Really Big Family Dinner

My brother Josh bought a new house in town and yesterday was moving day. The Composer and the big kids worked all day, along with friends and other family. My mother and I got off easy--we stayed here with Daisy and cooked and cooked. First we made two peach pies (with peaches I had frozen this summer), and she made a big pan of Deep Dish Apple Something--it had a bottom crust and a crumb topping. Then we started browning chicken. Twenty pounds of chicken and a huge skillet of mildly curried tomato sauce later, we put an enormous pan of Chicken Country Captain in a slow oven to cook for several hours. Chicken Country Captain is a Southern dish with an odd name. It has curry powder and raisins in it, is served over rice, and tastes comfortably like something that would have been an adventuresome conversation piece in the 50's.

We served 14 hungry people the chicken, a huge pot of rice, baked butternut squash, a lovely salad, and French bread. And pie. And a mountain of chocolate chip cookies. Josh owes us.