"Roasted Chicken & Potatoes with Rosemary” To Celebrate Charles Dickens "203" Birthday!

As a young girl, the library was my best friend. When I would enter the library, the first thing that would give me comfort was the aroma of the books. Yes, I could just smell the paper and the type that was attached to each story. I would browse up and down the rows of books on the shelves and loved escaping to the past of a classic novel. After many hours of enjoyment looking all around, I would have an armload of books to borrow. As I gave my library card to the Librarian and as she checked out my books, I couldn’t wait till I got home to start reading. When I walked out of the library for that day, I would feel sad. I realized that I had a whole array of stories to read and many characters that would eventually become my friends which consoled me. I always loved books and my mom does as well. Maybe this is why I have the adoration of the “Word” and love to write my own fictional stories.

Of all the fiction I enjoyed growing up, no author captured my soul than Charles Dickens. He is one of my very favorite authors of Victorian English literature besides Jane Austen. His novels stir compassion for the overworked and underpaid. The first story that I read of Charles Dickens was “A Tale Of Two Cities.” This was in High School and these words from the book have never left my mind, “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.”

Saturday is the 203rd Birthday of Charles Dickens. He is much loved for his contributions of epic stories and vivid characters which have become unforgettable classics in literature. The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Hard Times, Little Dorrit, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and many more…. 

His own story is one of rags to riches. Having lived through lean times, Dickens equated food and drink with abundance, a feeling made evident in nearly every story he wrote. He was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, England. He was the 2nd of eight children born to John and Elizabeth Dickens. His father was a clerk in the Navy Pay-office. Charles spent most of his time outside and reading books. His memories of his childhood and his near photographic memory of people and events added to his writing later in life. His private education was brief and came to an abrupt end due to financial difficulties of his family. His father John lived beyond his means and was imprisoned in the Marshalsea debtor’s prison in 1824. At 12 years old, Charles was then sent to live with a family friend Elizabeth Roylance in Camden Town. To pay for his board and help out his family, Dickens began to work 10 hour days at a boot-blacking factory.

Charles’s father, John, inherited some money from his grandmother that died, paid off all his debts and was released from the Marshalsea prison. Charles then worked at a law office. Having learned shorthand which he taught himself, he left the law office and became a freelance reporter. In 1833 Dickens first story, “A Dinner at Popular Walk,” was published in a periodical magazine. His first novel “The Pickwick Papers,” was published in March of 1836, which began his literary career. Often the characters in his novels were based on people and places he knew. On April 2, 1836, he married Catherine Thomson Hogarth. They had 10 children, but separated from his wife in 1858, many years later. 

Catherine Dickens (Charles wife)

In 1842, Dickens made his first trip to the United States and Canada. He visited President John Tyler at the White House in his support for the abolition of slavery. He spent a month in New York City, giving lectures, raising support for copyright laws. As the years went by he continued to write his classic novels, spoke at lectures, and became involved in Philanthropy. Charles also furthered his interest in the paranormal becoming one of the early members of “The Ghost Club.”

Between 1868 and 1869, Dickens gave a series of “farewell readings” in England, Scotland, and Ireland, until he collapsed on April 22, 1869, showing symptoms of a mild stroke. After further readings were cancelled, he began work on his final novel, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” On May 2, 1870 he made his last public appearance at a banquet in the presence of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

On June 8, 1870, Dickens suffered another stroke at home, after a full day’s work on Edwin Drood. The next day on June 9th, he died never having regained consciousness. He was laid to rest in the “Poet’s Corner” of Westminster Abbey. An epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads: “To the memory of Charles Dickens, who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathizer with the poor, the suffering, and by his death, one of England’s greatest writers is lost to the world.” Charles Dickens last words, as reported in his obituary in The Times were alleged to have been: “Be natural my children. For the writer that is natural has fulfilled all the rules of art.”

Dickens loved Christmas evidenced by his many holiday-themed stories. His daughter, Mamie, remembered their family holiday celebrations with great affection. He loved Christmas for its deep meaning as well as for its joys. Christmas in the Dickens home was described as an elaborate celebration. He favored goose, plum pudding, cheeses, and loved to engage in family games with dancing. His drink of choice was a mulled wine or a citrus punch with port.

In the 1800s food was prepared exactly as it is today, by baking, broiling, frying, and steaming. Until around the middle of the 1800s cooking was done over an open fire. The use of cast-iron stoves was rapidly spreading by the end of the nineteenth century. Technological innovations transformed the nature of food production as the population grew. The invention of the railways immensely improved the quality of produce in the cities. Milk was transported by rail and kept fresh with the aid of a mechanical cooler. The spread of the railways also brought international trade across European markets. The Victorian kitchens were also transformed with the addition of new ovens and nifty gadgets such as: graters, pastry cutters, pie molds, and muffin tins.

So, in honor of Charles Dickens Birthday, my recipe this week is “Roasted Chicken & Potatoes with Rosemary.” I think he would have loved this dish. (seeing I can‘t get a hold of a goose) Enjoy and don‘t forget to read a few of Dickens novels, you will be hooked I‘m sure!  
 
“Roasted Chicken & Potatoes with Rosemary”

Roasted chicken and potatoes are seasoned with aromatic rosemary, paprika and minced garlic. You can add healthy veggies or a salad to enhance your meal.

Serves: 6

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons Paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons Rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon course black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
6 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed (about 2 pounds)
1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes , cut into 1-inch cubes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix oil and seasonings in large bowl. Add chicken and potatoes; toss to coat well. Arrange chicken and potatoes in single layer on foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan sprayed with no stick cooking spray. Roast 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender, turning potatoes occasionally.

Till Next Time………………….

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