where should we go for chicken tonight?

This is the daily question I ask any hungry stakeholder within earshot of my kitchen. It’s a mashup of idioms, born from the old college dining hall quip, “what’s for chicken tonight?” But it carries the promise of exotic flavors, moderately experimental cooking techniques, and a brief but unsolicited sermon on the chosen cultural destination du jour.

everybody needs a cooking kitty…

My trick to combat loneliness was turning my kitchen into a miniature social network with a conscripted feline audience, a soundtrack of melodic voices and a collection of inanimate “friends” complete with names and personalities.