Well, it has been an interesting two weeks. 

I spend quite a time on Facebook with friends and family. My family seems fine. My brother and I do not talk often. This has little to do with the fact that we are not close. I like him and he likes me, but eight years is a big number. He went to college when I was nine and, except for vacations, he never really came back to Troy. After college, I moved away and just went back to see my parents.

In any case, he did call last week. He is sheltering in place with his lady friend and they are content. So am I. His children and mine are far away but all are fine. 

I feel closer to my friends on Facebook. Mike DiMauro, The Day’s sports editor, talked about making marinara vodka sauce two nights ago and shared a picture. He thought it might be as good as the one he gets at Filomena’s in Waterford. When I go to Filomena’s, one of my favorite restaurants, I usually get the chicken piccata.

Funny, too, is the fact that I had made marinara vodka sauce the same evening Mike did. I made it with penne and shared it with my neighbors. (I put the pasta on the red bench outside my porch; my neighbors walk out, pick up the dinner and take it home.)

After I ate hot dogs and peanut butter and jelly sandwich for three days, I began to cook with abandon. I made pounds and pounds of vegetables I had in the freezer. I made from-scratch baked beans with bacon, three different pasta sauces and some risotto 

I also made the first chicken dish I’d ever made without a recipe. I had everything I needed except real chicken breasts. I did have some boneless skinless chicken, but it fell flat. This is an easy dish, but it needs the bones and skin from thighs and/or breasts. I think you will like this recipe.

Chicken with Honey and Curry

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Butter a large baking pan (I use Pyrex 8” by 11” or bigger) with butter and set aside. 

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

10 to 12 thighs
3 large chicken breasts, skin and bone on, cut in half
salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces (1 stick) butter
4 tablespoons good curry powder
one-quarter to one-half cup honey, to taste

Wash and dry chicken pieces. Place skin side up in buttered pan and add salt and pepper. Place in oven.

In the meanwhile, in a saucepan melt butter with curry and honey. Keep warm.

After 10 minutes, pour sauce on top of the chicken pieces. Begin to baste the chicken pieces with the sauce every 10 minutes or so. Bake chicken for a total of 50 to 60 minutes, when the chicken pieces have a dark, golden color.

Place cooked rice in a large, attractive bowl. Place chicken pieces over the rice, then pour the sauce all over the chicken and the rice. Serve immediately.

Lee White

About the author: Lee White has been writing about restaurants and cooking since 1976 and has been extensively published in the Worcester (Mass.) Magazine, The Day, Norwich Bulletin, and Hartford Courant.  She currently writes a cooking column called A La Carte for LymeLine.com and also for the Shore Publishing and Times newspapers, both of which are owned by The Day.