In which we talk about chicken

I know, I know. We're so close to the holidays and I'm sure you're thinking "why the @#$% are we talking about chicken". Well my friends, this year the holidays seem a bit surreal, as in it's the 21st today and I still cannot correlate that that means Christmas is literally four days away.

I chalk it up to that we have moved this month, I started a new job, and in putting stuff away we've pared down and donated a lot of stuff we didn't use. All which has taken a lot of time and my tree is still in a box. Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays but this year there's been so much upheaval (not to mention the close to 60 degree weather we've had of late (and I'm so not joking) out here on the East Coast) that there really hasn't been enough time to absorb that Christmas is practically upon us.

But now, back to the chicken. (I know, this is so not important to you)

The West Coast knows what a real chicken looks like. One that's a good size with normal size portions of white and dark meat.

The East Coast... not so much. Our choices have been between Cornish Game Hens, chickens that look like Cornish Game Hens or turkeys. (They do give us the option of large and small turkeys, but they're still the size of well, turkeys.) How generous of them. No one carries normal looking chickens.

And now I know what you're thinking. Why the hell doesn't she just buy the boneless, skinless chicken breasts like the rest of us?! Because, I have a chef for a husband and it's easier (and cheaper) to break down whole chickens. He's shown me numerous times but I pretend to have amnesia every time and still make him do it.

We have gone to numerous grocery stores trying to find normal looking chickens where the meat isn't tough and old when you cook it. We're still looking, pray for us, it is Christmas time. ;)

Normal West Coast Chicken:

Abnormal East Coast chickens:

Okay fine, that is actually a Cornish Game Hen, but this is simply a visual example.