This week's meal includes Roast Chicken with Warm Bread Salad, Maple-Roasted Carrots, and Rhubarb Crumble Bars. It's all about roasting, and it's all about spring.

I love a hearty dinner salad, but there is no better than this Roast Chicken with Warm Bread Salad. The recipe is inspired by the famous San Francisco restaurant, Zuni Cafe, which has been open since 1979. It's on my bucket list to eat this salad at Zuni Cafe. However, in the meantime, I'll make a version for you that will not disappoint. I make it with cast-iron roasted chicken breast that is dry brined for 24 hours with lemon, garlic, and thyme. I serve it over a bed of spinach with a champagne vinaigrette, currents, and green onions. And the very very best part is the bread. I make homemade bread and cube it and roast it under the chicken. The bread soaks up all the delicious chicken drippings. It's crisp in some spots, soft in others, and has a ton of flavor.

The Maple-Roasted Carrots are carrots roasted with butter, maple syrup, and brown sugar. That's all you need for a perfect roast carrot, and these certainly don't disappoint!

The rhubarb crumble bars are the same base and crumble as the wildly popular Raspberry Crumble Bars I serve. However, in this version, I use homemade Rhubarb-Vanilla Jam. The rhubarb is local and picked from friends and family (I wish I had my own!). Rhubarb is only in season for a short time in the spring, and I try my hardest to eat as MUCH as possible.