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Last week, I roasted one 6-pound, $7 chicken and created 4 separate dishes and 16 meals, beginning with the roasted chicken, the ensuing stock, a Chicken and Dumpling Soup made from the stock  a luscious Chicken Divan casserole, and four substantial chicken sandwiches enhanced with a homemade Nutty Whole Grain Bread. That’s going the distance in the economical and no waste cooking department, which was, and for the long-haul is, my most intense cooking ambition these days

Normally, I would roast this in a roasting pan and cover it with foil, but I realized I was out of foil. My small Le Creuset Dutch oven happened to be out from a post-soup washing, so I used it as a great, hassle-free roasting vessel (complete with top cover) alternative. * Remove the neck, gizzard, liver, wing tips and add to the aromatics at the bottom of the Dutch oven (or traditional roasting pan) * Truss the chicken to facilitate a better appearance and more even cooking. * Start it in a hot oven (I begin at 475F) to form a gentle crust of the salt (this encourages tenderness and flavor), and after twenty minutes begin with a series of bastes using chicken stock.

The one year my parents did make an exception was New Year’s Eve of  11th-grade in high school. Ever since, I’ve been one to mostly stay home on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Warm Blue Crab Dip, from my latest,  The New Southern Chef’s Table Cookbook (Globe Pequot Press, May 2018), offers just the right blend of ooey-gooey, sweet, buttery, warm blue crab dip for a decadent start and the Lucky Prosperity Soup (from Mashed – Beyond the Potato, Gibbs Smith) a smooth, gilded finish. New Year’s Day in the South ushers in a call to wealth and prosperity, which are symbolized by black-eyed peas (representing coins) and collard greens (representing greenbacks).

I’d intended to get this recipe to you sooner, but here it is, hopefully in time to flesh out your holiday table with glorious cruciferous crunch, the red, green and white colors of the season, and cheerful, tangy creaminess. This salad would be perfectly wonderful alongside a standing beef roast or turkey and also paired with a Christmas morning or brunch frittata, omelet, or turkey sandwich. To make the florets, cut away nearly all of the hard stems from the broccoli and cauliflower and either crumble or cut into the smaller pieces pictured here. 2 large stalks broccoli, stalks removed and cut into florets – about 3 cups 1/2 large head cauliflower, core and stems removed, and cut into florets – about 2 cups Toss the broccoli, cauliflower, onion, cranberries and walnuts together in a large bowl.