Husband Catching Chicken by Patricia Wellingham-Jones
I sent the recipe to the historical society
in response to their call for a cookbook,
figured twenty years of marriage
gave it history enough.
I made it for the first time
as an experiment for friends
then changed and fiddled and
simplified what worked.
Apparently I got it just right
the night he came to dinner.
Put the pinches, dabs and cups
of things in balance:
wine and tarragon,
mushrooms and garlic
blended with bird and onion.
Champagne
before dinner
didn’t hurt.
Over the years we celebrate
with husband-catching chicken
(our private rites, not public holidays).
Always with a laugh, a wink,
we think of where it led us—
dining room to bedroom,
gold ring to teething ring
to bedroom. Excuse me,
I’ve got to go fix dinner.
