter.  You deserve it.  It’s comfort food season, so consider this a calorie free meal for a Saturday night and enjoy!  We surely did.

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It’s not often I’ll say this, but you’ve just gotta try this recipe!

Both my wife and I love roast chicken. It’s something I make at least once a month, usually following my old standby methods of stuffing the bird with citrus or apples, garlic, onions and rosemary. There is nothing wrong with that method, and I know I’ll go back to it again.

This time I thought I’d try something a little different.

I’d picked up a whole fryer at the market early in the week with plans to make a roast chicken with the method described above. I almost always roast fryers. They don’t take very long to cook, and believe it or not, they come out a lot more moist than the big roasters do. The problem was that my fresh rosemary had gone fuzzy on me, and dried just doesn’t have the same effect. Also, I wanted some roasted potatoes and carrots, but I didn’t want to mess up the whole kitchen with dinner.

The solution to my dilemma was right inside the fridge door, in the form of a package of bacon.

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