It’s the reason you turn your head. It’s the distant stare in a stranger’s eyes. It’s your own self lost in a distant time and place. The minute your nose picks up that light scent of something you know. In my life there have been so many memorable scents that are associated with the people and places that I love.

Here on the Island there is one that you either love or hate. It’s that smell when you are driving over the Causeway and the tide is low. To many it is a muddy disgusting fishy smell. To me it is home. It is the first sign that I am home after a long trip or even just a long day in town. It’s like having a welcome to Anna Maria Island sign without typing a single word.

When it comes to food, there is a long list of smells that will drive you wild. The smell of bacon and coffee in the morning, or it is the smell of fresh baked cookies for dessert? Those senses that we have that trigger memories for us of grandma in the kitchen or dad at the grill. Maybe that’s reversed for some of you; I don’t know your memories, or your grandma.

It is even as deep as to say everything that we celebrate has its own notable food smell. The Christmas ham, the Thanksgiving turkey, the Fourth of July grill, all send signals to the brain that today feels like a holiday.

This can be a normal everyday occurrence for all of you. Many people say that the simple things are what life is all about. Nothing is simpler than the classic roasted chicken. There is no feeling of comfort like the one you feel when you open your front door and the aroma of a roasted chicken hugs you with its warm love.

I urge you all to get out of the stores that sell you a pre roasted chicken. If there is one thing that humanity suffers from it is the lack of home cooked meals. This, the most simple of all the home cooked meals, is by far one of the most delicious.

Crispy skin and moist tender meat adorns your table with sides of mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, and gravy. Oh the gravy! I promise you, your home will never smell more like a home than when you sit down to eat and let your sense of smell take you back to all of your great memories. Enjoy the memories!

By Chef PJ Smargisso

Golden Roasted Chicken

• 1 (5 to 6 lb.) roasting chicken
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
• 2 Tbs. (1/4 stick) butter, melted
• 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
• 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges
• Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425º F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon and all the garlic.

Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.

Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.